Ways to negotiate
You can try to negotiate an agreement in a number of different ways. No way is right or wrong. You can:
Meet face to face
Meeting with someone can be a good idea if there are many options to talk about.
Before you go to a meeting, you should prepare. It is a good idea to write notes to take with you to the meeting to help you keep on track.
If you are going to meet in person, you can get help from a mediator, a support person or some other neutral third party.
Sometimes a neutral third party, such as a mediator or facilitator can assist both parties to negotiate and reach agreement. For more information, go to the
Community Justice Centres website.
If you want to have a support person at the meeting, you should let the other party know. They might also want to have a support person.
Talk on the telephone
A telephone call can be a good option when you and the other parties do not live near each other. Prepare for a telephone call as if it was a face to face meeting.
Writing a letter, email or text
If you are negotiating with a business or government organisation, you may not have the option to meet in person and a letter may be your only option.
Writing a letter is a good option if:
- you want to make a specific offer. For example, if you want to offer to pay an amount of money or return goods
- you find it very hard to talk to the other party directly
- you want to keep a written record of what you have done to try and resolve the problem.
You can also send an email or text message. You should make sure you save and print out a copy of the email or text message.
If you are going to write a letter, email or text be careful. Sometimes this can cause misunderstandings that can lead to more conflict, particularly if you have not spoken about the problem face to face or by telephone before. Consider carefully how the person you are sending the letter or message to might react and if they might be more likely to come to an agreement with you if you communicate with them personally.
When you write a letter or email you should write the words 'Without Prejudice' on the page. This means the letters sent by you usually can't be used as evidence in court.
Sample:
Sample letter of offer.