Storytelling in Negotiations: Crafting Persuasive Narratives in Settlements and Mediations

Deborah V. Pagnotta | ULUstory, PBC

When Deborah was 5, her adventurous architect mother moved them from Oakland, California, to Accra, Ghana. Five years later, her mother’s boss, President Kwame Nkrumah, was overthrown by a military coup. Deborah was shipped off to a small boarding school in Europe. A year later, they moved to Los Angeles, then New Haven, then her mother sent her back to another boarding school in Europe, where she finished high school. Then, after a gap year in Detroit, she was off to Boston for college. With each move, she had to learn how to survive in a completely new culture -different languages, visuals, rules, values, even clothes, cultural references, fragrances, hairstyles. Storytelling saved her – giving her, always the stranger, the gifts of making friends, perspective shifting, and listening skills.

These skills have informed all her work as an adult: as a lawyer, trainer, mediator, professor, VP/HR, and entrepreneur. Her role in each has been to helping people communicate more effectively, past barriers, to connect, persuade, teach, team build, and manage conflict. How? Using stories.

So, in 2021, she founded ULUstory, a science-based storytelling platform to help every user easily and rapidly find, build and share their true stories to create sustainable trust, empathy and connection across barriers, even with people we don’t like. How? Neuroscience tells us that true storytelling, in a very particular format, is the most powerful communication tool by which humans can forge community. 47,000 years ago, cavepeople started telling stories to overcome hostility and create collaborative societies. ULUstory marries science, tech, and creativity to give everybody that power

I. Preface | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

• Objectives
  • Explain the role of storytelling in negotiation contexts vADD. motion, trial and appellate
    context
• Outline of key learning objectives: crafting narratives for settlement and mediation
  • Understanding audience needs, and building rapport
  • ADD identifying and building relevant stories

II. The Psychology of Persuasion in Negotiations | 1:10pm – 1:30pm

• Understanding decision-making in negotiations
  • Emotional vs. rational decision-making
  • How stories impact perceptions of fairness and compromise
  • Use of storytelling in distributive v. integrative bargaining
•  The power of trust, empathy, and connection
  • Using stories to build trust and mutual understanding

III. Crafting Narratives for Negotiation Success | 1:30pm – 2:00pm

• Key elements of an effective narrative
  • Structure: beginning, middle, and resolution
  • Highlighting shared interests and values
• Case study: transforming data into a story
  • Example of how a personal story or timeline helped achieve a favorable settlement.

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

IV. Storytelling Techniques in Practice | 2:10pm – 2:40pm

• Telling Stories in Mediation
  • Balancing empathy for the opposing side while advocating for your client
  • Using metaphors and analogies to clarify complex positions
• Overcoming challenges in storytelling during negotiations
  • Adapting stories for skeptical or hostile audiences
  • Avoiding common pitfalls like exaggeration or misrepresentation

V. Practical Strategies for Negotiators | 2:40pm – 3:00pm

• Tailoring narratives for different stakeholders
  • Adjusting tone and content for clients, opposing counsel, and mediators
• When and how to use visual aids
  • Supporting your story with graphics or summaries to enhance impact

VI. Conclusion and Q&A | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

• • Key takeaways
  • Summarize the importance of narrative techniques in negotiation success
  • Provide actionable steps to implement storytelling in practice
• Interactive Q&A