Unit 3 · Negotiation, Diplomacy & High-Stakes Talk · Lesson 12
Interests, Not Positions
Principled negotiation in English
By the end of this lesson
You'll be able to:
- negotiate from interests rather than positions
- expand the pie before slicing it
- use objective criteria to depersonalise disagreement
- build and use a strong BATNA without ever threatening with it
Stage 1
Warm-up
Here's what you'll do
Same dispute, two openings. Which one keeps the room negotiating?
You produce
You pick and defend.
- Opening A: 'Our position is non-negotiable: we need a 12 percent uplift or we walk.'
- Opening B: 'Before we trade numbers — what are each of us actually trying to protect over the next two years?'
- Opening C: 'Let's start with what we already agree on, and identify what we'd each lose if this fell apart.'
Group extension (optional)
Pairs argue; group picks the opener with most room.
Stage 2
Language Discovery
Here's what you'll do
Four moves of principled negotiation language.
You produce
You match each move to its job.
From positions to interests
Each of the four moves does something positional negotiation can't. Notice the verbs.
Surface: 'Help me understand what you're actually trying to protect here.'
Expand: 'Is there something we could add that costs you little and matters to us?'
Objective criteria: 'What benchmark would both of us accept as fair, regardless of who proposed it?'
BATNA naming (non-threatening): 'We both know what each of us does if we walk. The question is whether we can do better than that together.'
The rule you'll arrive at
Principled negotiation language at C2: (a) SURFACE INTERESTS ('What are you trying to protect?'), (b) EXPAND THE PIE ('What might we add that costs you little and matters to us?'), (c) OBJECTIVE CRITERIA ('What benchmark would we both accept?'), (d) NAME THE BATNA without threatening ('If we don't reach agreement, we both know what each of us does next; let's see if we can do better than that').
Try three
1. Reframe 'We need 12 percent' as an interest question.
Reveal
'Help me understand what the 12 percent figure is protecting on your side — is it margin, signal, or precedent?'
2. Propose an objective-criteria move on a salary dispute.
Reveal
'What public benchmark for similar roles would we both accept as a fair anchor?'
3. Name a BATNA without threatening on a vendor dispute.
Reveal
'If we can't agree, we both have options we can live with — but neither option is as good as a deal here. So let's see if there's one.'
Stage 3
Vocabulary in Use
Here's what you'll do
Six items for serious negotiation talk.
You produce
You match each to a real negotiation you've watched or had.
BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement)
your fallback if no deal is reached
"Know your BATNA before you walk into the room."
ZOPA (zone of possible agreement)
the overlap between what each side will accept
"Find the ZOPA early; the deal is in the overlap."
to anchor (high / low)
to set the first number and shape what feels reasonable
"Whoever anchors first usually shapes the range."
to give (and get)
to trade specific concessions explicitly
"I'll give on the timeline if you give on scope."
to log-roll
to trade across issues so each side wins on what it values most
"We log-rolled scope against price and both sides came out ahead."
to leave (something) on the table
to fail to capture value that was available
"We left value on the table because we never asked."
Guided practice
1. Fill: 'Find the ____ early; the deal is in the overlap.' (1 word)
Reveal
ZOPA
2. Fill: 'We ____ ____ scope against price.' (1 hyphenated word)
Reveal
log-rolled
3. Fill: 'We ____ value ____ ____ ____ because we never asked.' (4 words)
Reveal
left … on the table
Stage 4
Speaking Task
Here's what you'll do
10-minute principled negotiation on a real disagreement.
You produce
You and teacher reach explicit trades — and name one log-roll.
You = head of department. Teacher = head of another department. Disagreement: shared budget cut of 15 percent. Each of you has different priorities (you'll get a short brief). You have 10 minutes. You must: (a) surface interests in the first 2 minutes, (b) propose objective criteria for the cuts, (c) make at least ONE log-roll, (d) close with explicit written trades.
Use these
Prompts
- · Brief A: you value headcount above tools.
- · Brief B: you value tools above headcount.
- · Brief C: you value flexibility above either.
Group extension (optional)
In groups of 3, third person plays mediator using L13's vocabulary preview.
Stage 5
Reading / Listening Input
Here's what you'll do
A 230-word negotiation transcript. Track interests vs positions.
You produce
Five close-reading calls.
