Anatomy of a NegotiationWarner Brothers In-house Training

April 21, 2010

Victoria Pynchon, Esq.• ADR Services, Inc.

• American Arbitration Association• Distinguished Neutral,

• International Institute of Conflict Prevention and Resolution

The Settle It Now! Negotiation Bloghttp://negotiationlawblog.com

The IP ADR Bloghttp://ipadrblog.com

The Mental Game

Prepare to Negotiate

• See and seize the opportunity

• Every negotiation a small conflict story

• Contentious conflict resolution tactics– Ingratiation– Gamesmanship– Shaming– Argument– Promises– Threats– Physical force

Surprise

Instilling Fear

Value of partnership

Assert Authority

Assert Ownership

Diminish Other

Ingratiation

Seize Opportunity

Terrence has Succeeded in Unnerving Ari

Gamesmanship

The Games Begin

Assess & Capture Field of Play

• Bargaining from position of strength– Identify

stakeholders– Gather & gain their

loyalty– Make a long term

plan (strategy)• Distributive• Interest-based

– Engage tactics• Rules of influence• Contentious vs.

Collaborative

Gamesmanship

Enforcing rules

Exclusion

Rules/authority

Shaming

Seizing Power

Shaming

Convening and Recovering Power

Home court advantage

Assert Authority

Shaming

Apologies

Neutral territory

Using agents

Appeal to Rules

At the Table Tactics

Appeal to “the way we’ve always done things”

Appeal to fairness

Insulting first offer

Reason giving

Empty Assurances

Predict future

Demand for Concession

Repeated demand

Ari is So Defeated He Isn’t Even Bargaining

Anchoring, Framing, Contentious Tactics, Threatening, Bluffing

Contentious Distributive Strategy and Tactics

• Changing the other guy’s mind–Fairness–Exchanging

power for sympathy

• Framing the “deal”

• Anchoring

AnchoringFraming

Threats

Argument

Bargaining

Bluffing

Closing

A Man with a Negotiation Strategy and the Tactics to Carry it OutPosturing

Re-Anchoring

“Countering”

Claiming Value

Coalitions

Building and Deploying Coalitions

• In the foreboding world of rational choice, everyone is a raging Dirt-Bag. Political Scientist Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

• What are their interests?– needs, preferences, desires, fears,

risk-courting or risk-averse– today and in the future

• What are their constraints?– Hidden stakeholders– Precedent– Rules– Institutional demands– Personal ambitions

• Where are their loyalties?

Building, Using and Breaking Coalitionsvalue of surprise

choice of coalition partners

breaking coalitions

bonding

promises

threats

name calling

breach of promise

appealing to group loyalties

threat of litigation

re-aligning coalition

stealing the clients

New Stakeholders

Closing

Ready to move

Deploy stakeholders

Stakeholders’ Interests

Appeal to the future

Strategic partners

Diagnostic questions

Bargaining

Revolt

Set up & timing

• Contentious tactics– Ingratiation,

gamesmanship, shaming, persuasive arguments, promises, threats, force

– Framing and anchoring– Appeal to authority &

rules– Fairness

• Interest based tactics– Needs, desires,

preferences, fears– Diagnostic questions

• Managing stakeholders– Set-up and Timing– Bargaining– Closing

Every Negotiation is a Conflict Story and You are its Producer, Writer, Director and Actor

QUESTIONS?