RESOLVING DEADLOCKS
IN A NEGOTIATION
I.
FOCUS ON SOLUTION
, NOT ON
POSITIONS
( Some ideas to do so are presented below ) :
i) Bring in a
mediator .
ii) Go for a
toss .
iii) One person
selects two options ( or makes two halves of a lot ) , and the second person
selects one of these two options .
iv) Go for the
middle or average of the two positions .
II.
Think whether the negotiation should be taken to
someone at a higher level to resolve the deadlock .
III.
Rejection is reactive : line of communication is still
open . Eliminate cause of rejection and the problem will be solved .
IV.
Keep throwing fresh ideas and thoughts at people until
something clicks .
V.
Don’t ask WHY , ask WHAT ( e.g.
What are the reasons ? / What has to happen ? / What if I offer you $2000
for that ? etc. ) .
VI.
‘Statement questions’ are a polite way to probe
more . ( I wonder if you would like to
see something cheaper . / I have liked the offer , but I don’t know much about
your company . )
VII.
Ask ‘open questions’ when the other person is not
opening up .
VIII.
Paraphrasing ( repeating
statement ) is also a way of asking an ‘open question’ . ( “ I am not sure whether we should go for
this offer ” , can be handled by saying : “ You are not sure ? ” )
