Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties intended to reach a beneficial outcome this beneficial outcome can be for all of the parties involved or just for one or some of them in situations in which a good outcome for one slash sum excludes the possibility of a desired result for the other slash others it is aimed to resolve points of difference to gain advantage for an individual or collective or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests it is often conducted by putting forward a position and making small concessions to achieve an agreement the degree to which the negotiating parties trust each other to implement the negotiated solution is a major factor in determining whether negotiations are successful negotiation is not a zero-sum game if there is no compromise the negotiations have failed when negotiations are at an impasse it is essential that both the parties acknowledge the difficulties and agree to work towards the solution at a later date negotiation occurs in business nonprofit organizations government branches legal proceedings among nations and in personal situations such as marriage divorce parenting and everyday life the study of the subject is called negotiation theory professional negotiators are often specialized such as union negotiators leveraged buyout negotiators peace negotiators hostage negotiators or may work under other titles such as diplomats legislators or brokers.