When people are in conflict, they have an interest that needs to be met. As you learned previously, an interest is an outcome that a party needs to feel satisfied; it's really why that party is present in the conflict.
However, in conflict, people often don't talk about their interests; they talk about positions instead. Positions are what they come in saying they need and are a way of getting the interest met.
Positions are not the only way to way to meet an interest, although we often mistakenly perceive them that way. The interest is underneath the position, and it explains why you’ve taken that position in the first place.
Thus, what often happens in conflict is that the parties engage in positional or distributive bargaining about certain parts of each other’s positions.
This will most likely be very dissatisfying because the parties are trying to trade elements of their positions but can't meet all or even part of each party's position.
EXAMPLE
This can happen in negotiating or bargaining over the price of something. One side says, “I'm going to drive a hard bargain. I'm not paying that top price. I'm going to see if I can drive it down.” And the other side is saying, “I want to keep it at this price, but I’ll come down a little.”This dissatisfaction in positional bargaining occurs because while positions often conflict, interests rarely do.
Thus, when two parties look beyond their positions, they can usually uncover shared or mutual interests.
These shared interests are what the parties want to focus on because they now have an opportunity to uncover some other ways to meet both of their needs.
IN CONTEXT
Perhaps there’s a conflict between a tenant and a landlord, and they have two different positions. The landlord has decided to raise the rent, but the tenant won't pay the raised rent and will have to move.
Underneath these two opposing positions, it’s likely that some shared interests exist: maybe the tenant has lived there a number of years, and he likes living there. The landlord has found the tenant to be a good tenant,and would like to keep him around. So they both have an interest in maintaining their business relationship.
However, the landlord is raising the rent because of repairs. There are things that need to be done in the building, such as painting and maintenance. Expenses have gone up, and the only way to fund this is by raising the rent. The tenant is having trouble paying that price because he has lost hours at work. He is only working part-time, so he can't afford a higher rent.
Both of their interests are around money, but underneath this is the need for the repairs. There could then be some creative problem solving here.
Perhaps the tenant might say, “Why don't I do some of the painting for you? Could I do some of the repairs? I'm a handyman, maybe I can help out that way in order to keep the rent the same.” The minute they begin to talk about shared interests, or what it is they both really need in order to feel satisfied, there may be some other ways to satisfy those needs.
EXAMPLE
Perhaps your boss says you need to work overtime, but you can’t because you need to leave at 5:00 to pick up your child. You then consider the interests underlying these two positions: obviously one of them is that you have to pick up your child; you want to be a good parent, and you don't have any other options.Source: Adapted from Sophia tutorial by Marlene Johnson.