15th of September 

Non verbal communication isn't very universal.. 

--

We quickly placed ourselves from the smaller to the taller, and I think that if we had the "right" to talk, it might be take more time.. I think that with this challenge ( "do not speak" challenge haha), we all try to do it quickly, helping us. Smaller ones knows that they are (like me !!), taller ones too, so with the use of our eyes+hands we place "medium" people on the good side. 

With lot of people like our group it was quicker to use non verbal communication rather than compare all people saying their tall, waiting for people that hesitate 1 or 2 centimetres, with our without hell.. 

The second game was easy too, because we just had to showing with your finger how many years we spent in TUT : from 1 to 5, using one hand, easy to show and see..

The third one was more complicated, but ideas to find solutions and do it quickly were find (because we are smart and cool people haha, are we not ? )  : using the board, (trying to) draw Finland, Europe, Asia map.. ! Forming 3 separates groups : Fin, others european, asian ! 

The part I really enjoyed during this course where when we tried to prononce a same sentences "You love me " to convey different meanings. 
7 hours later I continue to try do differently prononce first and last "You love me " from the exercice : the first one "you really do ? I hadn't realized that"  the last one : You ? I didn't thing you loves anyone"   

One of the key of a good negotiation is, I think, to use the good intonation at the good time, for the good meaning. Because, we can use the same sentence for 5 or more different meaning.

I find a word with which could be funny to find different way to sait it :  the word "ok", that I used more than 50/day, could means : 

• Oh, know I understand (ooooooook)
• I agree (ok)
• I don't agree but I don't want to tell you that ( o--k)
• Super (Okay !!!!)
• Stop now (ok-OKAY)

( ... )

Ok ?

One of the thing I try to put on my mind is that here, in Finland, silences are ok, it does't mean that something is wrong, awkwardness.. Because, I really hate silent during conversations, small talk, what ever.. It embarrass me, being with people, and no one talk.. 

I learnt that it exists a Finnish word to explain the situation in which people can stay together,  each in their own "bubble", no one speaking, and it doesn't means something negative (do you know the word ?, if yes can you please write it on a comment)

On other thing I try to put on my mind in Finland culture touch are not very welcomed.. And everyday I repeat to me : No No No, don't touch them, respect their space ( & don't make them thought that you are crazy haha) ! But with spannish, african people I do.. haha


Since I am in Finland, I feel closer to Spanish, people who for me were so far to me when I was in France (Viva Espana)


PS : 7 hours trying to make a smily & angry face at the same time .. failure ^^

Maybe looking like that

First step on the negotiation road..

8th of September, technical problems in our classroom.. But it's not enough to distract Mia teaching us how to become a negotiator !! After that Mia presents us some keys of language of persuasion, some theories.
Then by group of 3 we talked about small talk, and their place on our own culture.
I am not the worse small talk girl, but not the better one. It depends on the day, on the weather, and I think that's the same for french people.
It's not a strange things to talk people who doesn't know but it depend on the place, people (and I think it the same for lots of culture)
For example when it's 8am, and the bust stop is full, people listening musics/reading books (yes, it exists some people who reads haha), I think it's not the best place to start small talk, but if it's 10am, 2-3 people of the bus stop, doing nothing it could be done.
I really love talking with older people, I already thought that they really want too. Most of time it starts talking about the bus schedule, or the weather and then, the job/studies, hobbies..
An other place in which I really love having small talk are on the cash/desk register (of course when they aren't crowd).

Discussing with Fin in my group, I understood that here, in Finland if I do that people will think that I am crazy or drunk or from the Southern Europe haha..
As I understood, Fin people just talk when it's useful, and they don't use long sentences.
I really want to ask about it, with Fin, in this course, because my roommate is so talkative and I already hear that Fin guys aren't.

Did you find with one is the Fin ? haha

But as I seen with one of my colleague it's different on some areas, Fin people from the East and from the West are completely different !  Like in France, french of the North are more closed to people than South people !
Vanessa, a Spanish girl was happy when I add that for example people from the South are more like Spanish people : talkative, funny.. She adds that Spanish of the North are less talkative than those from the South !
Oh oh.. From the North to the South : Lots of influences  !!

After that.. came the time to.. negotiate ! Yes, today, I will doing thing I never thought it's possible to do, before this day : Negotiate course assignment ! This idea of giving student a role on the percentage of the assignments, give me the feeling that  Mia, wants to build a real relation between her and us ! And that's one of the key to have good and  international negotiation skills !
She just gives us 15-20minutes, and lets us doing it. A Fin guy open the negotiation, then students give their point of view..
I was silent because people said what I wanted to say (not to bad haha) ! Different ideas, different points of view.. But compromise and respect ! We really feel a cooperation between us.
Maria, 5 minutes before the end, stood up and summarised all the idea, to vote.
4 different ideas, some of similar but some are very different ! 1st round : equality between 2 dead.. Let's vote again ! 2nd round : equality.. ! At the end we found the good group compromise,
All of us were satisfied (some more than others haha), it was a win-win negotiation !

