On the journey road from No to Yes, it’s possible that you’ll reach one (if not several) impasses, where one or both of you are digging in your heels and you’re not making progress.

When you sense an impending impasse or find yourself in one, consider taking a break to allow both parties to regroup and recharge. After the break, you can employ the following strategies:

Uncover Hidden Interests

 Negotiators often hesitate to share too much information for fear of revealing personal interests. Your task during an impasse is to identify what the other party may be holding back.

For instance, if you’re negotiating a mid-year raise with your boss, there may be something they desire—such as finding someone to lead a project—but they hesitate to ask, fearing it could weaken their position. If you know about the project and express your willingness to take the lead, you can shift the focus toward mutual interests rather than fixed positions.

Manage Expectations Realistically

 While you may aim to bridge a significant gap in negotiations, both sides need to be on the same page to reach a feasible agreement. For example, if you seek a 10% raise while the industry standard is 2% and your company is facing financial difficulties, achieving your goal is unlikely.

Engage in Brainstorming and Problem Solving

 Even if you don’t consider yourself particularly creative, you can stimulate idea generation by applying structured processes to explore the problem from various angles.

• Restate the other party’s position by saying something like, “Let me confirm that I understand your request. You mentioned that…”
• Compile a list of discussed points and display it visibly for everyone involved, using tools like a whiteboard, flipchart, or presentation slides.

 Emphasize Areas of Agreement

Highlight the common ground that already exists by listing the points you both agree on. Additionally, you can agree to set aside certain disagreements and move on to other issues, which can help maintain a constructive dialogue.