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    Positions and interests

    立场与利益

    Concept
    Also called
    interest-based negotiation, principled negotiation

    Positions and interests are the distinction at the heart of Roger Fisher and William Ury’s Getting to Yes, first published in 1981: a position is something you have decided on, and your interests are what caused you to decide it.[1][2]

    Positions: what each has decided on

    Lin

    “Set it to 20°C”

    Can’t sleep when it’s hot

    Jay

    “Turn it off”

    The airflow gives him a sore throat

    Turn the vent toward Lin’s side

    Each states a demand: one wants it at 20°C, the other wants it off. Bargaining over positions alone easily ends in deadlock.Ask why each holds that demand, to understand rather than to challenge. The answers are the interests: Lin can’t sleep when it’s hot, and the airflow gives Jay a sore throat.Starting from interests opens an option neither position offered: turn the vent toward Lin’s side, which serves both.

    The other principles of principled negotiation: separate the people from the problem; generate options before deciding; insist on objective criteria.

    Positions and interests in three steps, using this page’s air-conditioner example: two opposed demands, asking why to find each side’s interest, then an option that serves both. Select a part for details
    Positions and interests in three steps, using this page’s air-conditioner example: two opposed demands, asking why to find each side’s interest, then an option that serves both. Save as image (PNG)

    Key points

    • In positional bargaining, each side states a demand and then concedes step by step. This tends to be inefficient, encourages stubbornness and strains the relationship.[2]
    • To find interests, ask why a party holds its position and not some other one. The aim is to understand, not to challenge.[2][3]
    • Each side usually has several interests. Common basic needs include security, economic well-being, belonging, recognition and control.[3]
    • The wider method of principled negotiation also includes separating the people from the problem, generating options before deciding, and insisting on objective criteria.[2]

    An example

    Roommates Lin and Jay argue over the air conditioner: one wants it at 20°C, the other wants it off. Those are positions. Asking why reveals the interests: Lin can’t sleep when it’s hot, and the airflow gives Jay a sore throat. They turn the vent toward Lin’s side of the room.

    Misreadings and limits

    Not every conflict can become a win-win. Critics argue that the approach underplays zero-sum bargaining over fixed resources, and that “objective criteria” can simply give one side’s position an appearance of reasonableness.[3]

    Sources

    1. 1 Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (2011). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in (3rd ed.). Penguin. View source
    2. 2 Glaser, T. (n.d.). Summary of "Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in". Beyond Intractability, Conflict Information Consortium. View source
    3. 3 Folberg, J., Golann, D., Stipanowich, T. J., & Kloppenberg, L. A. (2010). Cooperative or interest-based negotiation. Resolving disputes: Theory, practice, and law (2nd ed.), ch. 4. View source

    Last checked against sources: October 26, 2026