When a negotiation ends, our satisfaction with the final outcome doesn’t depend solely on how much we objectively gained or lost, according to research by Jared Curhan and Hen Xu of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Hillary Anger Elfenbein of the University of California at Berkeley. In fact, negotiator satisfaction hinges on four factors: our measurable gains and losses, how … read more »

When someone is reluctant to engage in negotiation, you might try to wear her down until she finally caves in. Before you risk becoming a pest, however, ask yourself a critical question: Am I talking to the right person?

When negotiators fail to map out the negotiation process in advance, they can encounter detours and dead ends, write David A. Lax … read more »

Suppose that you and your negotiating counterpart become deadlocked after exchanging a series of offers and counteroffers. With each of you anchored on very different positions, you can’t seem to find a solution that pleases you both.

Rather than making one offer at a time, try issuing multiple equivalent simultaneous offers, or MESOs. When you present multiple offers at the same … read more »

In this video, Eileen Babbitt, Director of the International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, outlines three types of obstacles that generate barriers in negotiations, and how to move beyond them. This video includes excerpts from a session taught by Dr. Babbitt at the Program on Negotiation for Senior Executives.

To learn more about … read more »

Imagine that after some negative experiences at the bargaining table, you’ve started to worry that you simply don’t have the right personality to be a great negotiator. The other party always seems to get the upper hand, and you can’t manage to come away with a favorable deal. What can you do to improve, or should you leave negotiating to … read more »

Getting a good night’s sleep and eating a healthy dinner might seem like obvious goals for parents to have for their young children, but kids won’t always agree. When faced with back talk, tantrums, and tears, most parents vacillate between laying down the law and giving in, depending on how irritated or exhausted they are in the moment.
Scott Brown, a … read more »

It’s often the case that when two people or organizations try to resolve a dispute by determining who is right, they get stuck. That’s why so many disputes end up in court.

There is a better way to resolve your dispute: by hiring an expert mediator who focuses not on rights but on interests—the needs, desires, or concerns that underlie each … read more »

At the time of the final presidential debate between President Jimmy Carter and challenger Ronald Reagan during the 1980 election campaign, the U.S. economy was tanking and the Iranian hostage crisis smoldering. Ronald Reagan used his concluding statement of the debate to address a string of questions to the nation that highlighted Carter’s vulnerabilities: “Are you better off now than … read more »

Adapted from “What Divides You May Unite You,” by James K. Sebenius (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, July 2005.

Some years ago, an English property development firm had assembled most of the land outside London that it needed to build a large regional hospital. Yet a key parcel remained, and its owner stubbornly resisted selling. The … read more »

Adapted from “How Much Should You Share?” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, April 2010.

The prospect of sharing information with a negotiating counterpart can be scary. Share too much, and the other side might conclude that you’re desperate to make a deal, any deal. There’s also the risk of giving away privileged information that your counterpart could use against … read more »