Negotiate with success
Negotiate with success
12-13 June & 3 July 2025 (from 09h00 to 17h00)
General context
A workshop on the theme "Negotiate with success - mindset and tools - for lasting partnerships"
At the end of the workshop, the participants will:
- Recognize the characteristics and consequences of various styles of interactions, whether conflictual or not;
- Understand how to build relationships based on interest and opportunity, rather than on conflict or persuasion;
- Get an overview and analysis of the entire negotiation process and master each step;
- Acquire the objectivity and competence necessary to prepare and lead negotiations;
- Know how to prepare in an efficient and detailed way: what they want, how to quantify their aim, how to break it down into negotiable results;
- Master tools directly usable in daily life, whether they are called on to negotiate or not;
- Learn how to use effective questioning techniques and verbal/non-verbal communication;
- Understand how to build and make an offer and reach an agreement;
- Increase their negotiation capacities (hands-on practice) in a "risk-free" environment, thus enabling them to be more efficient, save time, and share a coherent approach;
- Increase their capacity to build collaborative partnerships.
VIB Group leaders, staff scientists, project managers, postdocs and PhD students in years 3 & 4 - maximum 12 participants.
The whole approach of the training was very different from what I expected, but overall it was an eye-opening course that completely shifted my perspective on negotiations.
Participant edition 2024
I think that Melissa is a wonderful trainer. She does not only know and have all theoretical skills, but she is also so good in telling or presenting them, while she recognize the needs/question of the trainees and pick in on them very accurately. I also appreciated that Melissa had a broad background on topics not directly related to negotiation (e.g. conflicts, empathy,...) , and could explain those/improvise when relevant.
Participant edition 2023
Very engaged teacher with a lot of experience in many different fields, resulting in interesting real-life examples. Takes time to explain or comment on questions, without endlessly expanding on off-topic issues. I hope to be able to follow other courses from her.
Participant edition 2022
Trainers
Melissa Davies
Negotiation specialist and Solution Focused coach
London School of Economics (LSE) graduate Melissa Davies has held operational and strategic management positions in several international and national companies before becoming an international consultant. Her fields are organizational development, partnership brokering and negotiations, people development (self leadership and capacity building) and project management.
Melissa is an independent professional negotiator who founded Negoservices Sàrl in 2000. With over 30 years’ experience in negotiating agreements and building lasting partnerships in varied environments, she trains in negotiation skills and conflict management. Customers include academia, scientific research institutes, the private sector (multi-nationals and SME) as well as non-profit organizations. Her book The Practical Negotiation Handbook A Five Step Approach to Lasting Partnerships was published in 2021 and has been translated into several languages. Melissa also specializes in self-leadership skills so as to positively influence our relationships with others, including how to “be” (posture) in conflicting situations and in negotiations.
A qualified Solution Focused coach, Melissa helps people and organizations in their professional and personal development to better face their challenges and to get to where they want to be. Melissa intervenes in several European programs for women leaders in science. She also has a long experience in coaching teenagers and young adults, as well as working with scientists (PhDs, Postdocs, Gls/PIs).
In 2022, Melissa was selected as one of the Career Women’s Forum top 40 inspiring women who have been active in the professional, political, and social fields in the French speaking part of Switzerland these last 40 years.
Melissa is passionate about mountains, nature and wildlife conservation. Member of two mountaineering clubs, she is very active with teenagers and young adults. Melissa is interested in sustainable development and social issues; she volunteered for several years as a senior partnerships officer for Norlha, a grass roots NGO involved in sustainable development projects and empowering women in the Himalayas. She also volunteered in 2022 in Bidibidi, a refugee settlement in Northern Uganda, working on conflict transformation, negotiation and positive deviance. In 2023, 2024 and 2025 she volunteered in Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe) working with the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust management team on political and wildlife negotiations, capacity building and solution focuses conflict management techniques.
Practical info
The link to attend the workshop will be provided to the participants a few days before the start of the course.
Participants are requested to be present the entire 3 days (for group dynamics, theory and case study reasons). Lunches will last one hour.