Excellent course. I rarely negotiate in my day-to-day role, but the higher you advance, the more contracts and high-stakes conversations appear. But this course is really useful outside of work too — home projects, relationships, any situation where understanding what the other person actually needs changes the outcome.
The core idea that stuck with me is the power of truly understanding what the other person wants and needs. Once you see that clearly, you can find much better outcomes for everyone. Daylian makes the psychology practical and memorable. Highly recommend.

I recently completed my AS Levels, and during my summer break before starting A Levels, I decided to challenge myself by taking this course. As a high school student, I wasn't sure whether it would be the right fit for me because I wasn't sure if I was at the right academic stage to fully benefit from it. I'm so glad I enrolled. Professor Daylian Cain explains negotiation in a way that's engaging, practical, and easy to follow, even if you've never studied the subject before. One concept that really stayed with me was "elegant trades." It completely changed the way I think about negotiation and showed me that successful negotiation isn't about trying to "win"—it's about understanding what matters to the other person and creating value for both sides. What I appreciated most was how relevant the course is beyond business. The lessons apply to everyday conversations, teamwork, leadership, and decision-making. I would highly recommend this course to students, professionals, or anyone who wants to better understand how people make decisions and communicate more effectively. Thank you, Professor Daylian Cain, for creating such a thoughtful and engaging course.

This course is a no-brainer for anyone in sales, but it’s also incredibly useful for future job negotiations, car purchases, and even everyday life. As a husband and father of 2 daughters, I can already tell these skills will definitely be used daily at home 😂.

I genuinely think this was one of THE BEST online courses I’ve taken! What stood out to me most was Prof. Cain’s teaching style. Rather than simply presenting definitions and concepts, he constantly made them memorable through simple stories, real life examples, humor, and even the locations where he filmed. Discussing the "pie" in a pizzeria or secretive opponents outside one of Yale’s secret societies made the concepts feel tangible rather than like material I simply needed to memorize. I also LOVED the little glimpses of Yale throughout the course. 🥹 They gave the course a personality and sense of place that I haven’t experienced in many online courses. Looking back, I realized that Prof. Cain seemed to use some of the very principles he was teaching us in the way he designed the course! He "painted vivid value" rather than just explaining it. I especially loved the open loop with the Tree story: introducing his mother’s story and the tree at the very beginning, mentioning that perhaps we would get to see it later, and then finally ending with the photo of three generations of its guardians. 🌳 It was such a satisfying way to bring the entire course full circle... I don’t think I’ll ever forget what a “Tree” means in a negotiation now. Another thing I noticed is that with some online courses I need to stop after a module and come back later. With this one, I kept WANTING to see the next lesson, and then the next. The role plays made it even more engaging because I wasn’t just learning the concepts, I had to actually try to recognize and use them. Thank you, Prof. Cain, for creating such an engaging course. I came into it wanting to learn negotiation techniques, but I’m leaving it thinking quite differently about how value is created in a negotiation. I truly enjoyed it from beginning to end. 😊 P.S. Prof. Cain joked a few times that we were probably there for Yale, not for him 😂 ...and I have to admit, that was true when I enrolled. Yale was what initially caught my attention. But now that I’ve experienced his teaching, I would genuinely take another course simply because his name was on it, regardless of the university behind it.

As an attorney, a certified coach, and a PhD student in psychology, I approached this course with fairly high expectations — and it exceeded all of them. What sets "The Psychology of Negotiation: How to Find Elegant Trades" apart is its rare ability to bridge rigorous behavioral science with real-world application. The concept of "elegant trades" reframes negotiation not as a zero-sum battle, but as a collaborative puzzle where understanding the other party's underlying interests unlocks solutions that neither side would have found alone. That shift in mindset alone is worth the time investment. From a legal practice standpoint, the frameworks here are immediately applicable — whether you're in mediation, settlement discussions, or contract negotiations. The psychological principles underlying anchoring, framing, and value creation gave me a more nuanced vocabulary for what I'd been doing intuitively for years, and helped me identify blind spots I didn't know I had. As a coach, I found the material equally transferable. The insights on perspective-taking, emotional regulation, and uncovering hidden priorities are tools I've already started weaving into client sessions. And as a psychology PhD student, I appreciated that the content is firmly grounded in established research — it doesn't dumb things down or oversell pop-psychology shortcuts. The instructor strikes a confident balance between academic depth and practical clarity. If you work in law, business, leadership, coaching, or simply want to navigate life's everyday negotiations more skillfully, this course delivers. Highly recommended.

