There is an article in the September issue of Harvard Business Review that talks about “Investigative Negotiation.” It suggests that to succeed in negotiations, you should treat them like a “crime scene.” It has an air of danger or excitement to it, but in the end, it is simply describing the basics of interest-based negotiation. Investigative simply means asking questions.

For example, one of their principles is “Don’t just discuss what your counterparts want—find out why they want it.” When I teach conflict resolution, I always point to the power of asking questions, specifically the “why” questions. That gets at the interests behind the positions. It is much easier to find solutions that everyone likes when you base them on the interests (the reasons why) than on the specific answers that are provided initially.

Their second principle is “Seek to understand and mitigate the other side’s constraints.” They point out that people tend to bristle at this suggestion, arguing that the other side’s problems are, frankly, their problems and not “my” concern. This is another point I make in conflict resolution training all the time: it is in your interest to meet the interests of your adversary. When they are getting what they want, it suddenly becomes MUCH easier to get what you want.