Getting to Yes

Sometimes the other side refuses to play the negotiation game. They refuse to budge from their demands, attack the other party's proposals, and only seek agreements for their own self-interest. There are three approaches for dealing with negotiators that refuse to negotiate. First, concentrate on the merits. Second, utilize "negotiation jujitsu" to bring the other party in line. Negotiation jujitsu simply means to refuse to respond to the other party's positional bargaining. When the other side attacks, the principles party should not counterattack, but should deflect the attack back onto the problem. When the first two approaches fail, the one-text approach may be used. In this approach, a third party is brought in. The third party interviews each side separately to determine their underlying interests, assembles a list of these interests, and asks each side for their comments and criticisms of the list. The third party then takes those comments and draws up a proposal that is given to the parties to be returned again for more comments. This will continue until the third party feels that no further improvements can be made. At this point, the parties either accept the proposal or abandon the negotiations.…