Positional bargaining is where parties negotiate based on a position. For example, suppose there is one orange, and you and someone else want it. In positional bargaining, each of you would say, "It is mine and I'll fight you for it". It is hard to know what is really important to a party when they only state a position.
Suppose someone comes along and cuts the orange and gives half to each of you. Is it a fair and equal division? Maybe. But what if you own an orange juice company and the other guy owns a marmalade factory? You want the pulp. He wants the peel. These are your interests. Does it look like a good split now? You both could have had 100% of what you wanted - if the person who cut the orange had only asked both of you why you wanted it.
Sometimes a spouse is adamant about wanting the house in a divorce, even if it is clear she or he will not be able to afford it alone. Wanting the house is a position. When asked why the house is so important, the spouse may answer simply that he or she wants to keep the children as safe and stable as possible in light of the upheaval of the divorce. That is an interest.
Frequently, once you understand the interest, you can find something else that might satisfy it better. For example, once the spouse sees that the children would not feel protected if the spouse were actually to lose the house later, the spouse could try to negotiate other terms that would allow him or her to buy a less expensive home in which to establish a new, permanent residence for the children. Finding other ways to satisy the need is interest based negotiation.
The Détente mediator trained in interest based negotiation asks why you feel so strongly about your position, rather than just asking what the position is. The underlying reason it is important to you then becomes the focus of the negotiations and of a successful mediation.
del.icio.us | 
Digg | 
Facebook | 
Google | 
LinkedIn | 
Technorati | 
Yahoo