Negotiation Techniques: How to keep the Br’er Rabbit out of the Brier Patch

I. General Overview

• Three phases of the negotiation process
• The information phase-each party endeavors to learn
as much as possible about the other side's
circumstances and objectives
• The competitive phase-negotiators try to obtain
beneficial terms for their respective clients
• The cooperative phase-multiple-item transactions are
involved, parties may enhance their joint interests

II. The Information Phase

• Focus in this phase is always on the knowledge and
desires of the opposing party.
• Negotiators must learn as much as possible about the
opposing side's range of potential and actual choices,
its preferences and their intensity, its planned
strategy, and its strengths and weaknesses.
• Negotiators must decide ahead of time what
information they are willing to disclose and what
information they must disclose if the transaction is
going to be fruitful.
• Blocking techniques should be planned in advance in
order to minimize unnecessary disclosure.

III. The Competitive Phase

• Negotiators articulate their own side's demands
• "Principled" offers and concessions
a. Successful negotiators establish high, but
rational, objectives and explain their entitlement to
these goals
b. Must provide opponents with a rational explanation
for modifications of their position.
• Argument
a. Factual and legal arguments are advanced.
b. Emotional appeals may be effective in some
circumstances.
c. Should be presented in comprehensive rather than
conclusionary manner.
• Threats and promises
a. Almost all negotiations involve the use of overt or
at least implicit threats; but must be believable.
b. Threats show the recalcitrant party, the cost of
disagreeing with offers.
c. A credible threat is one that is reasonably
proportionate to the action it is intended to defer ?
small ones are ignored, bug ones dismissed.
d. Negotiators should never use threats they don't
intend to carry out b/c it will undermine credibility.
e. Affirmative promise-"split the difference"? one
side agrees to move halfway and the other does the
same
• Silence and patience
a. Patience can be used with silence, it shows the
silent party that a response will be required before
further discussions.
• Limited authority
a. Whether fabricated or not, it allows the negotiator
to say they don't have the final authority and must
"check" with their absent principal before making a
final commitment.
b. The adversary hopes to get several concessions as a
prerequisite to negotiations with a negotiator with
real authority.
• Anger
a. If negotiators become angry, the may offend their
opponent and disclose information that they did not
wish to divulge.
• Aggressive behavior
a. Meant to convince an opponent of the seriousness of
their position, also to maintain control over the
agenda.
• Uproar
a. A few negotiators may try to obtain an advantage by
threatening dire consequences if their opponent does
not give them what they want.
• Settlement brochures and video presentations
a. A brochure states the factual and legal bases for
the claim being asserted.
b. Video depicts the way in which the defendant's
negligent behavior caused the severe injuries of the
plaintiff.
• Boulwareism
a. Determine ahead of time what willing to offer, and
formulate a complete "best-offer-first" package.
b. Present it as take it or leave it, and allow the
opposition time to prove that there is some
miscalculation or is circumstances changed.
c. Make one fair, firm offer for the case.
• Br'er Rabbit
a. Can be usd against win-lose opponents who do not
evaluate their results by how well they have done but
by an assessment of how poorly their adversary has
done.
• Mutt and Jeff
a. A seemingly reasonable negotiator professes
sympathy toward the "generous" concessions made by the
other while his partner rejects each new offer as
insufficient, castigating opponents for their
parsimonious concessions. The reasonable partner will
then suggest that additional concessions will have to
be made if there is any way to satisfy his associate.
• Belly-up
a. This type of bargainer is the most difficult to
deal with because they effectively refuse to
participate in the negotiating process.
b. Negotiators must force this person to negotiate and
never allow them to alter their planned strategy.
• Passive-aggressive behavior
a. This type of negotiator will use various tactics
like forgetting important documents or showing up late
to meetings.

IV. The Cooperative Phase
• Each side should prepare alternative formulations by
transferring certain terms from one side to the other
while moving other items in the opposite direction.
When these options are shown, then each negotiator
must candidly indicate whether any of the proposals re
preferable to the accord already achieved.

V. Satisfying Clients

**BRIDGET**