An agreement, demand, offer, or promise by one or more parties, and any formalization of that agreement. Commitment is commonly signaled by words such as, “I will offer,” I demand,” “We agree,” or “I promise not to…” Commitments can occur at any point in a negotiation and encompass anything from a minor procedural point (for example, a shared understanding of an agenda) to final and complete agreement, and anything in between (agreement to meet again; agreement on some terms, but not all). (Michael L. Moffitt and Robert C. Bordone, eds., Handbook of Dispute Resolution [Program on Negotiation/Jossey-Bass, 2005], 284)
