Editing Negotiation (section)

== <span style="color: #FFFFFF;">Creating</span> ==
Designing a negotiation strategy for a high-stakes deal:

; Build the information architecture first
: Before any contact, map every issue, your priority rank for each, your estimate of the other side's priority rank, your reservation price per issue, and your overall walk-away. This analysis often reveals which issues can be traded and what a good outcome looks like before talks begin.

; Sequence the conversation deliberately
: Open by establishing rapport and shared goals before surfacing disagreements. Raise easier issues before harder ones to build momentum and goodwill. Save the most contentious issue for after partial agreement has created commitment to completing a deal.

; Design the offer structure
: In complex deals, present package offers rather than issue-by-issue proposals. Packages allow the other party to accept a worse outcome on one dimension in exchange for a better one elsewhere. Presenting three packages simultaneously (with different trade-offs) is a technique from behavioral research � people are more comfortable choosing among options than accepting or rejecting a single proposal.

; Plan for impasse
: Decide in advance at what point you will call a break, bring in a mediator, or walk away. Parties who have not planned for impasse tend to make unplanned concessions under time pressure rather than accepting no deal.

; After the deal
: Document agreements in writing immediately. Memory of oral negotiations diverges fast, and post-deal "re-negotiation" erodes goodwill. For ongoing relationships, debrief: what worked, what created friction, and what you would do differently next time.

[[Category:Communication]]
[[Category:Business]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
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