Using the "Door in the Face"

Exploring the psychology behind an effective negotiation tactic.

“Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.”

— Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Why couldn’t they have just given us their best offer five hours ago?”

“Why did we have to ‘play the negotiation game’ all morning in order to reach our agreement?”

After hours of difficult negotiation sessions, participants sometimes wonder aloud why mediation works. Mediation — a structured negotiation process through which a trained, neutral party guides opposing sides towards resolution of a dispute — can be remarkably successful. When it functions well, mediation allows disputants to save time and money, reach tailored solutions, and reduce the risk and emotional toll of going to court.

In a proper mediation, mediators have no power to make decisions or force parties to do anything. To reach an agreement, the parties must decide to do so and find a proposal that satisfies their needs. S…