MenuThe Lawyers Weekly newspaper sought out the expertise of family law negotiator Nathalie Boutet to discuss best practices for out of court negotiation techniques. Boutet comes back to true and trusted “Interest-based negotiation”, the effective technique developed by Roger Fisher and William Ury in their 1981 book Getting To Yes. Boutet also links this method to a large body of scientific research which examines how people make decisions, what promotes empathy and what makes people want to co-operate and work together when she coins this technique “brain friendly”. Her article features a quote from scientists Lack and Bogaz who study the science of negotiation:
“Interest-based negotiation is also effective from a neuroscience perspective because it is counterintuitive and highly cognitive, requiring heightened cortical thinking,”
writes Boutet.
“It requires conceptually separating the parties from the problem (thus de-personalizing negative personal emotions), focusing on interests rather than positions (invoking ‘towards reflexes’ as opposed to ‘away reflexes’) and invoking mutual needs rather than independent strategies.”