DEALING WITH MANY PARTIES / 433
Case study
CHAIRING MULTIPARTY
TALKS
The central challenge for the Chair
of a meeting is to gain the trust of
the negotiating parties. Former
Senator George J. Mitchell, US
Senate Majority Leader, stated that
in mediating the dispute in
Northern Ireland, his ability to be
effective ultimately depended more
on gaining the delegates’ trust and
confidence than on his formal role
and authority. The Chair should
be clear about his or her role,
introduce the agenda, introduce
ground rules, provide parties
with opportunities to express
themselves, and distill common
interests. The Chair should
also regularly summarize the
progress that has been made
in the negotiation.
>> Forming or joining coalitions
>> Resisting group pressure to
modify your core interests
>>^ Being clear when you disagree
>> Monitoring the positions of all
the parties
>>^ Insisting on acting independently
>> Settling too easily when faced by
a coalition
>>^ Keeping quiet: silence may be
interpreted as assent
>>^ Focusing on only one part of^
the negotiations
SUCCEEDING IN MULTIPARTY NEGOTIATIONS
Do’s Don’ts
Informational complexity
The number of parties involved
produces multiple exchanges of
information, proposals, and
multiple trade-offs. You need to
develop a solid information system
that can record and recall all the
information exchanged in the
negotiation room.
Procedural complexity The design
of the negotiation process may be
fraught with difficulty. Its structure,
the rules of engagement, selection
of venue, sequence of issues, and
how decisions will be made, must
be perceived to be fair. In high-value
negotiations, it is wise to employ
an expert to facilitate the process
more effectively.
US_432-433_Dealing_parties_1.indd 433 30/05/16 3:07 pm