The 10 Skills of Negotiation with Kuldeep Dhankar
Hi! My name is Aditi. Like many folks on Twitter, I hoard Twitter threads that pack an unreasonable amount of gyaan.
About a week ago, I saw this one by Kuldeep:
First skill in learning to negotiate is to recognise when you are in a negotiation.
It sounded too simple to be profound, but I kept reading. You can too.
As things go, one tweet led to a DM, which then led to a Sunday afternoon call. We now have Kuldeep graciously offering his time to teach a workshop that expounds on this thread.
Welcome to The 10 Skills of Negotiation.
Who this is for
Kuldeep's description of the workshop is below, but before that, here's who I suspect this could really benefit:
You're conflict-averse, like me! You tend to soften requests, over-explain, underprice, or avoid saying no. You want practical ways to reach clear commitments while preserving goodwill.
Your day looks like fighting for 10 business deals and holding your position with customers, teammates, landlords, and vendors - but you want a way to find common ground without turning every disagreement into a shouting match.
Maybe you want a better read on how status, trust, risk, and reciprocity shape what people say - and how it gives you options when you feel like you don't have much to offer.
Skeptical that negotiation can actually be a search for common ground, not a yelling contest? Good.
Bring that skepticism, and come prepared to see negotiations differently.
The event is free to attend. We have only 25 spots to keep this workshop adequately focused. Please apply only if you can make it for the entirety (barring actual emergencies, of course).
What the workshop is about
Most people think negotiation is one skill. That is a formidable cliff. I see it as ten skills.
These are skills I have used in years of real negotiations. These include deals, hiring conversations, talks with vendors, and disagreements with cofounders. They also feature in the day-to-day negotiations I have with landlords, the neighbourhood shop owner and even my kids.
In the first hour, you will learn how to refuse a request without saying no and why that is important. You will learn how to give someone just enough information that they solve your problem for you. You will learn how to find the person who actually controls the decision, even when that person is not in the room. And you will learn how to tell a bad deal from no deal at all.
The second hour of the workshop is about holding back, not pushing harder. You will learn when to stop pushing before you damage the deal you just won. You will learn how to leave a negotiation so the other side still wants to work with you later. And you will learn the hardest skill of all, which is knowing when not to negotiate, because the situation does not support it.
The arc goes: Orientation → Leverage → Restraint.
Each skill comes with a real example and the idea behind it. By the end, you will have a framework you can actually use in your next negotiation, whether that is a raise, a contract, or a disagreement with someone you work with.
In the third hour of the workshop, Kuldeep will reframe the negotiation scenarios you bring into the room, apply the framework to a bunch of them, and spar with your Qs.
Venue:
Coro, Domlur
Map location
Shout-out to our venue partner Coro for making this a parent-friendly event! If you have a little one (ages 1-6), you can drop them off on the first floor at Coro's playspace. For the three hours of the workshop, Coro has been kind enough to offer a dedicated playshaper who can engage with your children, and a discounted rate of INR 767 for the session. As a parent, this specific facility makes a huge difference in helping you be present at the workshop. So parents, treat this as an invitation to come + bring your kid(s)!
About your hosts
Kuldeep is the co-founder of Last9, and previously built the enterprise sales function at CleverTap. He has built businesses across cycles in India for the past 25 years.
He is a storyteller at heart, with a deep love for books and the mountains.
Aditi is an educator who designs leadership and learning experiences, especially those that build agency. Organising this workshop is admittedly a selfish way for her to learn this stuff from an expert, and it's way more fun to do that with a community and in person!