c/o Harvard Business Review
This well-known Ancient Greek tale "The North Wind and the Sun” is my favourite Aesop’s fable.
“Long ago, the Wind and the Sun quarrelled over who was stronger. Upon seeing a traveller coming down the road, the Sun said: “Now we can end our dispute. Whomever of us can make that traveller take off his cloak shall be regarded as the victor. You begin.”
The Sun retired behind a cloud while the Wind blew, blustered, and raged upon the travelling man. But the harsher he blew, the tighter the man wrapped his coat. At last, exhausted, the Wind gave up in despair.
The Sun came out and shone in all her glory upon the traveller. Soon the man tipped his face up to the warmth. He removed his coat and basked in the Sun’s rays.”
There are many interpretations as to the meaning of the fable, I think Aesop’s fable basically says that if you want a man to take off his coat, you don’t blow it off. You make him feel warm, and he’ll take it off on his own. A metaphor is often used in framing a dispute or situation and you can use this fable as a metaphor for negotiation technique.