BA225 Week five chapter 7 ppt
- 1. Because learning changes everything.® Essentials of Negotiation Part 02: Critical Negotiation Processes Chapter 07: Communication © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
- 2. © McGraw-Hill Education Chapter Overview Chapter 07 examines the process by which negotiators communicate their interests, positions, and goals. • We first consider what is communicated in a negotiation. • Followed by exploring how people communicate in negotiation. • The chapter concludes with discussions of how to improve communication in negotiation. • And of special communication considerations at the close of negotiations. 2
- 3. © McGraw-Hill Education What is Communicated during Negotiation? When studied, 70% of verbal tactics are integrative. Also, buyers and sellers tend to behave reciprocally. Most of the communication during negotiation is not about preferences. • The blend of integrative versus distributive content varies as a function of the issues being discussed. • And of the expectation parties have for their future relationship. • Yet communication content is only partly responsible for negotiation outcomes. 3
- 4. © McGraw-Hill Education Table 7.1: What Is Communicated during Negotiation? Category of Communication Why It Is Important Offers and counteroffers Offers convey the negotiator’s motives and preferences, which in turn influence actions of the other party. Information about alternatives Strong alternatives confer a strategic advantage, but only if the other party is aware of those alternatives. Information about outcomes Negotiators’ evaluations of their own outcomes will vary depending on what they know about how well the other party did. Social accounts/explanations The negative effects of relatively poor outcomes can be alleviated when the other party offers social accounts. Communication about process When conflict intensifies, risking progress, conversation about process may interrupt a conflict spiral and restore a constructive tone or approach. 4
- 5. © McGraw-Hill Education Offers, Counteroffers, and Motives Preferences are communicated during a negotiation and can have an influence on the actions of the other party and on outcomes. Communication may also convey emotions experienced in relation to the exchange of positions and offers. A communication framework is based on the assumptions that: • The communication of offers is dynamic. • The offer process is interactive. • Various internal and external factors drive the interaction and motivate a bargainer to change their offers. The offer-counteroffer process is dynamic, interactive, and subject to situational and environmental constraints. • The process constantly revises the parameters of the negotiation. • Eventually narrowing the bargaining range and guiding the discussion toward a settlement. 5
- 6. © McGraw-Hill Education Information about Alternatives The existence of a BATNA changes several things in a negotiation. • Negotiators with attractive BATNAs set higher reservation prices. • When the other party has attractive BATNAs, negotiators set lower reservations points for themselves. • When both parties are aware of one party’s attractive BATNA, that negotiator receives a more positive outcome. Negotiators with attractive BATNAs should tell the other party if they expect to receive its full benefits—but style and tone matter. • Politely, or subtly, make the other party aware of your good BATNA which can provide leverage without alienating the other party. • Waving a strong BATNA is the other’s face may be construed as aggressive and threatening. 6
- 7. © McGraw-Hill Education Information about Outcomes One study found that winners and losers evaluate their own outcomes equally when unaware how well the other party did. But, if they find out the other did better, or was pleased with their outcome, then negotiators felt less positive about their own outcome. Another study suggests that even when negotiators learn the other party did poorly, they are less satisfied with the outcome than when they have no comparison information. Be cautious about sharing your outcome or even your positive reaction to an outcome. • Especially if you will negotiate with that party again in the future. 7
- 8. © McGraw-Hill Education Social Accounts Communication during negotiation consists of “social accounts,” which are explanations made to the other party. Especially when negotiators need to justify bad news. Three types of explanations are important. • Explanations of mitigating circumstances where negotiators suggest they had no choice in taking the positions they did. • Explanations of exonerating circumstances explain positions from a broad perspective. • While current positions appear negative, it derives from positive motives. • Reframing explanations, where outcomes can be explained by changing the context. Negotiators who use multiple explanations are more likely to have better outcomes. The negative effects of poor outcomes can be alleviated by communicating explanations for them. 8
- 9. © McGraw-Hill Education Communication about Process Some communication is about the process itself. • Some takes the form of small talk, but some communication about process is critical—as when conflict intensifies and hostilities progress. • One strategy is calling attention to contentious actions and labeling them as counterproductive. • More generally, negotiators should resist reciprocating contentious communication. • Sometimes a break in the substantive conversation and attention to the process is precisely what’s needed. 9
- 10. © McGraw-Hill Education What is Communication in Negotiation? Are negotiators consistent or adaptive? • Negotiators are more likely to be consistent in their strategies than to vary their approach. • They react to smaller proportions of cues as negotiations proceed. Does it matter what is said early in the negotiation? • Evidence suggests that joint gains are influenced by what happens early on. Is more information always better? • Negotiators who know the complete preferences of both parties may have difficulty determining fair outcomes. • The influence of the exchange of accurate information does not automatically lead to better understanding of the other party’s preferences or to better negotiation outcomes. 10
- 11. © McGraw-Hill Education How People Communicate in Negotiation It may seem obvious that how negotiators communicate is as important as what they have to say. • Here we address three aspects related to the “how” of communication. • The characteristics of language that communicators use. • The use of nonverbal communication in negotiation. • The selection of a communication channel for sending and receiving messages. 11
- 12. © McGraw-Hill Education Characteristics of Language Language operates on two levels: the logical and the pragmatic. We respond to the substance of threats and the unspoken message. The use of polarized language. The conveyance of verbal immediacy. The degree of language intensity. The degree of lexical diversity. The extent of a high-power language style. • Threats are more credible and compelling when using negatively polarized, high immediacy, high intensity, high lexical diversity and a high-power style of language. • It is not just what is threatened but how the threat is conveyed. Communication depends on the speaker’s ability to encode thoughts, and the listener’s ability to understand and decode the intended message(s). A negotiator’s choice of words may signal a position and also shape and predict the resulting conversation. 12