I recently completed The Psychology of Negotiation: How to Find Elegant Trades and thoroughly enjoyed it. As a parent of an 8-month-old baby, I wasn't sure I'd have time to finish, but the short, engaging videos made it easy to keep learning each evening. The course was practical, informative, and genuinely interesting. I especially enjoyed the AI negotiation exercises and the BoomShroom case study. In less than two weeks, I gained valuable negotiation skills and a much better understanding of concepts like BATNA, ZOPA, Pie and Trees which will help me in future job interviews and salary discussions. Thank you Prof. Cain for creating such a well-designed and engaging course!

After being in business and project manager and sales roles for many years, I knew this would be a great course to take. I wasn't a very long course, which was nice. It was packed with examples and tasks to really test the skills and knowledge gained in the course. Professor Cain was easy to understand and relateable in his story telling style, not boring and hard to tack with like others. I will use these skills in my business as well as everyday personal and home life. It was well worth my time.

Excellent course. I liked the short and impactful packaging of the elements to make it an incremental learning process. The bots used in the case studies are well done. I must admit that I had a bit of fun with them while learning a lot in the process. Highly recommended course.

Excellent course. I do daily negotiations with suppliers and internal stakeholders and found this course extremely helpful and very engaging.

Definitely in the top 3 courses I have ever taken here in Coursera. Dr Cain nailed it!

This is one of the best negotiation courses I have ever taken. As a Board Member and Commercial Director with nearly 30 years of business experience, I have read many books and attended numerous courses on negotiation. What makes Professor Cain’s course exceptional is its ability to combine academic rigor with practical tools that can be applied immediately in real-world negotiations. The concept of “Trees” alone has fundamentally changed the way I prepare for and conduct negotiations. Instead of focusing solely on positions and price, I now spend more time uncovering interests, priorities, and hidden sources of value. The result is better outcomes, stronger relationships, and more creative agreements. Professor Cain is an outstanding instructor—engaging, insightful, and remarkably effective at turning complex ideas into simple, memorable frameworks. The course is full of actionable lessons, excellent examples, and concepts that stay with you long after the videos end. I highly recommend this course to anyone involved in business, leadership, sales, procurement, law, entrepreneurship, or any field where negotiation matters. A truly outstanding learning experience from Yale.

I wanted to learn about negotiations so I asked Gemini what is the best negotiation course I should try and it ranked this course as the top 1 for me to try. I began this course with no knowledge of what negotiation techniques are other than the gut techniques like trying to pressure someone by saying someone else also asked for it but completed the course with a vast knowledge about negotiation skills that i can use in business and day to day life. The AI bots also helped a lot as I was able to test my negotiation skills with them. Overall professor Daylian does a wonderful job teaching this course which retains the starting energy throughout the course.

This course offers a refreshing approach to negotiation by focusing on interests rather than positions. Professor Daylian Cain explains how to create elegant trades that expand value rather than simply compromise. The examples are practical, engaging, and immediately applicable in professional settings. I also appreciated the immersive learning experience, with insights into Yale and New Haven woven throughout the course. Highly recommended for leaders, managers, healthcare professionals, and anyone seeking to become a more effective negotiator.

I’ve completed many online courses, including a lot of Coursera and Yale MOOCs. But this one does stands out Prof Daylian Cain has done an exceptional job making the content genuinely engaging. I really enjoyed the material, the chat bots, the challenges, and the practical tips, all of which feel immediately useful. I think I may recommend this to my sales team. Highly recommend.

Professor Cain's explanations are very easy to understand, even for those unfamiliar with the business or negotiation worlds. Furthermore, the Bot featured in this course is highly dynamic and provides a realistic picture of how negotiations play out in the real world. I highly recommend this course to anyone who is new to negotiation.

Professor Daylian has explain the base concept of negotiation in a simple, memorable and fun way. Together with the interactive AI chat bot, you can have a good practice what you've learned. I recommend this course for everyone. Whether you are going to step into the business world or just curious about how it works (like me).

This was a great course that covered relevant materials in a easy learning style. Bots allowed easy intro to negotiation that takes some of the emotions out which helped me prepare for live negotiation. Would love to see a course on negotiation strategies and preparing for contract negotiations. Thanks

As an engineer, I did not have much training in negotiations in college. However, negotiations are important in the corporate world. This course helped me learn how to negotiate strategically and hold my own against my lawyer husband ;). I can't wait to take more negotiation classes from this professor!

I found this course to be highly engaging and well-structured, offering clear and accessible content along with effective interactive tools to assess one's abilities. I particularly valued the personal examples, which significantly enhanced my understanding of the material.

What a valuable and engaging learning experience. The interactive AI role-playing exercises and real-world case studies made the content practical, impactful, and highly effective. Looking forward to applying these new skills and insights.