Trainer Profile - Experience

Peter Spence is the founding principal of SPANS and the organisation’s lead negotiation consultant, specialist agent, coach and trainer. Peter draws upon extensive practical expertise and experience as a high risk negotiator and investigator backed up by academic knowledge and research in the fields of dispute resolution, mediation, negotiation, human resource development, human relations and communications. Peter has prepared and delivered negotiation skills training to company Executives, CEOs, Directors, finance and medical professionals . His experience has extended to a variety of commercial and crisis negotiations and public dispute mediations.

Peter provides SPANS with the professional experience to help clients obtain maximum leverage and advantage during the negotiation process, enabling them to achieve desired outcomes and business synergies while developing improved relationships with negotiation partners.

Peter’s strong interest, knowledge and skill in negotiation theory, practice and education developed from a practical background as a former qualified police negotiator who was engaged in a number of high risk negotiations. He has worked as an independent negotiator, member and leader of highly skilled negotiation teams to successfully resolve high-risk situations. This early exposure to negotiation theory and practice encouraged Peter to undertake and complete tertiary studies in human relations and communications, and human resource development. Peter holds a B.Soc.Sc. degree from Southern Cross University, Australia, specialising in dispute/conflict resolution, group processes, mediation, negotiation, professional development and training. Peter also has tertiary qualifications in the field of Business Communications and has conducted tertiary research into cross cultural communication involving groups exposed to historical poor relationships and conflict.

Peter attended the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation in Boston , completing the certificate in ‘Teaching Negotiation in the Organisation’. His approach to training and development is aligned to the Harvard PON philosophy. Peter is an accredited workplace trainer and assessor.  He is currently pursuing further professional development through postgraduate research into the effectiveness of Negotiation Training in the development of collaborative enterprises (Organisational Networks, Strategic Alliances, complex inter and intra organisational project teams etc).

Choosing a Negotiation trainer, agent or coach to meet your needs is not an easy task and you may discover a growing roster of Negotiation training firms and individuals who present themselves as experts, yet lack the practical experience to support the 'off the shelf' educational workshops and content they deliver from the 'book' alone.  With practical experience ranging from high stakes, life and death negotiations, commercial, international trade and industry negotiations, complemented by comprehensive breadth of research, education/training as a practitioner and teacher of negotiation, you may be confident that Peter and the SPANS international associates will present you with the real deal and a total package to meet your negotiation needs.   If you are seeking to recruit the best, it would be difficult to go beyond specialists such as Peter Spence and his international associates at SPANS.

Peter has pursued a commitment to developing the capacity of SPANS for the purpose of providing a diverse and comprehensive range of negotiation support, intervention and training services to clients on a global level. As part of this strategy, Peter continues to develop a network of international associates who work with SPANS, drawing upon experience and expertise from a diverse range of negotiation and mediation backgrounds including International Diplomacy and relations, Public Dispute, Business and Trade, Capacity Building, Security, Organisational, Cross cultural and Medical-Legal negotiations.

Peter has established the SPANS Negotiations Forum, a network group dedicated to forming a community of practice of international negotiation experts, organizations and learning institutions for the purpose of developing and sharing in the research, practice and theory of negotiation.  This global forum includes many leading international practitioners, researchers and teachers in the field of negotiation.