- 13. © McGraw-Hill Education Use of Nonverbal Communication Much of what is communicated is transmitted nonverbally through facial expressions, body language, head movements, and tone of voice. • Attending behaviors let the other know that you are listening and prepare the other party to receive your message. Make eye contact. • Make eye contact when delivering the most important part of the message and when receiving information. Adjust body position. • Hold your body erect, lean slightly forward, and face the other person. Nonverbally encourage or discourage what the other says. • Brief eye contact, a smile, or a nod provides encouraging cues. • Frowns or scowls signal disapproval of the other’s message. 13
- 14. © McGraw-Hill Education Selection of a Communication Channel Virtual negotiation or e-negotiation uses different channels. • The key variation distinguishing one communication channel from another is social bandwidth. There are important distinctions between email and other forms of written communication—seen as informal and may use emoticons. • Negotiation through written channels is more likely to end in impasse. Developing rapport and sharing information are aspects of face-to-face communication, which may also allow conveyance of toughness. • Email can mask or reduce power differences between negotiators. • Email negotiations lack schmoozing. Email has a “slow-tempo” while texting is a “fast-tempo” medium more closely approximating oral communication. • Sellers do better with complex arguments in the “quick” medium. 14
- 15. © McGraw-Hill Education 10 Rules for Virtual Negotiation • Create a face-to-face relationship before negotiation. • Be explicit about the normative process to be followed during the negotiation. • If others are present, make sure everyone knows who is there and why. • Pick the channel effective at getting details on the table for consideration by both sides. • Avoid “flaming” by labeling emotion so others know what it is and what’s behind it. • Formal turn-taking is not strictly necessary, but synchronize offers and counter-offers. • Check out assumptions as inferences will get you in trouble, so ask questions. • Be careful not to make unwise commitments. • Unethical tactics may be easier to use in virtual negotiation, but resist the urge. • Develop a negotiation style that is a good fit with the channel you use. 15
- 16. © McGraw-Hill Education How to Improve Communication in Negotiation Failures and distortions in perception, cognition, and communication are the paramount contributors to breakdowns and failures in negotiation. • Just as we evaluate the quality of a deal, we can evaluate the quality of communication—its efficiency and effectiveness—that occurs. Three main techniques are available for improving communication in negotiation. • The use of questions. • Listening. • Role reversal. 16
- 17. © McGraw-Hill Education The Use of Questions Asking questions enables negotiators to secure information about the other party’s position, supporting arguments, and needs. Manageable questions cause attention. • They prepare the other person’s thinking for further questions. • They get information and generate thoughts. Unmanageable questions cause difficulty. • They give information. • And bring discussions to a false conclusion. • They are more likely to elicit defensiveness and anger from the other party. Negotiators can also use questions to manage difficult or stalled negotiations. 17
- 18. © McGraw-Hill Education Table 7.2: Questions in Negotiation Manageable Questions. • Open-ended questions. • Open questions. • Leading questions. • Cool questions. • Planned questions. • Treat questions. • Window questions. • Direct questions. • Gauging questions. Unmanageable Questions. • Close-out questions. • Loaded questions. • Heated questions. • Impulse questions. • Trick questions. • Reflective trick questions. 18
- 19. © McGraw-Hill Education Table 7.3: Questions for Tough Situations The Situation Possible Question “Take it or leave it” ultimatum Are you feeling pressure to bring the negotiation to a close? Pressure to respond to an unreasonable deadline Why can’t we negotiate about this deadline? Highball or lowball tactics What’s your reasoning behind this position? An impasse What else can we do to close the gap between out positions? Indecision between accepting and rejecting a proposal What’s your best alternative to accepting my offer right now? A question about whether the offer you just made is the same as that offered to others Do you believe that I think it’s in my best interest to be unfair to you? Attempts to pressure, control, or manipulate Shouldn’t we both walk away from this negotiation feeling satisfied? 19
- 20. © McGraw-Hill Education Listening There are three major forms of listening. Passive listening involves receiving the message while providing no feedback about accuracy. • If your counterpart is talkative, the best strategy may be to sit and listen. Acknowledgement is slightly more active than passive listening. • Receivers may nod, maintain eye contact, or interject responses like “I see.” Active listening is the third form of listening. • Receivers restate or paraphrase the sender’s message in their own language. Active listening is a skill that encourages others to speak more fully about their feelings, priorities, frames of reference, and, by extension, the positions they are taking. 20
- 21. © McGraw-Hill Education Role Reversal Role reversal allows negotiators to understand the other party’s position by arguing these positions until the other party is sure they understand. • The impact and success of the role-reversal techniques point to two implications for negotiators. • First, the party using role reversal may understand the other party’s position, which can lead to convergence between positions. • Second, the technique may end up sharpening perceptions of differences if the positions are fundamentally incompatible. Role reversal can be most useful during the preparation stage of negotiation or during a team caucus when things are not going well. 21
- 22. © McGraw-Hill Education Special Communication Considerations at the Close of Negotiations Avoid fatal mistakes. • Know when to shut up. • Refrain from making “dumb remarks.” • Don’t respond to other party’s dumb remarks. • Watch out for nitpicking or second-guessing. • Put agreement in written form. Achieving closure involves decisions on: framing, gathering intelligence, coming to conclusions, and learning from feedback. • Feedback is largely a communication issue. • Track your expectations and incorporate feedback into similar future decisions. • Decision traps resulting from perceptual and cognitive biases may occur at the end of negotiations. 22
- 23. Because learning changes everything.® www.mheducation.com © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.