The Key Principles to Rational Negotiation

The RQD invites its emerging artist members to equip themselves with a method to navigate power dynamics, negotiate on equal footing, and foster win-win solutions, regardless of hierarchical position.

This training introduces emerging dance artists to the 10 key principles of reasoned negotiation, a method developed by Fisher and Ury at Harvard University. The approach promotes constructive, fair, and value-creating negotiations.

Reasoned negotiation is based on a collaborative approach focused on the parties’ interests rather than their positions, with the goal of reaching mutually beneficial solutions that avoid both conflict and excessive compromise.

Objectives

By the end of the training, you will understand the fundamental principles of reasoned negotiation, including how to:

•  Build trust with your counterpart
• Acknowledge, value, and take into account the other person’s point of view
• Identify what you can concede and understand what drives the other party’s needs and requests
• Clearly identify and assert your interests (rather than positions) to foster the emergence of new, unexpected, and mutually acceptable solutions
• Separate personal issues from the substantive problem
• Adopt a conciliatory attitude that helps ease and stabilize the relationship
• Welcome and listen to the other party’s proposals and jointly explore a wide range of ideas and options
• When necessary, redirect an attack from the other party toward the problem to be solved
• Detect the fundamental needs underlying emotions and express those emotions responsibly, without projecting or suppressing them
• Anticipate the possibility of a failed negotiation by identifying alternative solutions before entering the discussion

Who is this training for ?

For emerging dance artists and producers, including those who find themselves in positions of authority—real or perceived—as well as those who feel vulnerable within power dynamics and imbalances.

Instructor

 © Jean-François Brière

First, a graduate of the Arts – Dance concentration programs at Collège Montmorency and LADMMI (now École de danse contemporaine de Montréal), Parise Mongrain was a professional contemporary dance performer for 14 years before dedicating herself to advocating for the interests of dance artists. Her strong passion for human beings and interpersonal relationships has guided her career choices.

In 1999, she was elected as a dancers’ representative to the Union des artistes (UDA). She quickly became responsible for the secretariat of the board of directors of the Caisse de sécurité des artistes (CSA) from 2001 to 2003, before being appointed Secretary General of the UDA in April 2003, a position she held until April 2011. Her contributions to the UDA earned her the honorary status of “Lifetime Member.” In parallel, she joined the team at the Centre de ressources et transition pour danseurs in September 2002, where she directed the Québec office until 2021. Since spring 2024, she has been leading the Regroupement québécois de la danse.

Parise Mongrain holds two master’s degrees—one in Industrial Relations (UdeM) and one in Cultural Enterprise Management (HEC Montréal)—and is a certified civil, commercial, and workplace mediator (UdeS/IMAQ). She has been honored as a “Lifetime Member” of the UDA and received the Montréal Dance Prize – Cultural Manager category in 2020.

This training is offered by the Regroupement québécois de la danse.