Reading — Transcript — supplier negotiation
BUYER: Before we trade numbers, can I ask what you're trying to protect with the 9 percent uplift? SUPPLIER: Honestly, it's partly margin, but mostly it's a signal to our other customers — once we discount you, the rest expect it. BUYER: That's useful. So if we found a way to land in the same financial place but without setting a public precedent, the headline number matters less? SUPPLIER: It matters less. Not nothing. BUYER: Understood. What if we kept the headline at 9 percent, agreed a confidential rebate against committed volume, and tied the whole thing to a public benchmark — say, the producer price index? You hold the signal, we hold the cost. SUPPLIER: That's interesting. We'd need the volume commitment to be real, not aspirational. BUYER: Real. With penalties on us if we miss it by more than ten percent. SUPPLIER: We can work with that as a frame. The numbers we'd still need to negotiate. BUYER: Of course. But are we in the ZOPA? SUPPLIER: I'd say we're closer than we were ten minutes ago. BUYER: Same here.
Comprehension
1. What was the supplier's actual interest?
Reveal
The signal to other customers, not just the margin.
2. How did the buyer expand the pie?
Reveal
By separating the headline from the cost and tying both to an objective index.
3. Find the log-roll.
Reveal
Headline number (supplier's signal interest) traded against confidential rebate + volume commitment (buyer's cost interest).
4. What objective criterion did they introduce?
Reveal
The producer price index — a neutral benchmark.
5. How do they signal they're now in the ZOPA?
Reveal
'Closer than we were ten minutes ago.' Diplomatic confirmation, not a victory claim.
Stage 6
Analysis Task
Here's what you'll do
Find the moment the negotiation shifted from positional to principled.
You produce
Annotated transcript + one sentence on the pivot moment.
Mark the sentence where the buyer stopped negotiating the number and started negotiating the structure. Then mark the supplier's matching pivot. Teacher will challenge any other candidates you propose.
- · Who anchored? Did it matter?
- · Where could either side have walked — and why didn't they?
- · What was left on the table?
Group extension (optional)
Pairs swap pivot markers; group picks the single most consequential sentence.
Stage 7
Communication Challenge
Here's what you'll do
Multi-issue negotiation: 12 minutes, four variables, one settlement memo.
You produce
A jointly-written settlement memo of 80–100 words.
You + teacher negotiate a contract with four variables: price, term, exclusivity, and support hours. Each of you has different priorities (briefs provided). Reach a settlement that log-rolls across at least two variables. Write the joint memo together in the last 3 minutes.
Three minutes prep on your interests, your BATNA, and what you'd be willing to log-roll.
Use these
Deliverable
A signed settlement memo + a one-line debrief naming the cleanest trade.
Group extension (optional)
In groups of 3, observer tracks every interest surfaced and rates how many were addressed.
Stage 8
Exam Connection
Here's what you'll do
C2 Proficiency Speaking Part 3 — collaborative decision-making.
You produce
An interest-surfacing question + an objective-criteria proposal, said aloud.
C2 Proficiency — Speaking Part 3 (collaborative discussion of options)
Task: Examiners reward candidates who SURFACE interests and PROPOSE criteria, rather than ranking options by gut.
Strategy: Open the collaborative phase with: 'Before we rank, what is each option actually trying to optimise for?' Then propose a shared criterion.
Mini-task
Prompt cards: best way to reduce city traffic — congestion charge, transit investment, remote-work mandate. Open with interest surfacing and propose an objective criterion. Aloud.
Stage 9
Writing / Production
Here's what you'll do
150 words. A negotiation note that surfaces interests and proposes a trade.
You produce
A 150–170-word internal negotiation note handed in.
Write a 150–170-word internal note to your team ahead of a negotiation. You MUST: (a) name the other side's likely positions AND interests, (b) propose one objective criterion, (c) sketch one possible log-roll, (d) name your BATNA, (e) use at least three target items.
Word count: 150–170 words
Must use
Stage 10
Reflection & Homework
Here's what you'll do
End of L12. Two questions, one prep.
You produce
Spoken 30-second reflection.
Reflection
- · When did you last negotiate from a position when an interest move would have done more?
- · What value have you left on the table in the past year because you didn't ask?
Homework
Pick a real negotiation you have coming up. Draft a one-page interest map (yours and theirs). Bring to Lesson 13.