Negotiation Scenario
Negotiate the release of King Richard (Using our own scenario)
Robinhood was a contemporary and supporter of King Richard, the Lionheart. He was
forced to become an outlaw only because of the misrule of Prince John. Robinhood’s
best option to overthrow the sheriff, his sworn enemy, is to bring back King Richard. The
offer by the Barons to join the conspiracy in return for Hood’s future amnesty is tempting
but, they cannot be trusted. The Barons had changed their mind about Prince John
whom they first supported. So, our scenario is this:
Robinhood invites the Barons to his camp inside the Sherwood Forest for a meeting. He
negotiates a counter-proposal with the Barons stating three conditions for a win-win
plan:
1. He appreciates their offer of his future amnesty but he states that he is facing
great financial strain and cannot contribute to ransom collection. He, the
Merrymen, his allied farmers and townspeople be exempted from collecting
money for ransom.
2. The Barons consult with Duke Leopold of Austria who has imprisoned King
Richard and arrange for the trial of King Richard by a common proceeding known
as “trial by combat”. As trial by combat entitles the accused to choose a
champion, King Richard chooses Robinhood as his champion for the trial. Robin
hood being the best swordsman can win the trial by combat and free King
Richard. Then King Richard will reclaim his throne, pardon Robinhood and also
reward the Barons.
3. In-case Robin hood loses the trial, he and his merry men will surrender before
the barons and the barons can present them before the sheriff for rewards and
high positions. The Barons will not be charged of a conspiracy if the plan fails.
Demonstrated use of negotiation:
According to the scenario we created, the Barron's were negotiated to convince
Leopold, the Duke of Austria, to set a trial. Richard can only be released by trial by
combat because it is the only approach that doesn't threaten Robin a lot. Focusing on
the ultimate goal, low ball is always the first negotiation tactic. Apparently, to ensure that
the Barron's understand this is not a ransom negotiation, this is played as the first pitch.
The second tactic empowered the picture of Robins chances of winning.Unlike the
previous pitch, this pitch is immediately followed by a bluff on the perks they will enjoy
regardless of whether he wins the trial.
The three tactics:
1. Lowball: When low balling, the seller's intended price is significantly lower than
what the buyer offers. In our scenario, Robin Hood faces a financial strain, so he
negotiated in a way that firmly shows he is not up for a ransom, but instead he
included other benefits in the deal.
2. Big fish: While using this technique, one makes themselves look empowered or
casting the other person weak. Robin Hood negotiates to arrange a trial by
combat, confident that he is an expert in defense and the best swordsman in
town. It is Richard's confidence and belief that no one will be able to beat him
that elevates the hope of his winning and magnifies his image in the minds of the
barrons. In this way, the negotiated party increases their chances of being
convinced.
3. Bluff: Creating the illusion that something is true when it is not. It works in such a
way that it deceives the other person's intentions or negotiation level. To have
the last negotiation so convincing and persuasive, Robin casted a situation of
illusion, that he and his merry men can be surrendered by Barron’s, mean time
he adds that barons’ won’t be charged of conspiracy.
By analysing the situation, it is concluded that the first priority of Robin Hood is to
establish absolute structure and order inside the group. Someone can be appointed to
be in charge of limiting the new recruits and look for alternate ways to feed his guys.
After that, he must risk everything by supporting the barons in their effort to rescue King
Richard and restore him to power. This can be done by creating a plan by analysing the
strengths and weakness of opponents as well as Robin hood and merry men. The
strength of robin hood is his skills with swords, so a “trial by combat” can be provoked
between Robin hood and the Barons. This can be achieved by first gaining the trust with
giving them leverage. Then bluffing them with more appealing outcomes which will
make them to give a blind eye to the negative outcome. We can make amends with
logic continuously which create a positive situation and accepts for the “trial by combat”.
By doing so, with Robin excellent swords skills he can win the combat and free the king
Richard.
References
“The Ins and Outs of Lowballing.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 30 July 2021,
www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lowball.asp.
“Big Fish.” Changingminds.Org, changingminds, 2019,
changingminds.org/disciplines/negotiation/tactics/big_fish.htm.
“Access Denied | Www.Watershedassociates.Com Used Cloudflare to Restrict Access.”
Watershed Associates, 2020, www.watershedassociates.com/learning-center-
item/bluffing.html.
