Since the group as a whole has responsibility for keeping the negotiations going, the manager may ask the rest of the group to respond to the disaffected member. The manager may persuade the disaffected party to try one more meeting. In some cases the progress really is stuck, and so the parties' frustration is reasonable. In these cases managers should consult with the other parties, looking for hidden obstacles in order to determine what is slowing progress. When parties fear that negotiations are moving too quickly, the manager should call for a break in negotiations, to allow the concerned party time to review the issue and build confidence in their agreements.
Ground rules can help to avoid offensive behavior and poor treatment of the parties.
It may be helpful to review the ground rules, and to explain why ground rules are important. If a participant continues to behave badly or to undermine the process the may consider asking that person to leave the negotiations. Sometimes the problem lies in the personality of the particular individual. In this case the negotiating parties may ask the problematic individual's constituency group to appoint a new representative. Negative stereotypes often create self-fulfilling expectations about the other side's behavior.