Keep Your Guard Up
Mark’s Mediation Strategies
Lawyers are careful at mediation about the information they reveal. They fear giving up some advantage or losing the opportunity to surprise an unsuspecting opponent. To learn how to protect sensitive information in a negotiation, just listen to how politicians talk. They use a range of “blocking” techniques to avoid answering even the most probing interview questions. Skillfully applied, these blocking techniques prevent unplanned disclosures without arousing suspicion that critical information is being withheld.
Consider, for example, a reporter’s question about the highly-charged issue of taxes and deficit reduction. “Would you be willing to raise taxes to lower the deficit?” Many politicians, especially in this economic climate, are reluctant to discuss raising taxes, so they treat the inquiry as a springboard to deliver a hawkish statement on ballooning deficits and the need to cut spending. Negotiators can use a similar approach when responding to compound questions, answering the beneficial part(s) of the question (in this case, the part dealing with deficits) and ignoring the rest.
Another technique employed is to deliberately misconstrue the question and then change the focus to a different topic. This time, assume a very specific question about the politician’s willingness to support a tax increase. The politician responds, “I can see that you are worried about the deficit, a concern which I share deeply. It would be unfair to ask the next generation to inherit an unsustainable debt…” Instead of answering the touchy question, the politician has reframed the inquiry to a subject more to her liking and then answers the reformulated question. When confronted with a difficult question, try turning the conversation in a new direction or responding with a question of your own.
As always, I am ready to work with you and your clients to achieve satisfying case resolutions. Please call if I can be of assistance.
Regards,
Mark Loeterman
Mark Loeterman Mediation
Email: Mark@MLmediation.com
