Othman Azzouzi, Head of Legal at Network International in Morocco, shares the lessons he has learned negotiating across markets and cultures.
I have spent years sitting across negotiation tables that looked different but felt the same. Whether in Casablanca, Nairobi, or Dubai, there is always that quiet tension between what is said and what is meant. Over time, I realised that negotiation is not about who speaks louder or drafts faster, but about who listens better. The true leverage often lies in the calm between the sentences.
People often describe negotiation as a battle of wills. In reality, it is a conversation between intentions, between what each side says it wants and what it truly needs. After years of negotiating contracts across markets and cultures, I have come to see negotiation less as confrontation and more as orchestration. It is about balancing psychology, preparation, and timing in pursuit of alignment rather than victory.
From Defence to Strategy
Many lawyers approach negotiation defensively, trained to identify risk and minimise exposure. That instinct protects, but it does not always advance. The most effective negotiators do not see contracts as shields. They treat them as tools that enable business growth. They start with clarity, knowing what matters, what can move, and what must remain intact.
Most failed negotiations, in my experience, happen because intent is unclear. When you do not know your real objective, every clause feels existential. When purpose is defined, every concession becomes strategic. Negotiation begins before the meeting, in how you set your own priorities.
Tempo, Power, and the Art of Stillness
Power in negotiation is rarely fixed. It shifts with timing, need, and perception. Some negotiators rush to force closure. Others drag the process until momentum is lost. The real skill lies in managing tempo. Knowing when to push and when to pause often determines whether a deal progresses or collapses.
A few years ago, I was on a tense call with a General Counsel who rejected our pricing model outright. Instead of pushing back, I paused. Ten seconds of silence. In that short moment, he began speaking again, sharing concerns he had never mentioned. Those details allowed us to restructure the deal in a way that worked for both sides. That experience reminded me that silence is not the absence of strategy. Sometimes, it is the strategy.
The Psychology Beneath the Process
Negotiation is not purely rational. It is deeply human. Lawyers tend to be analytical and risk-aware, but these strengths can create blind spots. The desire for control can limit adaptability. The need to win can overshadow the broader objective.
Great negotiators understand their own psychological patterns. They can tell when ego is speaking instead of strategy. They know that influence comes not from dominance but from perception, by shaping how the other side sees fairness and value.
“Negotiation is rarely about changing someone’s mind. It is about helping the other side feel comfortable enough to move.”
Preparation is equally psychological. Entering a negotiation with a clear narrative that aligns legal positions with commercial goals changes the conversation. The most persuasive negotiators do not overwhelm with arguments. They align on purpose.
Emotional intelligence plays a decisive role. Behind most rigid positions lies fear: fear of loss, of being outmanoeuvred, of appearing weak. Recognising these emotions helps you address them. Negotiation is rarely about changing someone’s mind. It is about helping the other side feel comfortable enough to move.
Culture, Trust, and the Human Equation
In international negotiations, culture often decides what logic alone cannot. Some markets value relationships more than timelines; others value precision more than persuasion. Understanding these nuances is not courtesy. It is strategy.
I once negotiated with a West African partner who refused to discuss pricing until we had met in person. Emails and calls went nowhere. When I finally flew to meet him, he spent the first two hours talking about his family, his travels, and the local market. Not a single commercial point. Only after that conversation did he say, “Now we can talk business.” What followed was the smoothest negotiation of the year. What looked like inefficiency from a distance was, in his culture, a test of trust. Once that trust was built, the deal closed in days. That experience taught me that in some markets, the relationship is the negotiation.
At its core, negotiation is built on trust. Trust comes from consistency: how you listen, follow up, and manage disagreement. A counterpart who trusts you is far more likely to collaborate than to resist. Deals signed through pressure fade quickly. Deals built on confidence last.
Negotiation as Reflection
Every negotiation reflects the person behind it. It reveals how we handle conflict, uncertainty, and ego. The negotiators who evolve fastest are those who learn to manage themselves first, who stay composed under pressure and turn resistance into dialogue.
As the role of in-house lawyers expands, negotiation becomes less about redlining and more about influence. It requires seeing beyond the contract and understanding the relationship it represents.
In the end, negotiation is not about closing. It is about opening: opening perspectives, building trust, and creating frameworks that last. The real power of negotiation lies in intent, in knowing not just what you want but why you want it.
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