Module 1 · Chapter 2

Interests vs Positions: How to Prepare a Negotiation

Each side asks for things, but the ask is not the whole story. This chapter shows how to find the need behind each ask, and how to write it down before the talks begin.

≈ 7 min read 8-question test

In this chapter

  • The difference between what a side asks for and what it needs
  • What each side in this renewal needs, and why
  • What a side has done can show a need its letters leave out

2.1Interests and positions in one paragraph

A position is what a side asks for, such as five years. An interest is the need behind the ask. Two positions can clash while the interests behind them fit together. So before the talks, you write down both sides’ interests in a preparation sheet. Kestrow, the garage that services Polgarrow’s vans, has not given all its reasons, so its part of the sheet holds guesses.

Key point

Before the talks, find the need behind each ask. A need can often be met in more than one way. An ask can only be granted or refused.

Also in this chapter

  1. What a side asks for, and why it asks
  2. What each side needs from the new contract
  3. Why Kestrow never raised its prices
  4. Your job

Preview

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