Negotiating: An
Introduction to the Basics
Presented by Deborah J. Barrett, Ph.D.,
Professor of the Practice of Professional Communication
Postdoctoral Lunch Program
Rice University
March 12, 2009
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Today’s Discussion
 Common mistakes negotiators make
 Negotiation terminology
 The negotiation process
Planning
 Establishing goals and strategy
 Understanding the opponent
Creating a positive ethos and building trust
Discovering interests and options
Reaching agreement and closing
 Negotiations across cultures
 Summary of the best practices
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Common Mistakes Negotiators Make
1. Planning too little or too late
2. Not understanding negotiation styles (their
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
own or the other party)
Ignoring context or differences in culture or
negotiation expectations
Leaving value on the table
Settling for too little
Settling for terms worse than the alternative
Walking away when agreement was possible
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Basic Negotiation Terms
 BATNA – Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement –
your best option should negotiation fail, answer to “What I
will do if current negotiation ends without a deal?”
 Reservation Price – lowest price you will accept, your
walk-away price
 ZOPA – Zone of Possible Agreement – the range in which
a deal can happen, overlap of the most the buyer is willing
to pay and the least the seller is willing to accept
 Aspiration – Strongly desired outcome, target price
 Wish – Blue sky desire
 Distributive (win-lose) or Integrative (win-win) - Types of
negotiations
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Distributive Vs. Integrative Negotiation
 Distributive – Gain by one side means loss to the other
 Integrative – parties cooperate to achieve maximum
benefits of integrating interests
Characteristic
Outcome
Motivation
Distributive
Integrative
Win-Lose
Win-win
Individual gain
Interests
Opposed
Relationship
Issues
Short-term
Joint and individual
gain
Different, not always
opposite
Long- or short-term
Single
Multiple
Tradeoffs
Not flexible
Flexible
Solution
Not creative
Creative
Source: Negotiating Outcomes
(Harvard,
2007).
Copyright Deborah
J. Barrett,
2009
Overview of the Negotiation Process
Plan &
Prepare
Discover
Interests
Develop
Options
Reach
Agreement
• Develop
• Research
• Discover
• Influence
strategy
interests
options
outcome
• Review
• Generate
• Determine
goals
• Explore
interests
alternatives
agreement
Source: Adapted from Jim Rosborough’s planning tool, used by
Jim and Deborah Barrett
in Executive
Education
at Rice University.
Copyright
Deborah J. Barrett,
2009
Planning: How Skilled Negotiators
Achieve the Outcome they Seek
Skilled negotiators . . .
 Spend a significant amount of time planning
 Know the possible areas of shared or
complementary interests (4 times as much as
less skilled negotiators)
 Anticipate the other party’s interests and
possible settlement options
 Take time to know themselves and know the
other party, including their BATNA
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Clarifying Your Negotiation Goals
 What is the BATNA for both of you?
 What do you desire (wants vs. needs)?
 What must you or your organization have
(the deal breaker)?
 What is most important to you and/or your
group or organization—
 Money?
 Terms?
 Alliances?
 Reputation?
 Relationship?
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Determining Communication
Strategy and Approach
 Understand your audience, including
negotiation expectations
 Identify interferences to effective
communication in a negotiation context
 Develop a communication strategy, including
analyzing your audience
 Realize the importance of relationships and trust
 When negotiating across cultures, learn about
the cultural differences
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Developing a Communication Strategy
Context
What are your
primary and
secondary goals?
Who is the best
person to lead the
negotiations?
What information
do you need to
have and to share?
Who will be across
the table?
Timing
Strategic
Objectives
What is the best
time and how
long should you
allow?
Spokesperson
Media/
forum
Audience
What is the best
medium or
forum for this
negotiations?
Source: Strategy Framework from Deborah J. Barrett, Leadership Communication.
New York: McGraw-Hill. Copyright
2006.
Copyright
Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Knowing the Other Party in a Negotiations
 Determine who the decision makers are and
determine how they make decisions
 Know how they approach negotiations
(attitudes and expectations)
 Anticipate and establish their interests
 Learn as much as possible about cultural
differences
 Understand their personality and style
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Recognizing Negotiation Styles
Are you a
 Dodger,
 Dreamer,
 Haggler,
 Competitor, or
 Problem Solver?
How about the other party?
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
How Negotiation Style Affects Results
High
Dreamer
Problem Solver
Zone of
Superior
Results
Concerned
with other
party’s
interests
Haggler
Dodger
Low
Win-Win
Zone of
Inferior
Results
Win-Lose
Competitor
Concerned with satisfying
own interests
High
Source: Claude Cellich and Subhash C. Jain. Global Business Negotiations:
A Practical Guide. Thomson
South-western,
Copyright
Deborah J. Barrett,2004.
2009
Suggesting a Positive
Ethos and Building Trust
The inner
character:
The outward
manifestations:
 Honest
 Appropriate
 Honorable
 Truthful
 Fair
 Ethical
dress and
behavior
 Charisma,
connection
 Preparation
and knowledge
 Credentials
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Negotiation
actions:
 Listen
 Validate
 Use emotional
intelligence
 Watch verbals
& non-verbals
 Be sensitive to
culture
Avoid Common Verbals that Hurt Ethos
 Presenting statements as questions or using





