Are virtual negotiations more or less effective in creating value for all parties?? The result is mixed. Virtual negotiation tends to leave the parties with poorer objective results leaving less warmth and trust during the process. In this article we tell you how to prepare and how to lead a negotiation virtually.
In recent months, almost all negotiations have taken place virtually. Even before Covid-19, many negotiators were leveraging digital tools. Technologies such as video, low-cost teleconferencing and email became opportunities for teams to better plan and negotiate with their counterparts.
First the bad news: Negotiating virtually tends to leave all parties with a poorer objective outcome than planned, leaving less warmth and trust during the process. Moreover, meta-data analysis from 2002 suggests that group decision making is less effective, less satisfying and more prolonged when groups do not communicate face-to-face.
As for e-mail - which is the preferred refuge of introverts for handling conflict - we tend to be less cooperativePerhaps because we are less inhibited in expressing complaints or negative opinions. We also tend to overestimating how well our messages have been understood by our recipients. Studies from 2019, also show that we are not very good at reading emotions via email.
The good news is that research suggests possibilities to increase our options to be successful in negotiations with a virtual context.
When you are planning Virtual Negotiations
1. Assign clear roles to your team:
Calls with more than 4 people can quickly lose the thread. Be sure to ask: who will open the meeting, who will explain the proposal, who will answer the questions, who will summarize the next steps, what will the offline communication be like?
2. Specify - and practice with - non-online methods to communicate:
There are many stories where "private" messages appear on the main screen and are visible to everyone. To avoid this, you can use different tools. For example, if you are using Zoom, use your phone and a different application to chat with your co-workers.
3. Keep conversations short:
Chatting during negotiations can be important, but a study found that performing multiple activities in parallel with a smartphone while trading generates lower resultsis considered less professional and diminishes the confidence of the counterparts. To communicate with a partner in a negotiation, brevity is a virtue.
4. The bigger the better:
Charles Naquin and his colleagues found that negotiators who communicated through video performed better than negotiators who used e-mail or text messaging. In addition, those who used a larger computer screen performed better than those who used a smaller screen. The easier it is to see the counterparts, the less brain effort will be wasted.
5. Short and concrete:
As much as video and telephone are preferred over e-mail or text, they are also time consuming. Short video and teleconferences can allow the parties to have greater focus in negotiations.
When you are leading Virtual Negotiations
1. Generate connections at the beginning:
Taking a few minutes to connect with a general chat can help generate a more collaborative interaction. Studies by Michael Morris show that individuals randomly assigned to have a pre-conversation prior to negotiating via email financially and socially better resultsThe company's shareholders, as opposed to those who began to negotiate immediately.
In another experiment, negotiations were initiated with some humor generating superior results. Overall, having connections on a personal level has a powerful effect on the different stages of negotiation.
2. Clarify restrictions and assumptions:
Video and teleconference meetings can get off to a bad start if interlocutors start at different times. After taking a few minutes to connect with people, be sure to quickly clarify the purpose of the meeting and the time frame. For example, if a key party must leave early, you can reconfigure the agenda at the beginning of the conversation.
3. Hide your own view:
Evidence suggests that when you see yourself during a call you tend to increase self-consciousness and self-criticism. Particularly if you have already evidenced this tendency, it is best to turn off the video where you see yourself.
In the end, there is no rich substitute for face-to-face negotiations. However, as we navigate this period of virtuality, it is useful to remember that digital tools can enable more efficient negotiations and can help us stay connected - if we can understand how best to use them.
Adapted and Translated from: Hal Movious (Harvard Business Review)
