Observing Role-Players

From Peacebuilding

Contents 1 Purpose 2 Time 3 Participants 4 Materials 5 Process 6 Handout 1 – Five Barriers to Cooperation 7 Handout 2 - Sample Role-Play Scenarios

Purpose

To observe a negotiation role-play and identify what gets in the way to cooperation; To explore how to break through barriers to cooperation.

Time

The time needed depends on the role-play scenario used and on how many scenarios are role-played. Make sure to devote plenty of time feedback and discussion (the VIII step of the process)

Participants

At least 4-5 participants: 2 role-players and 2-3 observers.

Materials

• Copies of handout 1 (see below);
• Copies of role-play scenarios (see below handout 2);
• Papers;
• Pencils.

Process

I) Ask for a couple of volunteers to role-play a negotiation, anticipating that they will perform in front of an audience of observers. Make sure that this is ok with them. These will be “the role-players”.

II) Handle a role-play scenario to role-players (see handout 2, below) and ask them to read it and prepare to play it. Invite them to move to a private place, leaving the workshop room while they do it.

III) While volunteers are preparing, introduce the activity to the rest of participants – these are “the observers”. You can use handout 1 (see below) as reference to prepare your introduction.

IV) Distribute copies of a handout 1 to the observers and assign their task:

While role-players play, observes have to look at the interaction, see what gets in the way to cooperation and how it works. Handout 1 will help them decide what to look for, focusing on the five most common barriers to cooperation (cf. your reaction, their emotion, their position, their dissatisfaction, their power).

V) Distribute papers and pencils to the observers and invite them to take note of their findings.

VI) Invite role-players to return to the workshop room, sit at the centre of it and invite observers to form a circle around role-players (a fishbowl).

VII) Ask role-players to start playing.

VIII) After the play, investigate the observers’ findings and explore together:

• What – if anything - got in the way to cooperation?
• How did it happen? How does it happen generally?
• What role-players should have done to break through these barriers?
• Generally, what can be done to break through these barriers to cooperation?

Note

Instead of just a couple of role-players, you can have more volunteers and repeat the dynamic of the activity as many times as needed. You can even decide to repeat it at different times during the workshop.

Handout 1 – Five Barriers to Cooperation

Principled Negotiation is basically joint problem solving. In joint problem solving, contenders do not spend energy to attack each other, but they jointly attack the problem. Both sides seat at the same side of the table, they explore and focus on each other’s interests, not positions. Their goal is to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement that satisfies their interests, not to win over the other side. In short, joint problem solving can generate better results for both sides, while saving energy and time and preserving their relationship.

But, this is easy to say but hard to do! The beautiful principles of joint problem solving look like thin air when compared with the stresses, strains, temptations and tempests of life. You might come to the table armed with all your good principles but very easily end up in a face-to-face confrontation instead of solving the problem jointly. You might dig into rigid positions, attack the other side ferociously or let them take advantage of you. Sounds familiar?

William Ury has identified a number of real-world barriers that get in the way to cooperation. Let’s see the five most common of these.

Your Reaction. The first barrier to cooperation is inside of us. Most of us are reaction machines: we feel like answering in kind when we are under stress, we encounter a “no” or we feel we are under attack. Frequently when we strike back we invite the other side to re-do the same, ending up with an action-reaction cycle that leaves both sides losers. Or, under pressure, we might just give in to end the negotiation and preserve the relationship. Thus we lose, and we expose ourselves to further exploitation from others as we have demonstrated our weakness.

Their Emotion. A strong barrier to cooperation is the other side’s negative emotions. When they attack you, they might be angry and hostile. If their position is rigid that might be because of their fear and distrust. When they are convinced that they are right and you are wrong, they might refuse to listen. When they see the world as eat-or-be-eaten, they might feel justified to do whatever in their power to eat you first.

Their Position. You try to face the problem jointly, but they stick to a positional behaviour. They dig into their position and try to get you to give in. They might know no other way to negotiate, they just do what they know. They see it very simply: either you give in, or they give in. Certainly they will do all in their power to let you give in.

Their Dissatisfaction. You try to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement, but they don’t see how that agreement might satisfy them. And even if that agreement might satisfy their interests they might see it as “backing down” from their original requests, at the risk of “loosing face”. They might reject a mutually satisfactory agreement just because it is “your idea”, not even considering what they would get from it.

Their Power. They see the problem as a win-lose situation, thus they are determined to beat you. They might be guided by the precept “what’s mine is mine, what’s yours is negotiable”. Why should they cooperate with you when they can get what they want by using their power?

Adapted from Ury, William, Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation, New York, Bantam, 1993 (1991), pp. 5-9.

Handout 2 - Sample Role-Play Scenarios

You can use any of the following simple scenarios for role-plays (taken from the activity Role Sketches). You can also refer to the activity Negotiation Role Play for a more detailed scenario. Alternatively you can refer to the activity Writing Short-Plays for creating crispy scenarios together with participants during the workshop.

Scenario 1 - Husband and Wife, Dinner Time!

