Negotiating with Powerful People, Pt. 2

In our previous post, we wrote about one of the key tools in the Ombuds toolkit, the BATNA, or “Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement,” and how it can help you negotiate with a more powerful partner. As described in “Getting to Yes,”[1] knowing your BATNA can help you to realistically examine both your own position and the “offer” on the table from the other side and can help you avoid accepting a deal that makes you worse off. It can also help to identify areas where you can maximize and grow your leverage.

We work with our visitors to Identify and generate BATNAs because doing so is a way to gain a kind of power in negotiations insofar as it creates alternatives that give you a choice. Knowing your BATNA means that even if you cannot change the other party’s behavior, at least you have control over yourself and the options you have.

But the BATNA is not the only tool we use to help level the playing field. Fisher and Ury identify several other kinds of negotiating power that can be developed to “balance the playing field” somewhat in negotiations with more powerful parties. Among the options they discuss are:

(1) DEVELOPING GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIPS. Good working relationships enhance your negotiating power by increasing your ability to influence the other party. Good working relationships are based on trust: if the other party trusts you, they will be more likely to cooperate or compromise. The trick is that to develop trust, you also must trust the other side! This tool requires a kind of non-zero-sum thinking—to influence, you also must be open to being influenced. As Fisher and Ury write, “[t]hat you can trust the other side increases their ability to influence you. But you also benefit.” By cultivating good working relationships, one can remain persuasive and influential even where the other “party” is in a position of authority.

 (2) EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. Effective communication—both speaking and listening—is another significant source of negotiating power.  Importantly, effective communication is not simply conveying a message with punch; it also means listening well. Fisher and Ury note that good listening “can increase your negotiating power by increasing the information you have about the other side’s interests or about possible options.” It also increases your ability to persuade someone by showing that you have heard and understood them. “When the other side feels heard by you, they are more apt to listen to you.”

(3) UNDERSTANDING INTERESTS. “The more clearly you understand the other side’s concerns, the better able you will be to satisfy them at minimum cost to yourself.” We often like to say that listening does not imply agreement—it simply helps you understand the other person’s perspective beyond their “stated position” so that you can find placed where your mutual interests may align. Effective questions, such as simply asking “why” someone is demanding a particular item or action, can be of enormous help to identify the underlying interests of the other side. Once you identify these interests, you are in a much better position to advocate because you can frame your “ask” in terms of their interests, potentially making any resolution feel like a win-win!

As Ombuds, we often look to find ways for our visitors to improve their relationships, communication, and understanding--even if only incremental or in the short-term—because these strategies are among the most effective ways to advocate for one’s goals.  Of course, it can be very helpful to have a confidential, objective person to think through how best to use these tools. You can help us by first thinking through (1) what barriers exist to the above strategies, and (2) what would a short-term improvement look like? We will then work with you to hone an effective strategy.

[1] Fisher, R. and Ury, W. (1977). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York: Penguin Books.