ABSTRACT
The blacksmith approach is the classic technique used in informal public negotiations. In the informal public negotiation, neither side is willing to negotiate with the other side. In fact, most of the time during informal public negotiations, the opposing sides are not even willing to talk directly to one another. Under these circumstances, the two opposing teams use the media to negotiate indirectly with each other. Reporters shuttle back and forth between the two hostile camps. The blacksmith approach is the most common style of environmental negotiation. The blacksmith approach is not pretty to watch, but it works. The blacksmith approach is the technique reader should consider using whenever they come up against someone who is unwilling to negotiate with them. The blacksmith approach is an endurance contest. If the opposing team was being flexible and cooperative, reader and their team would not have used the blacksmith approach.
