School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Adult Class: Certificate Topics — Year 1 (Foundations) · Home: Schools — Adult track Certificate behind this topic: "Negotiation Foundations" — LinkedIn Learning, earned by Minister Destiny Marie Morgan (May 28, 2025) — earned ×2, including accredited versions (PMI-accredited version) Founded and presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Minister
This lesson is educational information from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It teaches the public body of knowledge in this subject — the same ground Minister Destiny studied for her certificate — in this school's own words. It is not the original course, it does not award the original credential, and it is not legal or medical advice. If you are in danger right now, call 911.
Before you start
- This school never asks your name. Your progress is saved to your student record, so you can pick up on any device. If you pass this unit's quiz (80% or higher, retakes allowed), you earn a downloadable certificate with a blank line — you write your own name on it after you save it. Quiz answers are not shown; if you miss a question, re-read the lesson and try again.
- Negotiation is not a talent you are born with. It is a structure you can learn, and the same structure serves a phone bill, a work schedule, a repair quote, and a salary offer.
- This topic stands behind Minister Destiny Marie Morgan's Negotiation Foundations certificate. It is the first of five negotiation topics in this field; the others build on the language taught here.
The lesson
Part 1. What Negotiation Is — and Is Not
Negotiation is a conversation between people who need each other's agreement to reach an outcome neither can produce alone. A tenant and a landlord, a buyer and a seller, a worker and a manager — each side can say no, and each side would rather say yes to the right terms than walk away with nothing. That mutual need is what makes negotiation different from giving an order, making a demand, or begging a favour.
Negotiation is not winning an argument. An argument tries to prove the other person wrong; a negotiation tries to find terms both sides can live with and actually carry out. It is not manipulation, either. Tricks that depend on hiding the truth tend to collapse when the truth comes out, and they poison any future dealing with the same person. It is also not surrender. Agreeing quickly to whatever is asked, just to end an uncomfortable conversation, is not negotiation — it is conceding without ever testing what was possible.
Part 2. Interests Versus Positions
A position is what a person says they want: "I need $500 off," "I must have Fridays off," "The car has to be ready Thursday." An interest is the reason underneath: saving for a deposit, caring for a parent on Fridays, needing the car for a Friday hospital trip. Positions collide head-on — only one number can win. Interests, once they are spoken aloud, often fit together in ways positions never could.
The classic illustration used in public negotiation teaching involves two people who both want the same orange. Split down the middle, each gets half. But one wanted the peel for baking and the other wanted the juice to drink. Had they asked why, each could have had all of what they actually needed. The lesson is not the fruit; it is the question. Behind almost every firm position sits an interest that can be satisfied in more than one way.
Part 3. The Four Stages of a Negotiation
Most negotiations, large or small, move through four recognisable stages. Knowing which stage you are in keeps you from rushing the wrong one.
Stage one: Open. Each side states what the conversation is about and puts an initial position on the table. Set a respectful tone, confirm you are talking to someone who can actually decide, and agree on what needs to be settled. An opening offer matters because it anchors the range people mentally work within — an anchor set carelessly is hard to move later.
Stage two: Exchange. This is the information stage, and the one beginners skip. Ask questions, share interests, and test what is flexible and what is fixed. You are building a map of the other side's real priorities. Nothing is agreed yet; you are learning where agreement might live.
Stage three: Bargain. Now proposals and counterproposals move. Trade, do not simply give: "If I can accept the later date, could you include the warranty?" Concessions should be given slowly, in shrinking steps, and always in exchange for something — a concession given for free teaches the other side that asking again will produce another one.
Stage four: Close. Summarise what has been agreed, term by term, and write it down (Part 6). Many negotiations fail after the handshake because each side remembers a different deal. The close is where memory becomes a record.
Stages can loop — new information in bargaining may send you back to exchange — and that is normal. What matters is not forcing a close before the exchange has done its work.
Part 4. BATNA and Your Walk-Away Point
BATNA stands for Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement: what you will actually do if this negotiation produces no deal. If the landlord will not move on rent, your BATNA might be the other apartment you viewed. If the dealer will not meet your price, your BATNA might be keeping your current car another year. Your BATNA is your safety net and your source of calm, because it answers the frightening question — "What if they say no?" — with a real plan instead of panic.
