Communication Skills
Interests
Part of being a good communicator is understanding what you want and what the other person wants. This is not always obvious. During negotiations, people can become focused on details and miss the big picture. For example, a buyer may claim that his goal is a low price. This is a low-level goal (sometimes called a position). However, a low price is part of a higher level goal - to get a good deal. However, improving quality, customer service or something else might improve the deal without lowering the price. A still higher level goal might be to increase the profits of his company - which might be achieved by getting a good deal, but could also be achieved in other ways. High level goals are sometimes called interests. The importance of interests instead of positions was first identified in the book "Getting to Yes" produced by the Harvard Project on Negotiation.
What the other person wants is normally one or more high-level interests that can be achieved with different combinations of low-level positions. Poor communicators often focus on positions and get stuck. Good communicators are aware of the whole hierarchy of goals and so have more flexibility in devising win-win outcomes.