How to prepare for a negotiation about scope and deadlines

To prepare for a negotiation, define the issue, your constraints and what you will do if no agreement is reached. During the conversation, clarify the other person's needs, discuss workable options and check that you understand the outcome in the same way. Agreement at any cost is not a necessary result.

Consider a work example: a colleague wants a full report by Friday, but you can complete only a checked short version within that time. The task is to agree on a scope and schedule you can actually work to. All details in this example are illustrative.

Prepare facts about the specific request

Before the conversation, note what has been requested: which document, for whom, by when and using which data. Turn missing details into questions. Avoid assigning a motive such as “They want to dump work on me” when the only established fact is an inconvenient deadline.

Build your own estimate: what is already finished, which information is still due and which checks remain. Instead of “That is impossible,” you can say, “Three main indicators will be checked by Friday. The regional comparison still requires another approval.”

If the estimate is provisional, say so. Identifying an uncertainty is more useful than making a promise just to bring an uncomfortable conversation to an end. Bring the current outline or list of missing inputs if it will make the constraint easier to explain.

Separate the preferred outcome from the fallback

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School recommends identifying interests, authority and your BATNA: the best available alternative if no negotiated agreement is reached. This is preparation guidance, not a guarantee that the other person will make concessions.

In our example, the preferred outcome is a short report on Friday and a full version later. A fallback might be asking the project lead to resolve the priority conflict, if that process is genuinely available. “I will find someone who can fix it” is not yet an established fallback when nobody has agreed or has authority to act.

Note what you cannot promise: unchecked figures, another person's time or a change to an existing commitment without agreement. To assess available options, use the guide to essential conditions and comparison criteria.

Ask what the result is needed for

Start with, “What decision needs to be made using the report on Friday?” Perhaps the meeting needs a short briefing rather than every table. Check that possibility instead of declaring it on the other person's behalf.

Follow with, “Which sections are essential for that meeting?” and “Who needs to approve a change in scope?” Briefly restate the answer: “Have I understood correctly that Friday needs the three indicators, while the regional section can be discussed separately?”

If the answer remains “Everything, immediately,” do not pretend a compromise has been found. Explain which conditions prevent delivery and ask what can change. Clear wording can make the problem understandable, but it cannot require the other person to agree.

Discuss two workable proposals

For this example, prepare two possibilities:

• Short version on Friday — Only the three checked indicators, with the timing of other sections agreed separately
• Full report later — A delivery date established after confirming when the data will arrive and how long checking will take

Do not give a precise date for the full report before checking those dependencies. If an additional colleague could help, establish their availability and obtain agreement from whoever allocates the work. A person does not become available merely because a proposal lists their name.

If you need a pause, give it a purpose: “I will check when the data is expected and come back with an estimate tomorrow.” If the opening sentence is difficult, use the exercises for preparing a specific action and phrase. You can prepare your contribution without scripting the other person's response.

Record agreements and open questions separately

After the conversation, send a short recap: what will be prepared, who owns the next action, which dates are confirmed and what still needs a decision. For example: “I will prepare the three-indicator briefing for Friday. The regional comparison is outside this version. Tomorrow we will establish when its data is due.”

Ask the other person to confirm your understanding and correct inaccuracies. Do not treat silence as acceptance or put a condition that was merely proposed into the agreed outcome. If no agreement was reached, state that the scope remains undecided.

Good preparation cannot promise a win in every conversation. It gives you a workable proposal, makes remaining disagreements visible and helps you choose a next step without inventing commitments.