Negotiation and Persuasion Training

Sharpen Your Negotiation & Persuasion Skills – A Webinar Series for Record Keepers

Whether you're new to managing archive and other information services, an experienced leader, or looking to take the next step in your career, this three-part webinar series is designed to support record keepers in any situation that requires negotiation or persuasion, helping you learn the skills to negotiate and persuade with confidence.

Developed in response to record keeping sector skills surveys, the sessions focus on real-world scenarios—negotiating with commercial partners, shaping service level agreements, and making the case for better internal resourcing. We are grateful to The National Archive for funding this training.

You’ll gain tools to:

  • Build persuasive arguments

  • Achieve better outcomes for your service

  • Advocate for career development and resources

This training supports:

  • New and aspiring managers in developing leadership skills

  • Experienced professionals benchmarking and refining their approach

This training is part of ARA’s commitment to helping the sector negotiate better outcomes—whether that is with commercial partners, through service level agreements, or in making the case for internal resourcing. A more confident workforce will be better able to advocate for itself, secure resources, and thrive within the corporate environment—for personal and organisational benefit. So why not strengthen your ability to navigate the corporate environment—for your own success and the success of your service?

The trainer

John Trimbos of Trimbos Training is a solicitor and training consultant with extensive experience across local authorities, professional bodies, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Irish Courts Service. As a former in-house training manager at City law firms, he worked closely with library and archive services. John brings a wealth of expertise in delivering negotiation and persuasion training for legal and professional sectors.

The programmes are recorded so that you can control the pace of learning and rewatch key parts of interest to you. They are also supported by handouts, so please download them before you start.

Programme 1: Principles of effective negotiation

We discuss what negotiation is and the skills and interpersonal behaviours used by commercial negotiators. Whether partners are commercial or public sector and charitable entities, this webinar will provide you with the understanding of how to approach negotiations with confidence. Programme 1 includes:

  • Self-assessment questionnaire – are you a red or a blue negotiator? 

  • The art of assertive trading 

  • Sending and receiving body language signals 

  • Tricks and tactics used in commercial negotiations

  • A simple example of a commercial negotiation

Download a copy of the Negotiation Skills booklet and Banana Game.

Programme 2: Negotiating service level agreements for shared services 

This programme uses a service level agreement as an example, but the principles show apply to any form of agreement. The discussions focus on specific issues that arise from the kind of negotiations you will experience. Our thanks to Heather Forbes FARA, Head of Archives Service at Gloucestershire County Council and Mark Stevens RMARA, County Archivist at Royal Berkshire Archives, for taking part.

Programme 2 includes:

  • Planning and preparation steps 

  • Drawing up a specification with key performance indicators 

  • Case study – charting the progress of a service level agreement 

Download a copy of the sample specification here.

Programme 3: Influence and persuasion skills 

Used internally within your organisations (senior management, colleagues, staff) and externally with suppliers and service providers.

  • How to be persuasive – projecting a positive self-image, flexing to deal with different personality types, building empathy 

  • Self-assessment questionnaire – what is your natural persuading style?  

  • Pros and cons of different persuasion styles – assertive persuasion, common vision, reward and punishment, participation and trust 

  • Case studies – how these different persuasion styles can work in different scenarios 

Download a copy of the Influencing and Persuading booklet.