Academic Access
Six exercises you can use today, each built on a published method that negotiation and mediation courses already teach. We're also building tools for educators. They aren't ready yet, and we'd rather say so than pretend otherwise.
Each one works with a sample dispute or an anonymized real one, takes 20 to 40 minutes, and ends with debrief questions. Use them in class, in a workshop or as homework, and credit the original authors when you do.
Take a real or sample message thread. For each demand, write the position (what they say they want) and the interest behind it (why they want it). Then write one option that meets an interest on both sides.
Debrief: Which interests were stated, and which did you have to infer? Did any option exist before you separated the two?
Start from an angry draft reply. Rewrite it so it is Brief, Informative, Friendly and Firm, in under 100 words. Remove every justification, apology and counterattack that a third party wouldn't need.
Debrief: What did you cut? Which cuts felt hardest, and why? How would a judge or HR officer read each version?
Read a message that applies pressure. Identify the tactic (a deadline, guilt, a threat, stonewalling, moving the goalposts) and quote the exact words that show it. Then draft a reply that names the process without taking the bait.
Debrief: Did naming the tactic change how urgent the message felt? What did the reply refuse to engage with?
Before a negotiation role-play, each side writes down what they will do if no agreement is reached, and how good that alternative really is. Negotiate. Afterward, compare each deal against each side's alternative.
Debrief: Who had the stronger alternative? Did anyone accept a deal worse than walking away?
Split one dispute into the "what happened" conversation, the feelings conversation and the identity conversation. Write one sentence for each, from each side's point of view.
Debrief: Which of the three conversations was actually driving the conflict?
Given a thread from someone who escalates every exchange, decide which messages need a reply at all. For the ones that do, write the shortest factual answer possible.
Debrief: What does replying to everything cost? When does a calm non-reply protect someone better than a good reply?
These are ideas we're exploring, with no promised dates. Join the waiting list if you'd use them, and tell us what your course needs.
Tell us your institution, course and class size. We'll contact you when educator tools are ready, and not before.
Not legal advice. Not a substitute for professional judgment.