Role 1, husband:

You are Ilyas, 37-year-old agricultural worker (adapt the names to suit the local context, let participants choose). It is 7.00 pm and you have just finished your shift at the farm where you work. It has been a hard day, the farm is harvesting and you and other workers are on a 10-hour-a-day shift since weeks.

You have just returned back home, to find that your wife hasn’t yet prepared dinner. She’s just back with your two kids - they too will have to eat. You are damn hungry and it seems like it will take a couple of hours before you will eat.

This seems to have become routine in your house, your wife doesn’t seem to understand that you need to eat at 7.00 pm.

Role 2, wife:

You are Selma, 34-year-old housewife with a husband and two kids. It is 7.00 pm, you have just rushed home with your two kids, the day has been hot and hard. Your day started at 6.00 am, when you woke up to prepare breakfast for all the family and prepare the kids to go to school. You woke them up, dress up, walked them to school. From there on, you have been running all day to provide the necessities for you family and house.

As usual, in the afternoon you walked the kids to visit their grandmother. She is old and sick, you prepared dinner for her and, on the way back home, you stopped for a while at the park, in order to let the kids meet their friends and play.

Now you rushed home, to find your husband nervous and quarrelling over you because it’s late and dinner is not ready. This seems to have become a routine, he just doesn’t seem to understand that you’ve run the whole day.

Scenario 2: Boss and employee: deadlines and holidays

Role 1: Boss

You are Yoshi, 36-year-old, single. You are managing director of a communication and graphics firm. Your firm is composed of a small team of three creative thinkers and designers plus one administrative and one PR staff. You are working 12-hour-a-day in a row and are engaged 24-7. You do not have time for social life, let alone a relationship! Your firm is your life – and it’s a lot of fun!

Your firm deals with highly aggressive competitors and just being in the market is a daily fight. You ask your staff to be committed to their work, but do not require them to be in the office 8 to 5 as you know that creative staff need the right time and environment to generate ideas. But when it’s needed they shouldn’t watch the clock and be ready to work on weekends.

You are now having a conversation with Haruki, your guy on “virtual reality”. He is managing a major project for an emerging light beverages company, big deal. You noticed he wasn’t much focused on his work in the last couple of weeks and had some delays too. You are keeping an eye on him as you cannot afford one of your staff being like that!

Interestingly, he is now asking for 10 days off, starting from the next week. He probably wants to go on holiday with his family. You do not know if to laugh or get real angry – this guy does not seem to understand that he has a deadline for the end of the month for his project. It is time to straighten up this guy!

Role 2: Employee

You are Haruki, 33-year-old, married with two kids. You work for a graphics and communication emerging firm, where you are in charge of “virtual reality” projects. Your boss, Yoshi, is very demanding with you and the rest of the staff. He is on his own, working 24-7 and seeming to pretend you do the same. To do it justice, you have learned a lot with him and you feel lucky that you can work in such a creative team as the one he has created. You are now managing a major project, with a deadline for the end of the month.

Your younger child has been sick for the last couple of weeks; she got a viral disease that doesn’t seem to get away. To complicate things, your older boy is having a hard time: you have just moved to a different neighbourhood, he misses his old friends and he is having trouble in making new ones.

Your wife is working too, so you manage kids between the two of you, the nanny and the kindergarten. She has decided to take 10 days off starting from the next week – she thinks the kids need more of their parents’ care; she’s asked you to do the same.

You are now facing Yoshi, who doesn’t seem very friendly. You need to ask him ten days off from the next week. You are confident you can respect your project deadline for the end of the month.

Scenario 3: Lucia and Elisabetta at the library

Role1: Lucia

You are Lucia, 25-year-old, with a degree in Philosophy. You have just started working at the local public library as part-time staff. You have always been a bright student, with a passion for understanding, hardly content with simple answers. At the University, you were into a multiplicity of cultural activities, ranging from reading groups to concerts, or meetings with authors. You love reading, learning and discussing with others. You family has nurtured your hunger for learning.

Due to your passionate approach, you have always had arguments with professors and peers. Having spent a few weeks at the library now, you are concerned because few people seem to use the library – especially youth seem to desert it. You hardly believe it: all these books and almost nobody to read them! You think that something has to be done to get the library closer to the people outside. You are already brainstorming initiatives to do that. You are going to speak with the library director, Elisabetta, who has been on the job for over 20 years. You want to expose her to your ideas and persuade her to support them.

Role2: Elisabetta

You are Elisabetta, 56-year-old, Director at the pblic library where you have worked for 27 years. You are a reserved person with a sincere love for your work. You are disappointed as most of the young people seem not interested in reading; most of the youth never access the library. You have seen this phenomenon growing with time: “when I was young” you recall “young people read books and used to frequent the library, they were even making friends here!” You complain that new generations spend too much time watching television and do not seem interested in books. In the past years you have taken part to several initiatives to promote the public library and stimulate people to use it, especially the youth - with little results. A bit tired and disillusioned now, your stand is “the library is here, who’s interested can come, who’s not interested is better out”.

You are now facing Lucia. She has been recently hired and seems a brilliant young woman. Though, she might be a little too optimist as for people people’s interest in using the library. You have seen her brooding for some time over the need to think new initiatives for involving people more with the library.