J, the Finance Director, is preparing for an important negotiation with P, the Marketing and Sales Director, regarding the way the company's sales targets will be set in the future. Whilst he is confident that he has a good case, he knows that having effective communication skills will be vital to the achievement of the forthcoming negotiation.

Explain to J the potential barriers to effective communication in the negotiation process and how they can be overcome.

At the preparation stage of the negotiation J first requires to consider himself in terms of the sender of the messages. He should explain the purpose of his message with P, the receiver, in mind and select the most appropriate language and medium for the message. For the negotiation this is likely to be face-to-face. J requires having a clear objective of what he needs to achieve from the communication which, in this case, will be a successful negotiation outcome.