Negotiation Framing

What the conflict is about. Parties taking a substantive frame have a particular disposition about the key issue or concern in the conflict.

A party’s predisposition to achieving a specific result or outcome from the negotiation. To the degree that a negotiator has a specific, preferred outcome he or she wants to achieve, the dominant may be to focus all strategy, tactics and communication towards getting that outcome.

A predisposition toward satisfying a broader set of interests or needs in a negotiation. Rather than focusing on a specific outcome, the negotiator tries to ensure that his or her basic interests, needs and concerns are met.

How the parties will go about resolving their dispute. Negotiators who have a strong process frame are less concerned about the specific negotiation issues but more concerned about how the deliberations will proceed, or how the dispute should be managed.

How the parties define “who they are”.

How the parties define the other parties. A characterization frame can clearly be shaped by experience with the other party, by information about the other party’s history or reputation, or by the way the other party comes across early in the negotiation experience.

How the parties define the risk or reward associated with particular outcomes.