"Negotiation involves three basic elements - Process, behavior and substance.
The process refers to how the parties negotiate - the context of the negotiations, the parties to the negotiations, the tactics used by the parties, and the sequence and stages in which all of these play out.
Behaviors to the relationships among these parties, the communication between them and the styles they adopt.
The substance refers to what the parties negotiate over - the agenda, the issues (positions and, more helpfully, interests), the options, and the agreement (reached at the end."
(Source: Wikipedia)
That summarizes what negotiating is all about - to an extent.
What it does not highlight of course is that negotiating, as with most things in life, is all about "win-win".
That approach has to be fundamental to any negotiation if both parties are to achieve a satisfactory outcome.
And so here is my final FREE eBook of the week for you - "Negotiating to Win - From Open to Close"