Two rules follow. First, build your BATNA before you negotiate, and strengthen it where you can. Getting a second quote, viewing a second apartment, or confirming another job opening all improve your alternative, and a better alternative quietly improves every offer you receive. Second, decide your walk-away point in advance: the line beyond which a deal is worse than your BATNA. Write it down before the conversation, when you are calm. In the room, pressure, politeness, and the wish to be done all push that line; the written number holds it.
Judge every offer against your BATNA, not against your hopes. An offer slightly below what you dreamed of may still be far better than your alternative, and an offer that sounds generous may still be worse.
Part 5. Listening, Questions, and Reading Offers
In negotiation, the person asking good questions usually learns more than the person talking the most. Listen for three things: facts you did not know, interests behind positions, and signals of flexibility — phrases like "we could look at," "what if," or "the date matters more than the price" tell you where movement is possible. Take notes as you listen. Notes slow you down in a good way, and they become the raw material of the written agreement.
Useful questions are open and non-accusatory: "What is driving the deadline?" "If we solved the delivery problem, would the price work?" "What would you need to see to agree to that?" Avoid questions that are really attacks ("Don't you think that's unreasonable?") — they produce defence, not information.
Reading an offer means slowing down at the moment you most want to speed up. Check the whole package, not just the headline number: total cost over time, what is included, what is excluded, dates, penalties, and what happens if either side wants out. Ask what is standard and what is negotiable — you will be surprised how often "standard" terms change when questioned politely. And never let an offer expire unexamined out of manufactured urgency; a deadline that cannot survive one night's thought is usually a pressure device, not a fact.
Part 6. Closing and Writing It Down
A negotiation is not finished when both sides feel good; it is finished when both sides can point to the same written terms. At the close, summarise aloud: who does what, by when, for how much, and what happens if something goes wrong. Invite correction — "Tell me where I've got that wrong" — because a misunderstanding caught at the table costs nothing, while the same misunderstanding found a month later costs a relationship.
Then write it down in plain language and have both sides confirm it: a signed agreement for anything substantial, an email summary for smaller matters ("Confirming our call today: …"). Include the non-money terms too — dates, quality expectations, review points — because those are the terms people most often remember differently. If the other side resists any writing at all, treat that resistance as information about how much the unwritten deal can be trusted.
Finally, leave the door open. Thank the other side, name what you appreciate about the outcome, and keep your own commitments exactly. Your reputation for honouring agreements is capital in every future negotiation: people offer better terms to those they trust to perform. The foundation of all negotiation skill is this reputation, built one kept agreement at a time.
Words to know — Negotiation Foundations
- Position — what a person says they want: a price, a date, a term.
- Interest — the underlying need or reason behind a position.
- BATNA — Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement; what you will do if no deal is reached.
- Walk-away point — the limit beyond which a deal is worse than your BATNA, decided in advance.
- Anchor — the first number or term put forward, which shapes the range people consider.
- Concession — something one side gives up or offers during bargaining; strongest when traded, not given free.
- Counterproposal — a response that accepts part of an offer and changes other parts.
- Objective criteria — outside standards, such as market prices or published rates, used to judge what is fair.
- Close — the final stage, where terms are summarised, confirmed, and written down.
- Logrolling — trading across issues, giving on what matters less to you for what matters more; developed in Strategic Negotiation.
Myths vs facts — Negotiation Foundations
- Myth: Good negotiators are born, not made. Fact: Negotiation is a learnable structure — interests, stages, alternatives, and closing — that improves with practice like any other skill.
- Myth: Negotiation means getting the other side to lose. Fact: Agreements the other side regrets tend to fail in performance; durable deals leave both sides able to honour them.
- Myth: Asking questions shows weakness. Fact: Questions are how interests are discovered; the questioner usually leaves with more information than the talker.
- Myth: The first offer should always be extreme so you can "meet in the middle." Fact: Extreme anchors can end trust and talks; a firm but defensible opening, backed by reasons, moves further.
- Myth: Once hands are shaken, the negotiation is over. Fact: Until terms are summarised and written down, each side may be remembering a different deal.
