“From Demands to Needs – the Power of Needs-based Negotiation” – Episode #4

The information I share with you in this episode builds upon the information in Episode #3 – “When the Need Arises”. I discuss needs-based negotiation and how it applies to conflict transformation. When people are in conflict, negotiation is usually not the first thing on their mind when thinking about how they’re going to approach the person they’re in conflict with. Most often, we’re thinking about how we’re going to prove that they’re wrong and we are right, or how we’re going to coerce or even force them to give us what we want, and how we’ll punish them if they don’t.

Yet, if conflict is to truly be resolved and transformed into  a better situation for all involved and affected, it will require some negotiation. We come into negotiation fully armed with our position – what we want and will demand to happen. Any experienced negotiator will tell you that negotiation based on positions is very difficult and often futile. It’s when we delve beneath the positions to the interests that inspire each person’s position, or – even better – to the deeper level of the needs that feed the interests, that we can negotiate agreements that create win/win solutions that meet all involved and affected and result in true conflict transformation.