Negotiation Fundamentals Professional Certificate

Master critical negotiation strategies and build your competence, confidence, and empathy in this 6-week course designed to equip business leaders, owners, and employed professionals with a variety of negotiation strategies to influence commercial and team success across diverse industries as well as the leader’s personal and professional efficacy.

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Why enroll in Negotiation Fundamentals?

Successful negotiations are key to both business and personal success. The Negotiation Fundamentals certificate course offers you an invaluable opportunity to acquire essential skills and insights crucial for success in the art of negotiation for both your personal and professional endeavors, like navigating compensation in a new role or buying a car.

This meticulously designed curriculum delves into the components of negotiating, including how to plan for negotiations, negotiation strategies, effective communication techniques, and how to manage unexpected nuances involved in successful negotiations.

Whether you are a seasoned professional seeking to enhance your negotiation skills to further support your organization, a business owner seeking to strengthen your ability to run your business, or a new professional eager to build a solid foundation for their future career path, this course can equip you with the tools and knowledge essential for navigating diverse negotiation scenarios.

Showcase your new skills

In addition to earning a professional certificate upon completion of this program, you will also earn a digital badge to showcase your skills on platforms like LinkedIn. These credentials show your network the concrete and in-demand skills you earned from taking this Kelley program.

negotiation fundamentals badge

Upcoming dates and certificate overview

  • Course start: April 1
  • Price: $1,495
  • Duration: 6 weeks
  • Delivery: Online

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Learning objectives

Upon successful completion of this 100% online certificate program, you will:

  • Understand the components of a negotiation including when a negotiation is appropriate, how to apply the Dual Concerns Model to conflict situations and manage negotiation dynamics
  • Be able to effectively plan for negotiations by setting appropriate goals, manage relationships and trust, and understand other perspectives
  • Know how to navigate distributive negotiations by developing strategies to handle interpersonal challenges, regulate their own emotional responses, and framing
  • Create a foundation for successful integrative negotiations as you develop the skills and strategies to engage in collaborative conversations, build and maintain trust in professional relationships, and design contingent contracts
  • Confidently be able to handle job and salary negotiation as an employee as you learn to understand the hiring organization’s needs and constraints and develop strategic value
  • Discover others’ interests to strengthen personal and professional relationships, and adopt a win-win perspective and approach

Certificate curriculum

This course consists of 1-to-1.5 hours of asynchronous instruction per week with a minimum of one virtual, instructor-led live session. Throughout the class, you’ll also participate in virtual simulation exercises that will help you apply what you learn and practice scenario-based negotiations.

The weekly course topics include:

  • Understanding and applying the Dual Concerns Model to conflicts
  • Identifying when situations are appropriate for negotiations
  • Managing negotiation dynamics with a strong understanding of components of negotiation

  • Setting negotiation goals, including an understanding of strong opening offers
  • Developing and managing elements of trust to navigate individual differences in negotiation
  • Differentiating interests from positions

  • Exploring strategies for negotiation leverage while utilizing framing techniques
  • Understanding and responding to threats and falsehoods
  • Managing emotions while negotiating

  • Developing an extended bargaining mix
  • Creating contingent contracts
  • Practicing collaborative negotiation and conversation

  • Creating the job-related bargaining mix
  • Understanding and developing strategic value
  • Developing an understanding of the hiring organization’s interests and constraints

  • Looking for opportunities to negotiate
  • Discovering others’ interests to strengthen personal and professional relationships
  • Adopting a win-win perspective and approach

Meet your instructor

Carolyn Goerner

Faculty Chair, Kelley Executive Education Programs
John D. Long Distinguished Fellow for KEEP Leadership
Clinical Professor of Management

Dr. Carolyn Goerner is a clinical professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington. She also serves as the faculty director of Kelley Executive Education Programs and is the John D. Long Distinguished Fellow for KEEP Leadership. She joined the Kelley faculty in 2000 after receiving her PhD in Management and Human Resources at The Ohio State University. Carolyn was a human resource management consultant for 10 years prior to graduate school.

Carolyn designed the new Leading Diverse and Inclusive Organizations co-major within the Kelley School of Business Undergraduate Program. She created the Strategic Human Resources course within the co-major focused on organizational-level practices that enhance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). In addition to Influence and Negotiation courses, Carolyn teaches Inclusive Leadership and Leadership, Teams, and Inclusion in the Kelley Direct MBA Program. Carolyn co-founded the Kelley Women’s Initiative and serves on the Kelley School of Business DEIB Task Force.

Carolyn is passionate about live theatre, IU Football, IU Women’s Basketball, Indy Car Racing, and the Green Bay Packers. She lives in Greenwood, Indiana, with her husband Peter and their dogs, Charlotte and Etta.

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Questions? We're here to help.

Email us at kelleypd@iu.edu with any questions you may have, and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.