CHAPTER SIX

Communication
Communication in Negotiation
Communication processes, both verbal and nonverbal, are critical
to achieving negotiation goals and to resolving conflicts.
• Negotiation is a process of interaction
• Negotiation is a context for communication subtleties that
influence processes and outcomes

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Basic Models of Communication
Communication is an activity that occurs between two people: a
sender and a receiver
• A sender has a meaning in mind and encodes this meaning
into a message that is transmitted to a receiver
• A receiver provides information about how the message was
received and by becoming a sender and responding to,
building on, or rebutting the original message (processes
referred to as “feedback”)

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Distortion in Communication
1. Senders and receivers (individual communicators)
o The more diverse their goals or the more antagonistic
they are in their relationship, the greater the
likelihood that distortions and errors in
communication will occur
2. Messages
o The symbolic forms by which information is
communicated
o The more we use symbolic communication, the more
likely the symbols may not accurately communicate
the meaning we intend

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Distortion in Communication
3. Encoding
o The process by which messages are put into
symbolic form
o Senders are likely to encode messages in a form
which receivers may not prefer
4. Channels and media
o The conduits by which messages are carried from
one party to another
o Messages are subject to distortion from channel
noise or various forms of interference

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 Distortion in Communication
5. Reception
o The process of comprehension by receiving messages and
decoding them into an understandable form
o It might not be possible to capture fully the other’s
meaning, tone or words
6. Interpretation
o Process of ascertaining the meaning and significance of
decoded messages for the situation to go forward
o An important way to avoid problems is by giving the other
party feedback

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Distortion in Communication
7. Feedback
o The process by which the receiver reacts to the
sender’s message
o Can be used strategically to induce concessions,
changes in strategy, or alter assessments of process
and outcomes
o Absence of feedback can contribute to significant
distortions by influencing the offers negotiators
make

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 What is Communicated
during Negotiation?
• Offers, counteroffers, and motives
• Information about alternatives
• Information about outcomes
• Social accounts
o Explanations of mitigating circumstances
o Explanations of exonerating circumstances
o Reframing explanations
• Communication about process

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 Communication in Negotiation:
Three Key Questions
• Are negotiators consistent or adaptive?
o Many negotiators prefer sticking with the familiar rather
than venturing into improvisation
• Does it matter what is said early in the process?
o What negotiators do in the first half of the process has a
significant impact on their ability to generate integrative
solutions with high joint gains
• Is more information always better?
o The effect of exchanging information depends on the type
of issues being discussed and the motivation to use the
information

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 How People Communicate
in Negotiation
• Use of language
o Logical level (proposals, offers)
o Pragmatic level (semantics, syntax, style)
• Use of nonverbal communication
o Making eye contact
o Adjusting body position
o Nonverbally encouraging or discouraging what the other
says

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 How People Communicate
in Negotiation
• Selection of a communication channel
o Communication is experienced differently when it occurs
through different channels
o People negotiate through a variety of communication
media – by phone, in writing and increasingly through
electronic channels or virtual negotiations
o Social bandwith distinguishes one communication channel
from another.
• the ability of a channel to carry and convey subtle social
cues from sender to receiver

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 Four Biases that Threaten
E-mail Negotiations
1. Temporal synchrony bias
o Tendency for negotiators to behave as if they are in a
synchronous situation when they are not
2. Burned bridge bias
o Tendency to do risky things during e-mail that would not
be used in a face-to-face encounter
3. Squeaky wheel bias
o Tendency to use a negative emotional style
4. Sinister attribution bias
o Overlooking the role of situational factors

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 How to Improve
Communication in Negotiation
• Use of questions: two basic categories
o Manageable questions
• cause attention or prepare the other person’s thinking
for further questions:
o “May I ask you a question?”
• getting information
o “How much will this cost?”
• generating thoughts
o “Do you have any suggestions for improving this?”

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 How to Improve
Communication in Negotiation
• Use of questions: two basic categories
o Unmanageable questions
• cause difficulty
o “Where did you get that dumb idea?”
• give information
o “Didn’t you know we couldn’t afford this?”
• bring the discussion to a false conclusion
o “Don’t you think we have talked about this
enough?”

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 How to Improve
Communication in Negotiation
• Listening: three major forms
1. Passive listening: Receiving the message while providing
no feedback to the sender
2. Acknowledgment: Receivers nod their heads, maintain eye
contact, or interject responses
3. Active listening: Receivers restate or paraphrase the
sender’s message in their own language

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 How to Improve
Communication in Negotiation
• Role reversal
o Negotiators understand the other party’s positions by actively
arguing these positions until the other party is convinced that
he or she is understood
o Impact and success of the role-reversal technique
1. Effective in producing cognitive changes and attitude
changes
2. When the positions are compatible, likely to produce
acceptable results; when the positions are incompatible,
may inhibit positive change
3. Not necessarily effective overall as a means of inducing
agreement between parties

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Special Communication Considerations at
the Close of Negotiations
• Avoiding fatal mistakes
o Keeping track of what you expect to happen
o Systematically guarding yourself against self-
serving expectations
o Reviewing the lessons from feedback for similar
decisions in the future
• Achieving closure
o Avoid surrendering important information
needlessly
o Refrain from making “dumb remarks”

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