Author, Negotiation Adviser & Mediator; Co-Founder & Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Program

Boulder, CO, USA

William Ury Biography

William Ury co-founded Harvard's Program on Negotiation and serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project. Ury is the author of "The Power of a Positive No" and co-author, with Roger Fisher and Bruce Patton, of "Getting to Yes," a negotiation bestseller translated into more than 30 languages. He is also the author of "Getting Past No" and "Getting to Peace," released in paperback as "The Third Side."

Ury has worked as a negotiation adviser and mediator in a range of conflicts, including corporate mergers, labor disputes, and ethnic wars in the Middle East, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Union. He co-founded the International Negotiation Network with former President Jimmy Carter, an organization focused on resolving civil wars globally. Ury contributed to the creation of nuclear crisis centers between the United States and Soviet governments and served as a consultant to the Crisis Management Center at the White House. He has acted as a third party in efforts to end civil war in Aceh, Indonesia, and to prevent conflict in Venezuela.

Ury has taught negotiation to corporate executives, labor leaders, diplomats, and military officers worldwide. He assists organizations in reaching mutually beneficial agreements with customers, suppliers, unions, and joint-venture partners, emphasizing conflict resolution and negotiation strategy.

Ury is also co-founder of e-Parliament, an Internet-based forum for members of congress and parliament worldwide to address global issues such as climate change and energy efficiency. Time Magazine described e-Parliament as a "Google for global politics."

Ury leads the Abraham Path Initiative, which aims to foster intercultural and interfaith understanding by establishing a walking trail and cultural route in the Middle East that follows the path of Abraham and his family. ABC's Christiane Amanpour described the initiative as an effort to break down barriers and encourage communication in a divided region.

Ury has received the Whitney North Seymour Award from the American Arbitration Association and the Distinguished Service Medal from the Russian Parliament. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Financial Times, CNN, and BBC. His TED talk, "The Walk from No to Yes," has reached a global audience and is frequently referenced in negotiation and leadership programs. Ury has advised on high-stakes international negotiations and has been a featured keynote speaker at major global forums, including the World Economic Forum and the United Nations, where he addresses the evolving challenges of conflict resolution in a rapidly changing world.

Trained as a social anthropologist, with a bachelor's degree from Yale and a doctorate from Harvard, Ury has conducted negotiation research in diverse settings, including among the Bushmen of the Kalahari and the clan warriors of New Guinea. He remains active in public speaking and advisory roles, contributing thought leadership on negotiation, peacebuilding, and dialogue at leading academic institutions and international conferences.

BOOK William Ury

Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 09/26/2025.

William Ury Speaking Topics

  • Winning Strategies to Achieve An Optimal Agreement

  • Getting to Yes, 1/2 day seminar

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William Ury Videos

William Ury on Conflict Resolution 2.0: The Mindset of the Possibilist

William Ury on Conflict Resolution 2.0: The Mindset of the Possibilist

William Ury is an American author anthropologist and negotiation expert who co-founded the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

Wi2024 Keynote with William Ury: Possible: How We Survive

Wi2024 Keynote with William Ury: Possible: How We Survive

How can we survive—and even thrive—in this age of conflict? Negotiation expert William Ury coauthor of the best-selling "Getting to YES"

Peace Is A Process with negotiation expert William Ury

Peace Is A Process with negotiation expert William Ury

William Ury. William spent decades as a peace negotiator resolving the world's most intractable conflicts — from avoiding nuclear.

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  • What topics does William Ury speak about?

    William Ury is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Author, Business, Business Authors, Business Coaching, Civil Rights, Culture, Economy, Leadership, Negotiation, Social Activism, Social Justice
  • Where does William Ury travel from?

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William Ury is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Winning Strategies to Achieve An Optimal Agreement, Getting to Yes, 1/2 day seminar, Dealing With Difficult People and Getting to Yes: Negotiating Successful Agreements. The estimated speaking fee range to book William Ury for your event is $50,000 - $100,000. William Ury generally travels from Boulder, CO, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Christopher Voss, Ray Kurzweil, Daymond John, Cheryl Cran and Bill Gates. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling William Ury for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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