Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

face or, better yet, improve their standing with their constituency, can increase the
likelihood that it will be accepted.
Target Future Choice Chart (TFC)
A related tool, the Target Future Choice (TFC) chart, can help to identify how
the other side might perceive a proposal in order to accept it. To derive such a
target future choice, the negotiator must work backwards, initially defining the
consequences believed to be necessary for the decision maker to say yes rather
than no (Fisher, Kopelman, and Schneider, 1994). The table below illustrates the
basic elements of a persuasive target future choice.
General Example
“Shall I now accept the X plan”
Consequences if I say YES Consequences if I say NO
+ My personal standing is secure – I will be subjected to some criticism
+ I can easily justify the decision to my – The problem will not go away
constituents
+ I will not be seen as backing down – It is likely to get worse
+ The action is reasonably consistent – I will miss a fading opportunity
with our principles and
past statements
+ It will not set a bad precedent
+ All things considered, it is a
constructive step for dealing
with this problem
+ We still keep many of our future
options open
BUT
– Some hardliners will criticize me
BUT
+ Some hardliners will no doubt
support me
Future Target Choice of a Decision Maker. Source: Roger Fisher and others,
Beyond Machiavelli: Tools for Coping with Conflict (Boston: Harvard University
Press, 1994), 58. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
A well-framed offer allows the decision maker to understand both the benefits
of accepting the proposal immediately and the costs of inaction (for instance, as
a result of missing a deadline by which the offer had to be accepted). An offer
can be made more appealing if it is partially implemented from the outset. Car
salespeople use this technique all the time when they offer a customer a car and
hand him or her the keys to hold.
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