Conflict Clarity: Understanding the Key Difference Between Interests and Positions
Download MP3Remember, a good mediator looks for your interests, not your positions. Your position is just an outward, kind of generic, superficial statement of what you're trying to do. Your real interest has more to do with emotions, being heard, and how you want to collaborate with the world—not just what your logical, robot-like positions or facts are.
Your real interests are probably easier to obtain than what your stated positions are. And the other side of any conflict probably has real interests that are much more easy for you to deal with and accept than stated positions. Positions are sometimes an artificial mask or a wall that people build, when their real interests are much more human and easier to understand.