Most of us were like that in our mind 

After that, we have to negotiate the salary ! For that, we make groups of 2, one student looking for a job, and one responsible of "HR" or someone who's in charge of salary in a company.
I was on the group of 3 (2 HR), and was one of the HR. Before the meeting, my and my colleague thought about propose less of the 3000eu/months that we don't have to exceed : 2500eu. We thought about material advantages ! Our goal was to making the guy accept the job because our boss really wants him to join the team but we couldn't give him more than 3000eu/month.
The negotiation was very friendly, Missi, looking for the job, ask for 3000 euros at the beginning, and talked about advantages : company car, fuel.. All of us were on the same way, we presented him the advantages of the company, and our wish to work with him.
We present him the idea that in our company salary, perspectives of evolution are very flexibles and practices.
It was a win-win negotiation again !  After that we share our experiences with others, and ALL of the group has made a win-win negotiation..

After this course I just realise that negotiation can take place between people who have good relation, and without the feeling of someone is the winner and someone is the loser.
We just have to find the good compromise, and be able to make compromise. Sometimes we will have to make more efforts in one negotiation, but maybe on the other one it won't.
Before this courses I was thinking that on a negotiation none could find a 100% satisfaction during a negotiation. But this course shows me that we can. We just have to adapt what it's "satisfaction", what it's our "100%", during the negotiation.

If for example before coming to the meeting allowing to negotiate a salary, 3000eu was my 100% satisfaction, it could change in 2500eu+advantages+perspectives of evolution+good workplace..

To close this talk, we can remember that " Intelligence is that ability to adapt to change " !

Happy to see you on Friday again ! ;)

On the road to negotiate..

1st September is a day that announce lots of change in my life of exchange student in Tampere University of Technology from France. Let me tell you why ! As as student of management I've choose a course called "International Negotiation". Don't be afraid, those 2 words will become normal words at the end of this article. I've chosen this course because I think that as a future manager I've to improve my negotiate skills, or just discover the part of me which is able to do that.

I signed up the course, but I saw that this course gives priorities to non exchange student, because it's part of their grade (to bad for me).
As a novice negotiator I sent an email to one of the big negotiator in Finlande : Mrs O'Neill. I tried to tell her how I was determine to participe to this course. And she told me to come and then we will see how students will be present.
Phew.. I will can participate to this course this semester ! Good new to start this new month.
Moreover, I understood that Mrs O'Neill will give us all the secret keys to become good negotiator.. Let's become a NegoCiator..
I didn't follow a course that the main was to improve our negotiate skills during my studies in France. I don't really know what I want to become and which job I want to do in the future, but I know that I want to work on business and think that this course will help me getting clearing the woman I want to be-become.

When the word "negotiation" sounds I imagine : disparity, going to a meet trying to save our idea/deal.. loosely speaking not a win-win thing. I was thinking that it's the meet of two people who wants to find a golden mean but in which one wins and one loses. I can't imagine, in business, people finding a real golden mean..
Maybe it's because I don't have any negotiation skills, and the only negotiation I've try to get were with my mom, asking her if I can go out with my friends, if she cans give me more money, if i can tidy my room later..


In the Management field I know that I will be confront to negotiation and to people who will knows more about me in this subject. But 'impossible' it's not a french word, so I don't want to think that I will not become as good as them or better than them.
Let's Mrs O'Neill introduce the course with few presentation of it, of her, of the grade and of negotiation.
But then, I understood that the best way to negotiate is to know more about the person with which we will negotiate (and of course try to "won").
That's why she prepare a really funny game that consists in present ourselves giving our first name and a thing that we like and that it begin by the same letter of our first name (ex : I am Louiza and I like Lapland..)
Now I know that Miam likes Mango, Ibrahim likes Ice skating, Vanessa likes videos, Lucie likes Lion.. ! How funny was it. We all have to remember the name and what all people with passed before us likes.
Let's continue with an other game with is consists to ask questions about the hobbies, the trip..

Everything that could be simplify the negotiation. In fact, when you find a commun point with the other people, it make the negotiation easy. Because it create trust, confidence..

One of the thing I fell in those 3hours courses are that it will be lots of interactions because all students are from around the word, and cultures are very different on the field of negotiation.
I really look forward to know more about Chinese, Spanish, Finnish, German.. negotiation cultures. Because I am curious,because of the globalization and all it create in the business world & because I really want to know more about other cultures and I think that my Erasmus year in Tampere will help me with that !

So let's wait for the next course !