Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Procurement and Contract Managers, HR Managers and Employee Relations Advisers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-IS-019

Before you join: Participants should have experience of workplace discussions involving competing priorities, dissatisfied stakeholders, performance concerns, commercial terms or relationship tension.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Disputes over contracts, performance, workplace conduct, service levels and resource allocation can consume management time, damage working relationships and delay decisions. Many professionals enter difficult conversations with a stated position but lack a disciplined way to identify underlying interests, assess alternatives, manage emotion or decide when direct negotiation is no longer appropriate. The result is often avoidable escalation, weak settlements or agreements that fail during implementation.

This course develops the practical skills required to negotiate dispute resolutions constructively and with appropriate authority. Participants learn to diagnose dispute dynamics, prepare negotiation mandates, identify BATNA and WATNA positions, frame proposals, test options against objective criteria and document durable agreements. The course also covers conflict styles, emotional regulation, difficult behaviours, power imbalances, mediation processes and escalation routes for disputes involving internal colleagues, suppliers, customers, partners or community stakeholders.

Delivery combines instructor briefings with case analysis, structured group work, negotiation simulations and facilitated review. Cases reflect realistic workplace disputes such as delayed supplier delivery, contested contract variations, employee relations concerns and cross-functional accountability failures. Participants receive feedback on preparation, communication, concession management and settlement design. They leave with a personal dispute-negotiation playbook containing reusable preparation tools, conversation structures and agreement templates.

The course suits managers, commercial professionals, HR practitioners, project leaders and client-facing staff who already handle challenging discussions and need a more consistent method for resolving disputes before they become formal claims, grievances or relationship breakdowns.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose dispute causes, escalation stages and appropriate resolution routes
  • Prepare a negotiation mandate using interests, BATNA, WATNA and objective criteria
  • Apply Harvard principled negotiation to separate people from disputed issues
  • Use questioning, reframing and active listening to uncover underlying interests
  • Manage concessions, packages and trade-offs without weakening essential requirements
  • Respond to anger, threats, positional behaviour and power imbalances constructively
  • Conduct a mediation-style settlement discussion using caucus and joint-session techniques
  • Draft implementable dispute-resolution agreements with responsibilities, dates and review points

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence entering high-stakes conversations with a prepared negotiation position
  • A repeatable method for turning stated demands into negotiable interests
  • Better control of emotional reactions during hostile or pressured exchanges
  • Stronger judgement about when to negotiate, mediate, escalate or seek specialist advice
  • Clearer written agreements that reduce later misunderstanding and rework

For your organisation

  • Earlier resolution of supplier, customer and internal disputes before formal escalation
  • More consistent negotiation standards across managers handling sensitive disagreements
  • Reduced cost of stalled projects, complaints, grievances and relationship repair
  • Better preservation of commercial and working relationships after contested decisions
  • Clearer settlement records with accountable actions, deadlines and review arrangements

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can diagnose a dispute and select an appropriate early resolution route.

  • Conflict versus dispute: distinguishing issues, interests, relationships and rights
  • Glasl escalation stages used to assess intensity and intervention timing
  • Separate people from problem under Harvard principled negotiation
  • Map substantive, procedural and psychological dimensions of a dispute
  • Identify positions, interests, needs and fears through disciplined questioning
  • Recognise attribution error, reactive devaluation and confirmation bias
  • Choose negotiation, mediation, facilitation or formal grievance routes

Participants can prepare an evidence-based mandate for a dispute-resolution meeting.

  • Define the disputed issue, scope, decision rights and settlement authority
  • BATNA and WATNA analysis for realistic alternatives to agreement
  • Establish reservation points, aspiration targets and acceptable settlement ranges
  • Gather facts, documents, precedents and contractual obligations before discussions
  • Use objective criteria to test fairness, feasibility and defensibility
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies influencers, decision-makers, blockers and affected parties
  • Prepare a negotiation mandate with priorities, risks and approval limits

Participants can structure negotiations around interests, options and objective criteria.

  • Harvard principled negotiation: interests, options, criteria and alternatives
  • Convert stated demands into underlying interests using laddering questions
  • Generate multiple options before judging value, cost or acceptability
  • Package issues to create trade-offs across priorities and constraints
  • Apply objective standards including market data, policy and contract clauses
  • Frame proposals around mutual gains without concealing non-negotiable requirements
  • Test tentative agreements against implementation risks and stakeholder acceptance

Participants can communicate clearly and productively when discussions become tense.

  • Active listening: paraphrasing, summarising and checking meaning before responding
  • Open, probing and calibrating questions reveal interests and constraints
  • Use neutral language to describe behaviour, impact and requested change
  • Reframe accusations into issues that parties can jointly address
  • Name emotions without judgement to reduce defensiveness and misunderstanding
  • Strategic pauses, agenda resets and breaks manage rising tension
  • Written follow-up confirms shared understanding, actions and unresolved points

Participants can adapt their response to conflict styles and disruptive negotiation tactics.

  • Thomas-Kilmann modes: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating
  • Match conflict response to stakes, time pressure and relationship value
  • Recognise positional bargaining, stonewalling, threats and personal attacks
  • Respond to anchoring tactics without accepting an unreasonable reference point
  • Set behavioural boundaries using factual language and stated consequences
  • Handle anger through acknowledgement, slowing pace and issue separation
  • Distinguish legitimate pressure from coercion requiring escalation or withdrawal

Participants can manage power differences ethically while maintaining a credible negotiation position.

