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1981Rhetoric

Fisher and Ury: negotiating by interests

The point, in one line

An argument over positions has no end. The question "why do you need that?" has one.

How it works

'We need room 305 on Thursday' is a position. 'We need a room for sixty people with a projector, in the evening' is an interest — and agreement is only possible in the second sentence.

PositionsInterests
Your positionwhat you are asking for: 'do it in February'
Their positionwhat they are asking for: 'do it in April'
Your interestwhy that timing matters to you — the intake of first-years, say
Their interestwhy that timing matters to them — the exams, say
Your sideThe other side
Fill the four boxes before the meeting; and before you walk away, answer what happens if you do not agree — that is your BATNA.
The same thing, in your club
  1. The situation

    A meeting about the conference date turns into a fight: half the team wants February, half wants April.

  2. What the model says

    This is a clash of positions. The question 'why does that timing matter to you?' opens the interests — one cares about the intake of first-years, another about exams — and a third option nobody proposed usually appears.

  3. What you do

    In this meeting ban dates for ten minutes and write down only the answers to 'why does that timing matter to you'.

What it claims

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Who created it

F+U1981
An illustrated emblem, not a portrait.
Roger Fisher (1922–2012) and William Ury (b. 1953)
1981

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Why this is your problem

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Why gslk uses it

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Where it runs in the product

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Source

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Rights and licence
In copyright

The primary source is in copyright. This page retells it in our own words and cites it rather than reproducing it.

What this connects to

These works are related to the one you just read — and not by accident:

Grounds these competency domains

Of the ten gslk competency domains, this work grounds:

The student version
Fisher and Ury: negotiating by interests

The same work written for a member: what to do with it in the club.

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