Negotiate
Common GroundTwo teams, one deal, and a scoresheet each side keeps hidden.
What students do
Two teams negotiate a real deal: a café and its landlord, a shop and its supplier, two partners splitting a business. Each side gets a confidential brief, who they are, a points table for every possible outcome, and a walk-away. They meet, negotiate live, and reach a deal on every issue or walk. Then a facilitator scores both sides and reveals what each secretly wanted, and where value was won or wasted.
The skill it builds
Value creation. Finding the interest behind the position, growing the pie before splitting it, knowing your walk-away (BATNA), and reading a counterpart who is holding a hidden hand.
Interests, not positions.
A beginner argues positions: '$2,600.' '$2,000.' That is a tug-of-war someone has to lose. Every deal here is built around an integrative trade, two issues the sides value oppositely, so the smart move is to give the thing that is cheap for you but valuable to them. The scoring is engineered so the team that finds the trade beats the team that only fights over the number.
- Dig for the whyThe interest behind the demand is where the trade hides.
- Grow, then splitCreate value first, claim it second. The order matters.
- Know your floorA deal below your walk-away scores worse than no deal.
Fair, and the same shape every time.
Four criteria, 25% each, plus your points and the joint total posted for every pair.
Did they name their interests, a target, and a walk-away before negotiating?
Did they uncover the trades instead of only fighting the obvious number?
Clear, honest, respectful. Would the other side deal with them again?
A deal above both walk-aways and near the top of the joint range, or a wise walk-away.