Negotiation Tools
Bracket Generator
Enter any two of the three values and the third will calculate automatically. Changing an endpoint recalculates the midpoint. Changing the midpoint shifts both endpoints by equal amounts, keeping the spread the same.
How it works
Brackets are a staple of settlement negotiation: “we'll come down to X if you come up to Y.” The arithmetic is simple, but in the middle of a mediation it's easy to get wrong — and the midpoint of a bracket is often the number doing the real talking.
The Bracket Generator takes any two of three values — our number, their number, and the midpoint — and calculates the third instantly. Enter both endpoints and it gives you the midpoint. Enter one endpoint and the midpoint you want to signal, and it tells you where the other endpoint has to be.
Changing the midpoint after all three values are filled shifts both endpoints by equal amounts, keeping the spread of the bracket the same. That makes it easy to slide a bracket up or down the range while preserving its width.
Worked example
You're at $500,000 and want your next bracket to signal a midpoint of $350,000. Enter 500,000 as our number and 350,000 as the midpoint: the tool fills in $200,000 as the other endpoint. If $200,000 feels too low to say out loud, nudge the midpoint up and watch both ends move together.
When to use it
Use it whenever you're constructing or decoding a bracket: before proposing one, to make sure the midpoint says what you intend, or when you receive one, to see instantly what midpoint the other side is signaling.
Frequently asked questions
What is a settlement bracket?
A bracket is a conditional paired move: one side proposes that it will come down to a number if the other side comes up to a number, putting both figures on the table at once. Brackets are commonly used to break stalemates and signal ranges without either side bidding against itself.
Why does the midpoint of a bracket matter?
There are a lot of things you can do with brackets, but what most people are doing most of the time with brackets is proposing midpoints a little more advantageous than their actual target range. Whether or not you would accept the midpoint, you should always at least know what it is. And you should consider the likelihood the other side will interpret the midpoint as a signal.
Does a bracket commit me to its endpoints?
A bracket is an offer like any other — typically conditional and revocable until accepted. But endpoints carry signaling weight: once you have put a bracket out there, the other side knows you will get within its range. It is usually pointless, or at least a waste of time, to move outside a bracket you have already proposed. That is part of the beauty of brackets. They help us move along!