Think it through — Negotiation Foundations
Amara rents a small shop space. At renewal, her landlord proposes a large rent increase and a three-year term, saying "take it or leave it — I have others interested." Amara's current lease ends in two months. Her position is "keep the rent the same." Her real interests are staying in the neighbourhood her customers know, avoiding a costly move during her busiest season, and keeping monthly costs predictable while she repays a loan.
Walk it through: (1) Separate position from interest (Part 2): the rent figure is the position; location, timing, and predictability are the interests — and they suggest trades the raw number hides. (2) Build the BATNA before replying (Part 4): Amara views two other spaces, prices a move, and learns she could relocate in the quiet season at moderate cost. Her walk-away point becomes concrete: she will not accept an increase above a set figure on a three-year term. (3) Move through the stages properly (Part 3): in the exchange stage she asks what drives the increase and the long term, and learns the landlord's interest is a reliable, long tenant without vacancy gaps — certainty, not the highest possible rent. (4) Bargain by trading (Part 3): she offers the longer term the landlord wants in exchange for a smaller increase and a cap on later rises — her concession buys his. (5) Close in writing (Part 6): the agreed terms, including the cap and the renewal date, are summarised in the new lease and checked line by line before signing. Note what Amara never did: she did not accept "take it or leave it" at face value, and she did not threaten to leave before she knew she could.
Try this — Negotiation Foundations
- ☐ Pick a recent purchase or bill and write down both sides' positions — then the interests underneath each one
- ☐ For your next real negotiation, write your BATNA and your walk-away point on paper before the conversation starts
- ☐ Get one competing written quote for a service you use, and practise asking, "Can you match this?"
- ☐ Practise three open questions that begin with "What" or "Help me understand"
- ☐ After your next agreement of any size, send a short written summary confirming the terms — and keep a copy
Resources to keep — Negotiation Foundations
- Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School (pon.harvard.edu) — free reports, articles, and videos on negotiation and dispute resolution from a leading research centre.
- SCORE (score.org) — free mentoring and workshops for small business owners, including practical help with vendors, leases, and contracts.
- U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.gov) — plain-language guidance on business deals, leases, and agreements for small organisations.
What you earned / what's next — Negotiation Foundations
✅ Negotiation Foundations complete (quiz score 80% or higher): You can tell positions from interests, move through the four stages without skipping the exchange, build a BATNA and hold a walk-away point, and close an agreement in writing.
Your certificate
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Certificate of Completion — Negotiation Foundations
This certificate is presented by Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Minister
Awarded to: ______________________________ (write your name here after you download — your name is never collected or stored by this school)
Date completed: ______________
You have learned to negotiate with a clear head and a kind manner — firm on your interests, fair to the person across the table. That is a skill that will serve you at every table for the rest of your life. — Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
This is a certificate of educational completion from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It is not a state license, a government certification, or the original course credential.
What's next: Continue in Field 6 with Preparing for Your Negotiations, then Strategic Negotiation, Negotiating Beyond Money, and Negotiating with Agility. Return to the Certificate Topics for your next Year 1 Foundations topic.
Sources
- Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School (pon.harvard.edu) — public articles and free reports on interests, BATNA, and principled negotiation — used for the public framework of interests versus positions and alternatives.
- Fisher, Ury, and Patton, Getting to Yes — the widely published public source of the principled-negotiation method (interests, options, objective criteria, BATNA) — used at overview level only.
- SCORE (score.org) — small-business mentoring materials — used for everyday business negotiation context.
Course Record — Negotiation Foundations
- Learning outcomes: On completing this unit, the student can:
- Distinguish a position from the interest underneath it and give an example of each
- Name and describe the four stages of a negotiation and what each stage is for
- Define BATNA, build one for a real situation, and set a written walk-away point
- Use open questions and listening to uncover the other side's interests and flexibility
- Read an offer as a whole package, including non-money terms and exit conditions
- Close a negotiation by summarising terms aloud and confirming them in writing
- Study time: Approximately 1.5 hours — an estimate covering reading, activities, and the test. Students move at their own pace.
- Assessment: A 10-question test drawn only from this unit's lesson. 80% or higher passes and earns the unit certificate. Answers are not shown; your score is saved to your student record, and retakes are allowed.
- Level: Certificate Topics — Year 1 (Foundations) · Adult school · working rank on completion path: Freshman → Sophomore.
- Version: Version 1.0 — October 2026.
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