The Elements of Negotiation

ELEMENT 76Listening, Summarizing, and Locking (LSL)

LSL is a powerful tool to avoid positional negotiation (zero-sum) and move a negotiation in a more collaborative direction.

For example, say you are negotiating a partnership with another company. The other party, represented by their CEO, is concerned about the distribution of responsibilities and profit sharing.

CEO: “I'm concerned about how we're dividing the responsibilities. We feel like we're taking on a larger share of the work, but the profits are split evenly. This doesn't seem fair to us.”

You (applying LSL):

1. Listen: You listen attentively, nodding and maintaining eye contact, showing that you are fully engaged in what the CEO is saying.
2. Summarize: “I understand your concerns. You feel that your company is being asked to handle a more significant portion of the workload, yet the profit sharing remains equal. You're looking for a more equitable distribution that reflects the effort put in by each party. Is that correct?”
3. Lock-in: “Let's see how we can address this. We definitely want a fair partnership. How about we revisit the task distribution and adjust the profit sharing accordingly? We can draft a proposal that outlines a more balanced approach and discuss it in our next meeting. Does that sound like a good way forward?”

Outcome: By using the LSL technique, you demonstrate active listening, ensure mutual understanding, and propose a collaborative solution to lock in agreement, moving the negotiation toward ...