MasterClass Launches Certificate Course to Help Professionals Negotiate Anything -- From Deals to Careers to Everyday Conversations

Led by Columbia Law School Mediation Clinic director and U.N. negotiation trainer Alexandra Carter, alongside experts who've represented some of the biggest names in sports and closed billion-dollar deals, the course teaches professionals how to spot opportunities others miss and make it easier for the other side to say yes

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- MasterClass, the personalized learning platform unlocking human potential with the world's best, today announced the launch of Negotiate to Win: Essentials for Leaders, a MasterClass Certificates course led by Alexandra Carter, director of Columbia Law School's Mediation Clinic, alongside Craig Silliman, former president of Verizon Global Services, and MasterClass instructor Rich Paul, founder and CEO of Klutch Sports Group. In this course, learners watch video lessons, complete practical exercises, and build a capstone project designed to help them prepare for high-stakes conversations, uncover hidden priorities, and reach agreements that hold up over time. Enrollment is open now.

Negotiation comes up constantly — over pay, deadlines, contracts and even responsibilities at home. Yet most people are never taught how to do it well. They accept the first offer, or they raise the issue once, get a no and drop it. This Certificates course treats negotiation as a conversation to be steered rather than a contest to be won, giving learners the mindset, method and reusable skills to stop avoiding negotiation and start embracing it.

The instructors:

• Alexandra Carter, director of Columbia Law School's Mediation Clinic and author of the bestseller Ask for More: 10 Questions to Negotiate Anything. She has helped millions of leaders, executives, entrepreneurs and professionals negotiate with greater confidence, create more value and walk away with stronger relationships — not just better deals.
• Craig Silliman, former president of Verizon Global Services. A strategic negotiator operating at the intersection of business, law, regulation and public policy, Silliman led global organizations across more than 20 countries and secured regulatory approvals for tens of billions of dollars in acquisitions.

How the course works:
The course is structured around eight modules that follow two negotiations — a salary conversation and a business deal — from preparation through close. Real-world examples range from Verizon's renegotiation of its Yahoo acquisition after the largest data breach on record at the time, to Rich Paul's holdout on Tristan Thompson's NBA contract, to a live coaching session with Alexandra Carter in which an analyst makes the case for a manager title and a $20,000 raise. Learners practice in an AI roleplay and finish with a personalized Negotiation Playbook, a reusable document they can return to before every important conversation.

Certificate earners who complete the course will be able to:

• Negotiate with clarity and confidence in professional and everyday situations.
• Prepare for high-stakes conversations by identifying goals, priorities and trade-offs in advance.
• Use open questions to uncover interests and guide a negotiation toward a better outcome.
• Work through conflict and difficult conversations without damaging the relationship.
• Build mutually beneficial agreements instead of zero-sum compromises.
• Make the case for their own value when negotiating salary, promotions, resources and opportunities.

"Most of us were taught that negotiation means holding a position and waiting for the other side to blink," Carter says. "That approach leaves value on the table and costs you relationships you'll need later. If you want to make more money while also strengthening those relationships, the skill worth learning is asking the right questions — you only need about 10 of them to unlock maximum value. Once you have those, you can negotiate anything."

Pricing:
MasterClass Certificates courses start at $349. For more information about MasterClass Certificates, please visit: masterclass.com/certificates.

Trailer Linked Here: https://youtu.be/WVzFIfPGhAw 

About MasterClass:
MasterClass is the personalized learning platform that unlocks human potential with the world's best instructors. A membership provides unlimited access to 200+ instructors and classes in a variety of formats and subjects, including business and leadership, communication, health and wellness, writing and more—available anytime, anywhere, on mobile, tablet, desktop, Apple TV®, Android™TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku®. Learn negotiation from Chris Voss. Build a business with Mark Cuban. Cook with Gordon Ramsay. Write with Shonda Rhimes. Navigate relationships with Esther Perel. Make bold choices with Samuel L. Jackson.

Beyond its core membership, MasterClass offers advanced learning experiences built for the AI era. MasterClass Executive is an AI-native business education experience for working professionals who want to advance their careers, without pausing them or taking on debt. The MasterClass On Call beta enables members to learn from and prepare for their high-stakes conversations through AI-powered feedback, roleplays and real-time coaching from the world's best, while MasterClass Certificates, developed with leading companies, equips learners with in-demand skills for fast-changing careers. For organizations, MasterClass at Work provides flexible training solutions that build essential skills across all levels of an enterprise.

Media Contact:
Tawnya Bear, MasterClass
[email protected]

SOURCE MasterClass