up-speak
Over-qualifying or providing too much context
(Not getting to the point fast enough)
Explaining too much or apologizing too often
Speaking too softly or too fast
Framing in such a way you create doubt
Hesitating or using fillers
Bottom line
Know what you want to say and
say it crisply and with confidence
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Remember Body Language Affects Trust
 Communication is 60 to 80% body language,
including 35% voice
 Your words and your body language need to be
consistent to build trust and relationships
 For some cultures, body language is more
important than in others, but in all, it can help or
hurt you in achieving negotiation goals
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
16
Which Non-Verbal Signals to Watch
1. Smiling too often, not enough, or when not
appropriate
2. Using gestures not consistent with message
3. Standing or sitting small, crouching, sitting
back from the table
4. Tilting your head or raising your eyebrows
5. Not maintaining the appropriate eye contact
(be aware of what is culturally appropriate)
6. Placing your purse, briefcase, computer on the
table between you and the other
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Framing the Negotiations to Your Benefit
 Establish the context for the negotiation in
positive terms.
 If you want them to choose the low-risk option,
couch proposal in terms of gains (appeals to
human nature’s risk aversion).
 If you want them to choose the high-risk option,
present the proposal in terms of potential losses
(appeals to risk-taking behavior).
 Don’t give concessions you might want credit for
later (Endowment Effect).
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Using Skillful Questioning to
Discover Hidden Interests
 Use reflective statements and open-ended
questions (not yes or no)
 Ask What and How questions rather than Why
 Indicate your interest to soften the question
 Address their representational system
How does my proposal look to you? (visual)
What sounds like a good option? (auditory)
How do you feel about this? (kinesthetic)
 Paraphrase and summarize often
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Creating Options Strategically
 Clarify which issues are most important
 Identify linkages
Shared interests - Options build an
atmosphere of interdependency and trust
Interests with possible synergy - Creativity
may provide new joint gains
Interests we value differently - Brainstorm
multiple options without evaluation
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Reaching Agreement
 Propose packages that include all of the





important interests
Propose several alternative packages,
allowing choice
Discuss tradeoffs as alternatives
Make proposal attractive by addressing all
interests
Make it hard to say “no” by asking reality
testing questions
Shift to a more competitive style if necessary
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Preparing for Cross-Cultural Negotiations
 Cultural basics
Definition
Variables
 Different cultural strategies and behaviors
 Different cultural approaches
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Culture – A Definition
 Attitudes, behavior, basic assumptions,
beliefs, and values shared by a group of
people and influencing their interpretation of
other people’s behavior.
 Culture includes –
 Geographical, national,
and social characteristics,
but it also includes
 Gender, age, physical
characteristics,
profession, organizational
function, and company
structure and style.
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Major Cultural Variables
Individualist (I)
Or Collectivist (We)
Or Power
Equality
Information
Flow
Context
High/Low
Doing,
Being,
Becoming
Time
Language
O’Hara-Devereau, M. & Johansen, R. (1994). Globalwork: Bridging Distance, Culture,
and Time. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Also,
see
Barrett,
Copyright
Deborah
J. Barrett,
2009Hofstede, and Hall.
Major Cultural Variables Defined
Variable
High/low context
Description
 Meaning primarily in the
words or in the context and
relationships
Doing, being,
becoming
 Emphasis on action,
accomplishments or self
expression and living life to
the fullest or on growth and
development
 Focused on the past, the
present, or the future; time is
planned, measured, and
valued or fluid and
unimportant
Time
Source: Deborah J. Barrett, “Successfully Communicating Change Across Cultures,”
Journal of Knowledge, Culture,
andDeborah
ChangeJ. Management.
Copyright
Barrett, 2009
25
Major Cultural Variables - continued
Variable
Individual/collective
Description
 Emphasis on “I” or “we,”
on individual or on the
group or the community
Power & equality
 Respectful of authority and
rituals, belief in hierarchies
and titles or little respect
for authority, view that
everyone is equal
 Shared openly or
controlled; top down,
multidirectional
Information flow
Language
 “Language is culture;
culture is language” (Hall)
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009
Different Cultural Expectations
in Negotiation
Underlying view of the
process
 Cooperative or
Competitive
Typical approach
 Specifics to overall
or Overall to specific
Form of agreement
 General principles or
Detailed rules
Implementation of
agreement
 Final, unalterable or
The beginning, open
to adjustments
Source: James K. Sebenius, “The Hidden Challenge of Cross-Border
Copyright Deborah
J. Barrett,
20092002.
Negotiations,” Harvard Business
Review,
March
Different Cultural Attitudes toward
Negotiations
Win-Win Versus Win-Lose
Percentage Country
100
Japan
82
China
81
Argentina
80
France
78
India
71
U.S.
59
U.K.
55
Mexico
50
Germany
47
Nigeria
44
Brazil
37
Spain
Contract Versus Relationship
Percentage Country
Spain
74
France
70
Brazil
67
Japan
55
U.S.
54
Germany
54
U.K.
47
Nigeria
47
Argentina
46
China
45
Mexico
42
India
33
Source: Jeswald W. Salacuse,
The Global
Negotiator.
Macmillan, 2003.
Copyright Deborah
J. Barrett,
2009
Some Gender Differences
 Women feel 2.5 times more apprehension about




negotiating than men.1
When asked to describe negotiating, men say it
is like “winning a ballgame,” and women say, it
is like “going to the dentist.” 1
As much as 20 percent of adult women say
they never negotiate at all, even when they
know they should. 1
Men initiate negotiations about four times as
often as women. 1
Men negotiate nine times more frequently than
women.2
1www.womendontask.com
2 “First
you Have to Copyright
Ask,” Deborah
Harvard
Business
Review, January 2004.
J. Barrett,
2009
To Summarize the Negotiation Best Practices
1. Plan and prepare:
 Establish and write out your goals
 Know the BATNA
 Know your audience: what’s in it for them
 Anticipate cultural differences and
understand expectations
2. Frame the opening to your goal
3. Adopt an appropriate tone; be persuasive but not
abrasive or threatening
4. Stay focused, avoiding being sidetracked by
minor or less important issues
5. Keep emotions under control and watch your
body language and other non-verbals
Copyright Deborah J. Barrett, 2009