Prof. Daylian Cain Launches Coursera Course on Psychology of Negotiation
The new online course, open to anyone, teaches participants how to advocate for themselves during negotiations and make advantageous deals.
Daylian Cain, senior lecturer in negotiation, sales, and leadership, researches the behavioral science behind business decision-making and teaches the art of negotiation and sales to SOM students (as well as New Haven business owners). Now, he has made some of his scholarship available to the general public through a Coursera course called The Psychology of Negotiation: How to Find Elegant Trades.
The course includes four modules focused on topics such as defining a value proposition, crafting deals that have optimal “give and take,” and navigating adversarial negotiations against powerful or secretive opponents. Each module contains videos along with interactive cases in which students negotiate against AI opponents—for example, selling a handcrafted bench to a wealthy homeowner, buying a chain of businesses, or securing a competitive salary. Another optional case asks students to recruit a friend to close a hypothetical brand deal.
“I was thrilled to launch a course that even my friends back home in Nova Scotia can afford,” Cain said. “A few weeks after launch, over 8,000 students have enrolled and the course has a perfect 5.0 rating. The first learner to complete the course ranked it among his top three Coursera courses, out of over 250 he’d taken. I’m beside myself with excitement.”
Other Coursera courses offered by Yale SOM faculty include Creating Change through Social Entrepreneurship, offered by Professor Teresa Chahine; The Global Financial Crisis, taught by Professor Andrew Metrick and former treasury secretary Timothy Geithner; Introduction to Negotiation, taught by Professor Barry Nalebuff; and Financial Markets, taught by Professor Robert Shiller.
