In extended negotiations you will frequently encounter the following obstacles:
- Impasse. You are in complete disagreement on one issue (perhaps salary or vacation time) and it threatens the negotiations.
- Stalemate. Both sides are still talking, but seem unable to make any progress toward a solution. (See HANDLING A STALEMATE Card)
- Deadlock. The lack of progress has frustrated both sides so much that they see no point in talking to each other any more. (See HANDLING A DEADLOCK Card)
- Don’t confuse an impasse with a deadlock. True deadlocks are very rare, so you’ve probably reached only an impasse.
- Handle an impasse with the “Set Aside Gambit”: “Let’s just set that aside for a moment and talk about some of the other issues, may we?” When you use this Gambit, you resolve many of the little issues first, to establish some momentum in the negotiation, before leading up to the big issues.
- Don’t narrow it down to just one issue (with only one issue on the table, there has to be a winner and there has to be loser).
