No two negotiations, or negotiators, are exactly alike. People often default to the approach they find most comfortable, shaped by the situation and their level of negotiation skills.
While you might have a preferred negotiation style, you aren't limited to it in every situation. Once you’ve identified your default approach, you can evaluate whether it’s the most effective strategy or if a different style might better support your goals.
For example, bargaining with a car salesperson requires a different strategy than negotiating your salary or a job offer. Likewise, negotiating a contract often necessitates a different approach than negotiating a business deal or corporate merger. As conversations evolve, you may also need to adjust your tactics based on new information or tone shifts.
If you’re unsure which style you default to—or which is most effective—the guide below outlines five key negotiation styles: collaborating, competing, compromising, accommodating, and avoiding. It also explains when and why to use each.
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Common Negotiation Styles
No negotiation style is inherently “good” or “bad.” Each can be effective depending on the situation and your goals. As you begin preparing for a negotiation, consider which approach you might use, and don’t be afraid to experiment with a new strategy.
Regardless of your approach, it’s important to evaluate the value at stake and each party’s needs. To determine the zone of possible agreement (ZOPA), or bargaining range, consider:
What’s your bottom line: The minimum you need for the negotiation to be successful
What’s their bottom line: Are your expectations realistic, given their constraints?
Here's a closer look at five common negotiation styles to help you decide which one to choose.
1. Collaborating
Collaborating, also known as win-win negotiating or integrative negotiation, focuses on achieving an outcome that benefits all parties. In this approach, you and your counterpart aim to reach an agreement that feels fair and mutually beneficial.
Collaboration requires enough flexibility or value in the deal. While some negotiations naturally allow for this, others require actively creating value. This means expanding the total benefits available so both parties can gain more without sacrificing their own interests.
“Value creation occurs in negotiation when solutions are found that benefit both parties—or at least that benefit one of them, without making the other worse off,” says Harvard Business School Professor Michael Wheeler in the online course Negotiation Mastery.
Collaboration can be especially effective when building and maintaining long-term relationships, such as when you’re dealing with business partners or established customers. It may be less effective in price-driven negotiations, where the opportunities to create additional value are limited.
2. Competing
Competing in negotiation means that you’re trying to claim as much value as possible from the deal—even if it’s at the expense of your counterpart. For this reason, it’s also called win-lose negotiation or distributive negotiation.
To do this effectively, you need a clear understanding of two key benchmarks: your reservation price—the minimum value you’re willing to accept—and your stretch goal, or ideal outcome. These boundaries help guide your strategy and decision-making throughout the negotiation.
“It's important to set a stretch goal; to think about what the ceiling might be in this negotiation,” Wheeler says in Negotiation Mastery. “And that requires best-case scenario thinking. So as you go into negotiation, you should picture an outstanding result—something that's probably a long shot, but not a fantasy either. Something that you might say has a 10 percent chance of happening.”
This style often appeals to negotiators comfortable asserting themselves and taking control of the discussion. While advocating for your interests is essential, it’s equally important to remain aware of your counterpart’s perspective.
Competing can be effective during price-driven transactions or one-time deals. Because it has the potential to strain relationships, it may be less suitable for negotiations involving long-term partners or repeat customers.
3. Compromising
Compromising involves finding a middle ground where both parties make concessions to reach an agreement. While you may not achieve your ideal outcome, you secure enough value to make the deal worthwhile—and your counterpart does the same.
This approach sits between collaborating and competing. Instead of maximizing value or fully aligning interests, both parties agree to meet in the middle.
According to HBS Professor Max Bazerman, this can be facilitated by recognizing that your counterpart doesn’t always value what you do. This difference creates an opportunity for you to concede in areas you care less about to get what you want in others.
“If we can find out what they care about more and what you care about less, the issues can be traded, and value can be created,” Bazerman says in Negotiation Mastery. “Now, you can see this in very important negotiations where there are trade-offs between price, delivery terms, financing, and personnel.”
4. Accommodating
Accommodating focuses on prioritizing your counterpart’s satisfaction—sometimes at the expense of your own outcomes. This approach, often called lose-win negotiation, involves making concessions to preserve the relationship or ensure the deal moves forward.
Being overly accommodating can increase the risk of unfavorable outcomes, but that doesn’t mean the approach doesn’t have its place. For example, it can be especially well-suited to situations where you’re in the wrong and trying to salvage the relationship. It can also be an effective approach if a best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) doesn’t exist.
“Sometimes you may have very good options," Wheeler says in Negotiation Mastery. "Other times, your alternatives may not be very attractive.”
If failing to reach an agreement is detrimental, an accommodating approach can increase the likelihood of a successful outcome.
5. Avoiding
Avoiding occurs when you delay or sidestep addressing conflicts or key issues. Rather than engaging directly, you may postpone discussions or shift focus to less contentious topics.
Because this approach can weaken the deal and relationship, it’s typically best reserved for situations where you have strong alternatives or need additional time to prepare.
Avoiding is a common response when you feel unprepared or fatigued in a negotiation. In these scenarios, taking a strategic pause can be more effective than disengaging. Consider how you might better manage your emotions and replenish your energy.
"One easy answer is taking a break,” Wheeler says in Negotiation Mastery. “It works like a reset button, interrupting whatever dysfunctional pattern has emerged. And remember to take a break before you actually need it, so that you're constantly performing at the highest level.”
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Developing Your Style
Before entering your next negotiation, consider your goals and how to accomplish them. Is this a one-time deal, or will you have repeated interactions with your counterpart? Are you negotiating a single issue, or do you have a list of terms to agree on? Different goals call for different negotiation strategies.
Consider altering your style to achieve certain goals. It might seem uncomfortable at first, but adapting your style can help you become a master negotiator.
Are you ready to improve your negotiation skills and advance your career? Explore Negotiation Mastery—one of our online leadership and management and entrepreneurship and innovation courses—and download our free leadership e-book.
This post was updated on April 28, 2026. It was originally published on May 24, 2018.