Batna Examples: 10 Evidence-Based Coaching Practices

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Batna Examples, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

About 2 minutes

Try it here: write your fallback in one line

Think of a deal or talk you have coming up. Write what you'd do if it ends with no agreement, so you can see your options.

What is coming up, and what would you do if there's no agreement?

Or do it with Io instead.

Practices that may help

  1. BATNA: Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
    BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement), developed by Fisher, Ury, and Patton in Getting to Yes, is what you will do if this negotiation fails completely. It is the only rational basis for your walk-away point. A strong BATNA gives you genuine power because you can credibly walk away; a weak BATNA means any deal is better than your alternative, and a skilled counterpart will sense and exploit that.
  2. Decide strategically whether to reveal your BATNA
    A strong BATNA is worth revealing; a weak one is better concealed while you work on improving it.
    BATNA: Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
  3. Estimate your counterpart’s BATNA
    Understanding what the other side will do if there’s no deal tells you where their pressure is — and how much room you have.
    BATNA: Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
  4. Identify your real BATNA before negotiations begin
    Clarify exactly what you will do if no deal is reached — and whether that alternative is as good as you assume.
    BATNA: Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
  5. Walk away cleanly when the deal falls below your reservation price
    Saying no to a bad deal — and meaning it — is the practice that gives all the others their teeth.
    BATNA: Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
  6. Ask what happens if there is no deal
    Surface the other side’s BATNA by asking what they do if this does not work out.
    Calibrated Questions, Made Practical
  7. Improve your BATNA before you negotiate
    The best time to strengthen your walk-away position is before the negotiation starts, not during it.
    BATNA: Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
  8. Kasina Meditation: Concentration Through a Physical Object
    Kasina meditation is a Theravada Buddhist concentration method from the Visuddhimagga in which the meditator gazes at a simple physical object — earth disk, coloured circle, fire, water — until a stable mental counterpart image (the 'nimitta') arises and can be held in the mind alone. It is the classical route to the jhana absorption states. Evidence is mechanistic; no modern RCTs test kasina specifically.
  9. Task Batching: Grouping Similar Work to Cut Switching Costs
    Task batching means grouping similar or cognitively related tasks into a single time block rather than spreading them throughout the day. It reduces the attention residue that builds up from frequent context switches — the mechanism is well grounded, though controlled outcome data specifically on batching as a named practice is limited.
  10. Behavioral Chain Analysis: The DBT Method for Understanding Problem Behaviors
    Behavioral chain analysis (BCA), a core DBT skill developed by Marsha Linehan, maps every link in the chain of events — from the original vulnerability through the triggering event, thoughts, feelings, and actions — that led to a problem behavior. By making the chain visible, BCA reveals multiple points where the sequence could have been broken, turning a post-hoc autopsy into a concrete prevention plan.

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