The best negotiation skills training lets your team practise real decisions under pressure, with incomplete information, and then talk through what happened. Our Aces High workshop does exactly that around a poker table. It is team building with real business value: an immersive experience, designed for complete beginners, that builds reading the room, deep listening, knowing your value and staying calm when the pressure is on. We bring it to your office or a venue anywhere in London, for teams of 6 to 60+, with zero gambling.
What should negotiation skills training cover?
Practice, above all. Most people know they should listen more and talk less in a negotiation. The hard part is doing it when a deal, a deadline or a colleague is pushing back.
At work, a negotiation usually means a room of people who see things differently: sales pushing for speed, legal considering risks and finance managing the budget. Everyone is playing different cards and trying to land on the right call with incomplete information. That is the bit we practise at Aces High.
Three things to look for in any negotiation training:
Live practice: decisions made in the moment, with real pressure and real consequences.
Honest reflection: a facilitator who helps each person see what they did and why.
Room for every level: something for the quiet new joiner and the seasoned dealmaker alike.
Why does poker work for negotiation training?
Every hand is a small negotiation. You weigh up what your position is worth, read the people opposite you, choose when to speak and when to wait, and commit before you have the full picture. Aces High recreates those high-stakes conditions, where every move has consequences, so the lessons land in the moment.
Our founder Jo Living saw the parallels first-hand, from her days in banking to the world of tech startups. A few lessons come up around our tables again and again:
Let the most senior person speak last. The highest paid person's opinion tends to steer a room, so hearing everyone else first brings out more information.
Know when to hold, when to fold, and use the power of the pause. A moment of silence buys you thinking time and gives the other side room to say more.
Judge a decision by how it was made. A good call can still lose a hand, and risk and reward thinking is what separates good decisions from lucky ones.
What happens in the workshop?
Our signature workshop runs in four parts:
Traitor or faithful? A Traitors-style body language game of bluff, to learn to read the room like a pro.
Strategy in action: a beginner tutorial and a team challenge that dives into negotiation and deep listening.
Poker personality: discover your poker personality profile and how it shows up at the negotiating table.
Tournament time! Try your negotiation tactics and poker face to win prizes, trophies and bragging rights!
Our facilitators draw out the moments that matter as they happen, and connect them to the conversations your team has at work.
Which negotiation skills will your team take back to the office?
Read the room: the real information lives in pacing, posture and hesitation, and we teach you to notice the signals most people miss.
Deep listening: tuning into what is said, what is not said, and how the story is shifting in real time.
Know and assert your value: timing your contribution and communicating your value decisively, whether you are negotiating a deal, pitching an idea or setting boundaries.
Self-regulation: understanding your stress response, so you can think clearly and make your move when the pressure is on.
“The business parallels were spot on ... learning why negotiations fail, and ensuring everyone around the table can assert their value.”
Anthony York, Group People Director, IP Global
Can it be tailored to a sales, legal or finance team?
Yes. We create custom learning and development experiences around your outcomes, from sales training to trading simulations for investment teams, assessment centres for recruiters and graduate training programmes exploring risk and reward. We can zoom in on negotiation alone, or set poker aside altogether and run simplified bidding games and negotiation challenges.
If your firm is in law, consulting, accountancy or finance, you may also like our article on team building for professional services firms in London.
Does anyone need to know how to play poker?
No. Our workshops are designed for complete beginners, and our facilitators guide the group through the basics step by step. Experienced players are challenged too, so everyone leaves with something new.
There is never any gambling at an Aces High event. Nobody stakes money, and everyone gets a seat at the table.
Where can we hold it, and for how many people?
Anywhere with a private room. We are fully mobile and bring everything we need to your office, a hotel or a function room, or we can recommend partner venues across London. We typically host teams of 6 to 60+, in tables of up to eight, and we can host much larger, bespoke events too.
Questions before booking
How long is the workshop?
Our signature workshop is neatly packaged into under 4 hours, including breaks. However, all workshops are fully bespoke, so we can work to your session timings.
Is there any gambling?
No, never. Nobody stakes money at any point.
Can it sit inside a leadership or sales programme?
Yes. Our workshop can sit alongside a working session or training day, and we tailor the timings and content to your programme.
Do you only work in London?
We are based in London and travel for events further afield, so please get in touch wherever your team is.
To plan a negotiation workshop for your team and receive a tailored proposal, tell us about your event on our contact page.