  • Assess formal authority, expertise, information, dependency and relationship power
  • Reduce information asymmetry through preparation, questions and documented evidence
  • Address unequal bargaining power without abandoning legitimate organisational interests
  • Apply procedural fairness: voice, neutrality, respect and explanation
  • Cultural preferences for directness, hierarchy, time and face-saving
  • Avoid unethical tactics including deception, false deadlines and concealed authority
  • Escalate safeguarding, discrimination, fraud and legal-risk concerns appropriately

Participants can make and evaluate settlement offers that protect essential interests.

  • Plan concessions by value, sequence, conditions and reciprocal return
  • Never give unilateral concessions without recording the corresponding exchange
  • Use if-then proposals to link movement with required commitments
  • Build settlement packages rather than bargaining one issue at a time
  • Bracket proposals to locate feasible ranges without disclosing reservation points
  • Evaluate offers against BATNA, mandate limits and implementation capacity
  • Close provisional agreement using precise language, ownership and deadlines

Participants can participate effectively in a structured mediation-style resolution process.

  • Mediation stages: opening, issue setting, exploration, options and agreement
  • Clarify mediator neutrality, confidentiality boundaries and party decision authority
  • Joint sessions establish ground rules, agendas and shared issue definitions
  • Caucus conversations explore barriers, risks and possible movement privately
  • Reality testing examines consequences of no agreement and proposed solutions
  • Facilitate option generation without imposing a preferred settlement outcome
  • Record mediated agreements, unresolved issues and escalation arrangements

Participants can apply resolution methods to common employment, project and contract disputes.

  • Supplier delay dispute: balance remedies, continuity and relationship preservation
  • Contract variation dispute: separate scope, price, authority and evidence
  • Employee performance conflict: distinguish feedback, grievance and misconduct concerns
  • Cross-functional resource dispute: identify dependencies, priorities and decision owners
  • Customer complaint resolution: restore trust while controlling precedent risk
  • Partnership disagreement: manage shared governance, contribution and exit issues
  • Select documentation appropriate to commercial, workplace and stakeholder settlements

Participants can document settlements and plan application of dispute-resolution methods in their role.

  • Settlement agreement components: actions, owners, dates, evidence and review
  • Define monitoring measures, communication channels and exception-handling arrangements
  • Distinguish confidential notes from records requiring formal circulation
  • Use decision logs to preserve rationale, approvals and unresolved risks
  • Plan post-settlement relationship repair through follow-up and acknowledgement
  • Identify recurring dispute patterns requiring policy, process or governance changes
  • Create a personal application plan for upcoming difficult conversations

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Dispute diagnosis checklist
  2. Negotiation mandate template
  3. BATNA and WATNA analysis worksheet
  4. Interest-based conversation planner
  5. Concession and settlement matrix
  6. Dispute-resolution agreement template

Who should attend

  • Procurement and Contract Managers — resolve supplier performance, pricing and variation disputes
  • HR Managers and Employee Relations Advisers — address workplace conflict before formal grievance stages
  • Project and Programme Managers — settle delivery, scope and accountability disagreements
  • Operations Managers — resolve cross-functional service failures and resource conflicts
  • Sales and Account Managers — preserve client relationships during commercial disagreements
  • Public Sector and NGO Managers — manage stakeholder disputes involving competing interests

Skills and tools covered

Dispute diagnosisInterest-based negotiationSettlement designConflict communicationMediation processAgreement drafting

Tools and standards

Harvard Principled Negotiation, BATNA and WATNA, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, Glasl Conflict Escalation Model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by case analysis, group exercises, paired negotiations and dispute-resolution simulations. Participants prepare negotiation positions, test proposals, practise reframing difficult statements and receive structured feedback against defined criteria. Scenarios include workplace, contractual and stakeholder disputes, allowing participants to compare direct negotiation, facilitated discussion and mediation routes. Individual application planning links the methods to live responsibilities, including authority limits, escalation thresholds and agreement documentation.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience of workplace discussions involving competing priorities, dissatisfied stakeholders, performance concerns, commercial terms or relationship tension. They should be comfortable contributing to facilitated discussions and reflecting on their own communication habits. Prior negotiation training is helpful but not required; the course introduces each framework before applying it. No legal qualification, mediation credential, contract-law expertise or formal authority to settle disputes is required. Participants will gain most value if they can bring anonymised examples of disputes they encounter in their role.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have experience of workplace discussions where priorities, expectations or relationships are contested. Previous negotiation training is not required, and no legal or mediation qualification is assumed.

Bring anonymised examples of disputes, difficult conversations or negotiation situations from your work. You should not bring confidential contracts, personnel files or identifiable case records.

It is designed for professionals who resolve disagreements with colleagues, suppliers, customers, project stakeholders or employees. It is particularly relevant where participants must preserve a working relationship while addressing a contested issue.

General negotiation courses often focus on reaching value-creating deals from a neutral starting point. This course concentrates on repairing stalled, tense or damaged relationships where parties may disagree about facts, fairness, responsibility or prior commitments.

Participants can use the negotiation mandate, interest-mapping questions, concession planner and settlement template in their next difficult discussion. The methods also help managers decide when a matter should move from direct discussion to mediation, HR, legal or formal governance.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, case work, group discussion, negotiation simulations, feedback and individual application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

Related courses in Interpersonal Skills