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Jan 15, 2007

"We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away." --Chuang Tzu

Harvard Negotiation Project

The Harvard Negotiation Project started with the mission to improve the theory, teaching, and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution, so that people can deal more constructively with conflicts ranging from the interpersonal to the international. Part of the problem, Harvard researchers say, is that we approach such confrontations thinking that we not only understand our own point of view, but we also believe we know for sure what the other person did, said, and thought on the subject. And we think our view is right. "When we get into difficult interpersonal conflicts, it’s not very natural for us to see the conflict from the other person’s point of view," said Douglas Stone, associate director of the Harvard Negotiation Project. "But it’s a skill that is crucial to learn." Stone and other Project researchers share tips for "difficult conversations".