Half-dozen Guidelines for "Getting to Yes"

These half dozen integrative negotiation skills can assistance you on your journey of getting to yes.

By — on / Negotiation Skills

getting to yes

In their revolutionary book Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (Penguin, 3rd edition, 2011), Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton introduced the world to the possibilities of mutual-gains negotiation, or integrative negotiation. The authors of Getting to Yes explained that negotiators don't have to choose between either waging a strictly competitive, win-lose negotiation battle or caving in to avoid conflict.

Rather, they argued, bargainers tin and should look for negotiation strategies that tin help both sides get more of what they want. By listening closely to each other, treating each other adequately, and jointly exploring options to increase value, negotiators tin find means of getting to yes that reduce the need to rely on difficult-bargaining tactics and unnecessary concessions.

one. Separate the people from the trouble.

In negotiation, it's piece of cake to forget that our counterparts have feelings, opinions, values, and unique backgrounds that contribute to what they practice and say during talks. When misunderstandings and conflict ascend in negotiation, we need to deal with the "people problem" direct rather than trying to gloss over it with concessions, co-ordinate to the authors of Getting to Yes. Strive to imagine the state of affairs from their analogue'due south viewpoint. If someone is refusing to back down from a hardline position, ask her how she thinks things are going. Exploring each side's perceptions openly and avoiding the tendency to blame are key negotiation skills.

2. Focus on interests, not positions.

We tend to begin our negotiation by stating our positions. A homeowner might say to a developer, for case, "I won't allow you to develop this holding." When we stake out firm positions, we set ourselves up for impasse. In our goal of getting to yeah, we need to depict out the interests underlying our analogue's positions by asking questions, such equally, "Why is this property important to y'all?" Past identifying what interests are motivating the other political party, and sharing your own interests, you can open up up opportunities to explore tradeoffs across issues and increase your odds of getting to yes.

3. Acquire to manage emotions.

Be sure that you and your analogue accept aplenty opportunities to express and discuss any potent emotions related to your negotiation. Allowing 1 some other to speak your heed will benefit both sides. "Freed from the burden of unexpressed emotions," write the authors in Getting to Yes, "people will become more likely to work on the problem." They tell the story of a labor-management grouping that "adopted the rule that only ane person could get angry at a time," a tactic that prevented arguments from escalating. When you know that you will accept your plough to express how you lot're feeling, it volition exist easier for you lot to mind when your counterpart has his turn.

4. Express appreciation.

Throughout his career at the vanguard of integrative negotiation, Fisher stressed the importance of expressing appreciation equally a means of breaking through impasse. "No one likes to feel unappreciated, and this is particularly true in a negotiation," Fisher once told Program on Negotiation managing director Susan Hackley. In their book Beyond Reason (Penguin, 2005), Fisher and Dan Shapiro advised negotiators to limited appreciation by working to understand the other's perspective, seeking merit in that perspective, and communicating understanding through words and actions—all critical negotiation skills.

5. Put a positive spin on your message.

Communicating in a positive way is a much more effective ways of getting to yes than blaming and criticizing. Instead of speaking on behalf of your group, speak just for yourself. For example, maxim "Everyone on the squad feels that you're non pulling your weight" to an employee is likely to distract her from your message, every bit she volition wonder who has been talking almost her and what they've said. Instead, talk about what you personally take observed and express your concern: "Your recent piece of work has fallen short of your loftier performance levels. Is there anything going on that is keeping you from doing your best?"

half dozen. Escape the bike of activity and reaction.

In Getting to Yes, Fisher, Ury, and Patton caution u.s.a. to avoid the common negotiation trap of activeness and reaction: "If the other side announces a house position, you may exist tempted to criticize and turn down it. If they criticize your proposal, you may be tempted to defend information technology and dig yourself in . . . if they push you hard, you will tend to push back." To caput off this vicious cycle, Fisher, Ury, and Patton introduce a negotiation skill they call negotiation jujitsu, which involves avoiding escalation by refusing to react. Instead, they propose u.s.a. to channel our resistance into more productive negotiation strategies, such as "exploring interests, inventing options for common proceeds, and searching for independent standards."

What methods have helped in you getting to yes?

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