Jonathan SmithNEGOTIATIONModel Lesson Plan

INTRODUCTION TO NEGOTIATION

LESSON: Negotiation

SOURCE: Original Lesson Plan

TIME AND DAY TAUGHT: 50 Minutes

Number of Students: Lesson designed for class of 30 students

Materials Required: Student Journals

I.  GOALS

  1. Understanding the role that negotiation plays within life and the law
  2. Learn basic components of a negotiation
  3. Improve negotiation skills

II.  OBJECTIVES

  1. Knowledge Objectives – As a result of this class, students will be better able to:
  2. Define negotiation as a legal concept
  3. Learn the process of a negotiation from preparation to settlement
  4. Understand which types of negotiation tactics work in certain situations
  5. Identify when the process of a negotiation is needed
  6. Skills Objectives – As a result of this class, students will be better able to:
  7. Identify the issues that need to be resolved in order to reach an agreement
  8. Consider the alternatives to an agreement (BATNA v. WATNA)
  9. Ask questions that improve the negotiator’s bargaining position
  10. Work with the opposing party to formulate as many solutions to the problem as possible
  11. Agree upon a deal that works well for both parties
  12. Attitude Objectives – Students will be better able to feel
  13. The negotiation process as a part of their daily lives
  14. An ideal agreement is not always possible
  15. Negotiating can be FUN!

III.  CLASSROOM METHODS

  1. Entry Task
  2. Students must use the journals provided to them at the beginning of class to answer the following question:
  3. What are the first words or images you associate with the word “negotiation?”
  4. What would you most like to learn about the process of negotiating?

b.  Small Group Discussion

  1. Have the students form into groups of 4-5
  2. Introduce themselves to the group
  3. Share the responses to the Entry Task questions
  4. Appoint a leader to: 1). Introduce the group 2). Collect and report the data
  5. Introduce negotiation as a concept.
  6. Definitions:
  7. The process by which people involved in a dispute talk to each other about their problem and try to reach a solution acceptable to all.
  8. An interactive communication process
  9. Includes parties with differing interests
  10. The parties seek to
  11. Coordinate their behavior
  12. And/or reallocate resources
  13. To be better off than their alternatives

d.  Brainstorm different situations in which the negotiation process is used

  1. Write student ideas on the white-board as they come in.

e.  Quickly explain the process of a negotiation

  1. Negotiators can prepare by thinking through their goals and possible questions to ask to achieve those goals.
  2. During a negotiation, it is sometimes useful to withhold some information.
  3. Negotiators should always keep in mind the possible alternatives
  4. Negotiators should actively predict the other side’s position
  5. Negotiators should never lose sight of goals.

f.  Negotiation Vocabulary

  1. Interests
  2. The party’s needs underlying a demand (the whys of what is being asked for)
  3. Alternatives
  4. Possibilities that are available to the negotiating parties which do not require the opponent’s participation or approval
  5. BATNA = Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
  6. The best situation that may happen if you walk away from the negotiation table
  7. WATNA = Worse Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
  8. The worst situation you are stuck with if you walk away from the negotiation table

g.  Steps of the Negotiation Process

  1. Preparation
  2. Establish and prioritize your goals
  3. Determine your:
  4. Alternatives
  5. Resistance point (i.e. bottom line)
  6. Information Exchange
  7. Develop a comfortable atmosphere where you and your negotiation opponent may share and gather information from each other
  8. This creates the most productive negotiation climate
  9. Bargaining
  10. Plan to resolve negotiation issues based on the parties’ interests
  11. Resolution
  12. Restate the final terms to confirm the agreement
  13. Consider other options in order to “sweeten” the deal
  14. Agreement needs to be:
  15. Clear
  16. Comprehensive
  17. Durable

h.  Negotiating in the state of Washington

  1. Section [2] Preamble to the ABA Model and Washington RPCs:
  2. “As negotiator, a lawyer seeks a result advantageous to the client but consistent with requirements of honest dealings with others.”
  3. ***Unless otherwise instructed, students should follow this guideline
  4. Role-play:
  5. Explain to the class that we are having a short negotiation over the sale of a bicycle
  6. Divide the class into two groups (1s and 2s)
  7. 1s will be the seller of the bicycle
  8. 2s will be the buyer of the bicycle
  9. Have the students group together and explain the confidential information to them in preparation for the negotiation.
  10. Group 1:
  11. Desires a price of $200
  12. They are in desperate need of money and need to sell the bicycle today.
  13. They have one other offer of $150.
  14. The bicycle has some trouble switching between gears.
  15. The bicycle is a nasty shade of rusted orange.
  16. Group 2:
  17. Likes this bicycle and will spend up to $250 for it.
  18. Wants to spend as little as possible.
  19. Is very skilled at repairing bicycle malfunctions.
  20. Has a close friend who paints and gives maintenance for bicycles. Can get a discount of $50 for a new paint job.
  21. The teachers will facilitate discussions within the group regarding strategy.
  22. Then pair the students to negotiate. Give them about 15 minutes, then debrief using the following questions.

IV.  EVALUATION

a.  Exit Task

  1. How did the negotiation process develop between you and your opponent?
  2. Describe the negotiation tactics and behaviors both you and your opponent used.

V.  ASSIGNMENT

  1. Assign students to write down their goals, strategies, and questions regarding negotiation.
  2. Assign students to negotiate a situation with their parents/guardians that night and come back with a report on how the negotiation went.