Interest Based Communication
Course

Course Outcomes

By the end, participants will be able to:

• Negotiate over interests without hardball techniques or relying on a strong personality.

• Collaborate creatively in areas that would otherwise lead to conflict.

• Deliver memorable first impressions as individuals.

• Engage in conversations that prompt others to share vital information.

• Present ideas so others want to hear, understand, and contribute.

Two-Day Delivery Format

Sessions run ~2 hours each (with natural breaks for discussion and reflection). The structure emphasizes interactive teaching, debriefs on participants' real experiences, workbook-guided exercises, and Q&A. All content is applied to personal challenges shared by attendees—no hypothetical scenarios or role-plays with others.

Session Breakdown

Session 1: Interest-Based Negotiations

• Establishes interest-based communication as the core philosophy.

• Explores the difference between position-based (win-lose) and interest-based (mutual gain) approaches.

• Introduces mirroring techniques to uncover underlying interests and build understanding.

• Application: Participants examine their own real negotiation challenges (professional or personal disputes) for guided analysis and strategy refinement.

Session 2: Introductions and Storytelling

• Teaches crafting memorable introductions for yourself and your work/organization.

• Covers storytelling frameworks and the Venn Diagram approach to find shared interests quickly.

• Focuses on launching meaningful conversations that engage others.

• Application: Participants refine and share their own introductions/stories based on personal experiences, receiving targeted feedback to make them more compelling.

Session 3: Conversations and Questions

• Identifies common disruptors of conversation flow (e.g., distractions, assumptions).

• Develops skills to stay present, ask thoughtful questions that encourage sharing without defensiveness, and avoid pitfalls.

• Emphasizes techniques for deeper, more productive dialogue.

• Application: Participants bring real ongoing or recent conversations from their lives for dissection, practice of question-framing, and strategies to improve presence and outcomes.

Session 4: Conflict & Alignment

• Examines how communication breakdowns occur and methods to repair them.

• Covers repair techniques like steelmanning (strengthening the other's position), creative problem-solving, and visual conflict mapping to realign interests.

• Builds resilience for ongoing relationships.

• Application: Participants map and address their own current or past conflicts, applying tools directly to achieve better alignment and resolution.

Session 5: Presenting

• Focuses on sharing ideas effectively with groups of people.

• Teaches structuring presentations to make ideas compelling, memorable, and collaborative—encouraging audiences to listen, understand, and contribute.

• Draws on prior skills (e.g., storytelling, presence) to handle Q&A, address skepticism, and influence decisions in meetings, talks, or team settings.

• Application: Participants prepare and deliver short presentations drawn from their own ideas/challenges, with feedback focused on clarity, engagement, and impact.