• Why are we negotiating? • Why did they (or we) initiate the negotiation? • Why are we doing this now? • Why is this important (or not important) to them (and us)? • Why are they making those demands? They’re looking to see if they can uncover hidden agendas, find sources of power and leverage, and search for the meaning behind what’s happening. The investigator can take the historian’s perspective and uncover the motives and needs for the upcoming negotiation. Improv Actor The improv actor is all about the possibilities. Their job is to embrace the cardinal rule of improv: “Yes and . . .” An improv actor is taught to take a situation and expand on it. When asked a question, they do not say “no” — they say “yes” and explore what’s possible. This is probably one of the most difficult roles to play, because the improv actor must be ready for all of the unknowns. To do that, they must first plan for the most likely scenarios — the ones that they
anticipate will happen. From there, they go a step further and start thinking about everything from less likely scenarios all the way to “no way this will happen” scenarios. Basically going from most probable to least probable. With each of these scenarios, they start to plan out their response, finding ways to react that will work to their advantage and aid the flow of negotiation. The reality is that they will rarely think of everything, but because they put the work in on all of the scenarios they could imagine, they’re in a better position to respond to something that they didn’t imagine. When you incorporate all of these roles into your negotiation preparation, you’ll find a strategy that will guide you through most situations you’re likely to face. That strategy will ground you in terms of what’s important. It will help you to understand your power and leverage. Most importantly, it will serve as your guide when the unexpected happens. After all, as the great pugilist philosopher Mike Tyson once said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Best to have a plan for getting punched in the mouth too.
“Plans continue to change and evolve, leaving many families struggling to plan.”
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