Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Appendix
Contrasting Approaches to Negotiation: Adversarial vs. Interest-based
ELEMENT ADVERSARIAL INTEREST-BASED
Alternatives Threaten to inflict pain
“Talk, or else!”
Improve your Best Alternative To
a Negotiated
Agreement (BATNA)
Weaken their BATNA
“You have a choice. I’d
like to talk openly about
things with you. And
I’ve got a colleague
just outside this door
waiting to go a different
route. I don’t want that.
It’s your choice.”
Interests
Debate over positions
“I will not tell
you anything.”
“Yes, you will!”
Look beneath positions to
interests
“What’s holding you
back from giving us
information”
Options
Legitimacy
Bargain over two
options: whether or not
the source will tell you
information
Battle of wills
“Tell us what
you know.”
“No.”
“We demand
you tell us.”
“NO!”
(Continued on next page)
Invent multiple options without
evaluating them
Persuade on the basis of external
standards of legitimacy
The basic message:
“There are legitimate
reasons why you can
reveal information to
us…”
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