Getng To Yes- Negotatng Agreement Without Giving In- By Roger Fisher and William UryI. Don’t Bargain Over PositonsAny method of negotaton may be fairly judged by three criteria:It should produce a wise agreement if agreement is possibleit should be efcientAnd it should not damage the relatonship between the partesA wise agreement can be defned as one that meets the legitmate interests of each side to the extent possible,resolves confictng interests fairly, is durable and takes community interests into account.Arguing over positons is inefcientNegotators tend to lock themselves into their positons. The more they clarify their positon and defend it, themore commited they are to it. Ego gets involved.The more they try to convince the other side of their positon, the more difcult it becomes to compromise.Negotators start by taking an extreme positon and taking small concessions only to keep negotatng going. Thesame is true for the other side.The more extreme the more drawn out the negotatonBeing nice is no answerPursuing a sof and friendly form of positonal bargaining makes you vulnerable to someone who plays a hardgame of positonal bargaining.If your response to sustained, hard positonal bargaining is sof positonal bargaining, you will probably lose yourshirt.There is an alternatve –principled negotatoncan be boiled down to four basic points:People –separate the people from the problem. The partcipants should see themselves as working side by side,atacking the problem, not each otherInterests– focus on interests, not positonsOptons– Generate a variety of possibilites for mutual gain before deciding what to doCriteria– Insist that the result be based on some objectve standardII. Separate the People from the ProblemNegotators are people frst –You are dealing with human beings, not abstract representatves. They have emotons, deeply held values, anddiferent backgrounds and viewpoints.Be sensitve to the people around you.Put yourself in their shoes –Seeing the situaton as the other side sees it, is one of the most important skills a negotator can possess.If you want to infuence them, you also need to understand empathetcally their point of view.Understanding their point of view is not the same as agreeing with it.Address the other side’s concernsIt is common in negotaton to treat as “unimportant” those concerns of the other side perceived as not standingin the way of an agreement.
