Page
Setting the Scene: Planning Your Objectives
Completion requirements
View
- In the early stages of framing, negotiators must also determine their goals, anticipate what they want to achieve and prepare for the negotiation process. They must define the issues to be discussed and analyse the conflict situation. In many cases, negotiators can appeal to research or consult with experts to help them develop a complete list of the issues at stake. Next, parties should assemble all the issues that have been defined into a comprehensive list.
- Parties must frame the problem and recognize that they have a common problem that they share an interest in solving. Frames are the conceptions that parties have of the situation and its risks. They allow the parties to begin to develop a shares definition of the issues involved and the process needed to resolve the problem. When the frames of both party's match, they are more likely to focus on common issues and have a common definition of the situation. However, when the frames do not match, communication between the parties is likely to be more difficult. Unless the different outlooks on the problem begin to overlap, it is unlikely that negotiations will be successful. If negotiators understand what frame they are operating from and what frame the other is operating from, they may be able to shift the conversation and develop common definitions. The way in which parties define the problem can shape the rest of the planning process.
- After assembling the list, the negotiators must prioritize their goals and evaluate the possible trade-offs among them. Negotiators must be aware of their goals and positions and must identify the concerns, desires and fears that underlie their substantive goals. They must determine which issues are most important, as well as whether the various issues are linked or separate. In addition, negotiators should be aware of the underlying interests and goals of the other side. Because the linkages between parties’ goals often define the issue to be settled, these goals must be determined carefully. If one party wants more than the other party is capable or willing to give, the disputants must either change their goals or end the negotiation.
- The next step is for negotiators to define specific targets with respect to the key issues on the agenda. Parties should try to figure out the best resolution they can expect, what counts as a fair and reasonable deal, and what a minimally acceptable deal is. They should also be aware of the strongest points in their position and recognize the strongest points in the other side’s position. This enables parties to become aware of the range of possible outcomes and to be flexible in what they will accept. It also improves the likelihood that they will arrive at a mutually satisfactory outcome.
- Planning for negotiation also involves the development of supporting arguments. Negotiators must be able to present supporting facts and arguments, anticipate how the other side will respond to these arguments and respond to the other party’s claims with counter-arguments. This includes locating facts to support one’s point of view, determining what sorts of arguments have been given in similar negotiations in the past, anticipating the arguments the other side is likely to make and presenting facts in the most convincing way possible.