Fair both ways

The idea

Before a negotiation (a raise, a contract renewal, a price, a dispute) use AI to lay out the strongest honest case for your side, the strongest honest case for theirs, and a fairness check: the arguments either side might make that the facts don't support. You walk in knowing where you're strong, where they are, and what not to say.

Why it works

Left to itself, an AI tends to agree with whoever is asking. Ask it to “help me win” and you get your own view back, polished. Asking for both sides, from the same facts, stops your preferred answer creeping in. The fairness check is the most valuable part. It drops the arguments that would cost you credibility, including your own favourites.

Knowing their best case also changes how you talk. You can answer it before they make it, and you're less likely to be surprised.

How to do it

1. Write down the facts first, as a numbered list: what's been agreed, dates, figures, what each side has said. Leave out anything you can't back up.
2. Paste the prompt below with your facts. Tell it to use only those facts.
3. Read their side as carefully as yours. Where their case is strong, decide whether to concede it, answer it or trade on it.
4. Cross off anything the fairness check flags in your own case.
5. Pick the two or three questions you'll ask, and what you'll do if the answer is no.

I'm preparing for a negotiation about [topic] with [their role, e.g. "my manager" or "a client"]. Use only the facts below. Don't add facts, and say so if something important is missing.

Write:
1. A neutral summary of where things stand.
2. The strongest honest case for my position: [what I want].
3. The strongest honest case for their position: [what I think they want].
4. A fairness check: arguments either side might make that these facts do NOT support, and why. Include mine.
5. The objections they're most likely to raise, and an honest answer to each.
6. Three questions that could move this toward an agreement we can both live with.

Refer to the facts by number.

FACTS:
1. [ ]
2. [ ]
3. [ ]

Worked example

Common mistakes

• Skipping the facts list. Without it, the AI fills gaps with plausible guesses.
• Only reading your side. Their case is why you did this.
• Keeping an argument the fairness check flagged because you like it.
• Treating the AI's case for them as what they actually think. It's a guess. Listen in the room.
• Pasting confidential details from your employer or client. Swap names and numbers first: see Swap before you paste.