The fundamentals
Positions and interests: the distinction that unlocks
This may be the highest-return skill in negotiation: stop fighting over what each side demands, and understand what each side actually needs.
The position, the interest
The position is the stated demand: « I want 300,000 », « I want that orange ». The interest is the need behind it: securing a retirement, baking a cake. Two positions can clash head-on while the interests are perfectly compatible.
The famous example: two sisters argue over an orange and end up cutting it in half. One wanted the juice, the other the peel for a cake. By staying on their positions, each got half of what she could have had. The question « why? » would have changed everything.
Moving from positions to interests
Look for the reason behind the demand, rather than negotiating the demand itself.
Interests surface when the other side feels safe, not when you contradict them.
Most negotiations mix all three. You build the agreement on the first two.
Sources
- Roger Fisher and William Ury, Getting to Yes (1981).
- Mary Parker Follett, work on the integration of interests (1920s).