By Adina Mobin, Negotiation Works volunteer

Jasmine Goodwin — Jasmin Goodwin is one of the former participants in Negotiation Works’ negotiation skills classes.

Jasmin is a proud member of the Negotiation Works community and a former participant in its negotiation workshop. She discovered Negotiation Works through Urban Ed, a D.C.-based non-profit focused on improving technology literacy for youth and adults. Beyond her involvement with Negotiation Works and Urban Ed, Jasmin is a jack of all trades. A high school senior actively applying to college, she is also co-captain of her school’s hip-hop dance team, a talented crocheter, and the founder/CEO of Custom Royalty Crochet. Jasmin taught herself to crochet using YouTube after she bought the materials on a whim. Now, her business is over a year old, and she plans to take it to college, sharing her passion for crocheting by teaching others through clubs or classes. “I really enjoy sharing it with other people, and seeing their joy makes me happy!”

Jasmin enjoyed every moment of the four-week negotiations class, describing the instructors as supportive and open. She found the course engaging and a meaningful way to bond with others in the community. “I didn’t realize how often we negotiate in daily life,” she shared, using the example of a child asking their parents for a reward in exchange for cleaning their room. Initially, participants had unique understandings of negotiation, but by the end, “we all collectively learned a lot and grew in our own ways.”

Negotiation Strategies Fueling Business Success

In her business, Jasmin uses strategies like offering $5 off for first-time customers and using custom order forms to manage requests from social media. Her purchasing policy communicates her time commitments and availability, ensuring clear expectations during peak seasons. This transparency helps her and her customers agree on timelines and pricing more efficiently.

One of the ways that Jasmin has been able to use the lessons she learned in class is when she negotiates prices with customers who expressed interest in her pieces but couldn’t afford them, allowing her customers the chance to purchase the items they liked. She even customizes items for children or adjusts sizes at pop-up shops, which shows how she is able to widen her audience and make everyone feel welcomed in her community. She said a huge aspect of negotiation is the non-verbal aspects. “There is non-verbal negotiation, which is often used in advertising.” She has used non-verbal negotiation the most in her business by providing incentives to her customers who complete surveys that help improve her products and marketing. Jasmin said that customer satisfaction is her highest priority.

Jasmin credits the Negotiation Works class for improving her understanding of negotiation. “The whole idea of making something work for two different parties came to my attention after I took the class. I didn’t realize I was already negotiating!”

Lessons That Last

“One of the most memorable things I learned in class was the idea of preparing for negotiation beforehand. That is something that I did not understand was a conscious part of negotiation.” She said, “You can go into a negotiation blind, but you can’t expect to get the results that you want. I learned that planning ahead is important, as is thinking about what the other person may want and their underlying intentions and beliefs.” She referenced the iceberg analogy where at the tip of the iceberg, you might know a person’s stance in a negotiation situation, but under the surface, the person might have many other positions that can align with your own.

Jasmin also embraced the concept of reworking a “no.” “We can’t always get exactly what we want, but we can often find something that benefits us,” she said. This perspective helps her navigate both business negotiations and everyday life.

Seeing the Potential

Jasmin enthusiastically recommends the class to others, including her mother, who often negotiates in her customer-facing job. “Negotiation happens all the time,” she explained. Simply put, “Negotiation equals persuasive communication.”

Her biggest takeaway? Negotiation isn’t always about reaching a full consensus. Jasmin stated, “It’s okay not to get 100% of what you want. Negotiation is the in-between point between walking away and your BATNA [Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement]. Sometimes, we walk away too fast and miss the potential.”