Negotiating over email has its own unique challenges and opportunities. For example, people often assume that others read their emails immediately; failing to account for reasonable delays, they may experience anxiety when they don’t receive a prompt response. On the plus side, email negotiations provide a permanent record of what has been discussed, which can serve as a useful reference point. Trying to engage in difficult conversations over email can be challenging, given that communication is limited to text. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) has a simulation to help students learn how to successfully engage in difficult conversations over email: Rose Lane.
Rose Lane – Featured Email Simulation
This two-party, email-based, multi-issue issue negotiation deals with a dispute between neighbors on Rose Lane in the picturesque town of Pottenstein, Germany. They face the challenge of having difficult conversations in a relationship low in trust.
Harberer rents out their a home on Rose Lane on the popular home-sharing site HomeBNB and entrusts management of the rental to a daughter, Julia. Over the course of two years, large groups of rock climbers frequently rent the home and disrupt the quiet neighborhood.
M. Schmidt, a resident of Rose Lane, has grown increasingly frustrated by the noise and late-night partying. Schmidt and Haberer have not been in contact since they met two years earlier, when Haberer first bought the property. Schmidt has had difficulty reaching Haberer to complain about the noise and disruption.
Frustrated, Schmidt mobilized the neighborhood’s social media group and also reached out to the local government. The City Council told the parties to come to a resolution within 30 days or accept its region-wide ruling on the issue of short-term home rentals. Haberer, meanwhile, is offended to hear about Schmidt’s complaints on social media.
Schmidt and Haberer will email each other to see if they can find a resolution to this conflict. For both parties, their alternatives to agreement with one another are not good. If the City Council rules to restrict home sharing within the region, Schmidt is worried they will be blamed. If the Council does not restrict home sharing, Schmidt faces an uncertain future: They don’t want to live near the rental, but can’t afford to move. Haberer fears increased restrictions on home sharing. They are not financially ready to retire and move to Rose Lane, but they can’t afford to sell the house.
Major lessons of this simulation include:
- Identifying challenges related to negotiating via email.
- Generating strategies to overcome these challenges.
- Negotiating with very weak alternatives (a “bad BATNA”).
- Having difficult conversations in relationships with low trust.
Download a free preview copy of the Rose Lane Teacher’s Package to learn more about this simulation.
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TNRC negotiation exercises and teaching materials are designed for educational purposes. They are used in college classroom settings or corporate training settings; used by mediators and facilitators seeking to introduce their clients to a process or issue; and used by individuals who want to enhance their negotiation skills and knowledge.
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