You will produce an interest map and a list of options for a negotiation you actually face.
Most people prepare for a negotiation by deciding what they'll say. Fewer prepare by writing down what both sides need. The second kind of preparation is slower, and it's the one that turns up options nobody would have thought of in the room.
In this exercise you'll build an interest map: one page that sets each side's position next to the interests behind it, sorts those interests, and lists options that serve both sides. You'll do it for a negotiation you actually face. Farah's lease renewal from lesson 1.1 runs through it as the worked example.
Start by picking something live: a job offer you're waiting on, a rent renewal, a supplier quote, a freelance rate, even a family decision about who hosts Chinese New Year or Hari Raya visits this year. It should matter enough that you'll care about the result, and it should involve someone whose interests you can reasonably guess.
Avoid hypotheticals. A made-up negotiation lets you invent convenient interests for the other side. A real one forces you to admit what you don't know, which is the most useful part of the exercise.
Draw a page with two columns, one for you and one for the other side. At the top of each column, write the stated position in one line. Farah writes: "Me: keep the rent at S$2,800." "Landlord: S$3,100 from next month." Both figures are examples.
Under each position, list the interests that could sit behind it. Use the questions from lesson 1.2, Questions that uncover the other side's interests, on yourself as well as on them. Why do I want this? What would it let me do? Then ask why again.
Farah's list for herself: keep monthly costs steady in the year after the baby's arrival; avoid moving with a newborn; get the leaking aircon fixed properly; stay near her mother, who helps with childcare.
Her guesses for the landlord: keep up with the market after seeing higher listings; cover a mortgage whose rate has gone up; avoid an empty month and the cost of finding a new tenant; keep the flat in good condition.
Mark each one you're guessing with a question mark. Farah knows her own interests. She's guessing at all of the landlord's.
Now go through both lists and label each interest.
Shared interests are ones both sides hold. Farah and her landlord both want the tenancy to continue without a gap, and both want the flat kept in good shape.
Different interests are ones that matter much more to one side than the other. The landlord cares about the monthly figure because of his mortgage. Farah cares about certainty and about the aircon. Differences like these are where trades come from, as lesson 1.1 explained.
Opposed interests are the ones where a gain for one side is a loss for the other. The rent figure itself is the obvious one: every dollar more is a dollar Farah pays.
Most people assume everything is opposed. When you sort honestly, you usually find that only one or two items truly are, and that several shared and different interests sit around them.
Now list options that would meet more than one interest on each side. Brainstorm first and judge later. Write down even the ones that seem unlikely, because a weak idea often leads to a better one.
Farah's list starts with a smaller increase in exchange for a two-year lease, which gives the landlord certainty and her stability. Next comes the full increase, but only from month seven, once the household budget has settled after the birth. Her third idea is to arrange and pay for a proper aircon repair herself in return for a smaller increase. A fourth is a two-year lease with a fixed, smaller step up in year two. Then the landlord fixes the aircon first and she accepts a modest increase once it's done. Last, she could agree to a longer notice period before moving out, so the landlord never faces a surprise empty month.
None of these is the S$2,800 or the S$3,100 they started with. Several meet the landlord's mortgage worry and his fear of an empty month while giving Farah certainty.
Finally, go down the options and sort them into two groups. In one group go the options you'd happily propose today. In the other go the ones that need more information first.
Farah would happily propose the two-year lease and the longer notice period. The delayed increase and the aircon trade depend on things she doesn't know, such as whether the landlord's mortgage leaves room to wait six months, and what a proper repair would cost. She notes the question she needs answered for each.
When you're done, your page should have:
Each side's position in one line At least three interests per side, with your guesses marked Each interest labelled shared, different or opposed At least five options, each serving interests on both sides The options split into ready to propose and needs more information
You can draw this on paper, in a notes app or in a spreadsheet with one column per heading. The format matters less than doing it before you speak to the other side. The activity below asks you to build your own map now and choose the two options you'd put forward first.
Complete the interest map template for your real negotiation and pick the two options you would propose first.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).