Intercultural communication in international negotiations

Defining Culture and Intercultural Communication...15 1.2.1 Culture...15 1.2.2 Intercultural Communication...16 1.3 The Concepts of International Negotiations...22 1.3.1 The Definition o

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

ĐINH THU TRANG

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS

GRADUATE THESIS International Relations

Hanoi - 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

ĐINH THU TRANG

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS

Graduate Thesis - International Relations

Code: 60310206

Supervisor: Dr LÊ THẾ QUẾ

Hanoi - 2014

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI VÀ NHÂN VĂN

GIẤY XÁC NHẬN SỬA CHỮA LUẬN VĂN Kính gửi: PGS.TS Phạm Quang Minh

Chủ tịch Hội đồng chấm luận văn thạc sĩ khoa học chuyên

ngành Quan hệ Quốc tế (Mã số: 60310206).

Tên em là Đinh Thu Trang, học viên cao học khóa QHQT-2011,

chuyên ngành Quan hệ Quốc tế, Khoa Quốc tế học Em đã hoàn thành bảo vệ Luận văn thạc sĩ khoa học chuyên ngành Quan hệ Quốc tế, mã số 60310206

ngày 26 tháng 12 năm 2014 với đề tài: “Intercultural Communication in International Negotiations”.

Theo những đánh giá, nhận xét và kết luận của Hội đồng chấm luận văn ngày 26 tháng 12 năm 2014, luận văn của em đã được sửa chữa như sau:

- Diễn đạt lại mục tiêu nghiên cứu của đề tài, phạm vi nghiên cứu và kết quả nghiên cứu của đề tài.

- Chuyển sang dạng bị động, thay cho cách dùng “we” và “you”: trang 3,4, 27, 33, 32, 52, 56, 57, 44, 55.

- Bổ sung ý vào tiểu kết của 3 chương

- Giải thích rõ hơn một số ý: less education, các ví dụ cho kỹ năng thuyết phục (persuasion skills), tính hiếu khách (hospitability) trong đàm phán quốc tế được thể hiện thế nào, cultural theme, low context, high context, yin culture.

- Bổ sung tính linh hoạt (Flexibility) trong phong cách đàm phán của người Việt Nam.

- Giải thích rõ hơn mối liên hệ trong tam giác đàm phán hiệu quả (Figure 2.4: trang 31).

- Diễn đạt lại một số câu cho phù hợp.

Nay em làm đơn này kính đề nghị PGS.TS Phạm Quang Minh - Chủ tịch Hội đồng xác nhận việc bổ sung nói trên của em đã tuân thủ theo đúng yêu cầu.

Em xin trân trọng cảm ơn.

First and foremost, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to my advisor– Dr Le The Que, Faculty of International Studies, University of Social Sciencesand Humanities (FIS/USSH), Vietnam National University, Hanoi- for hissuggestions that helped me choose my thesis topic and his careful guidancethroughout the writing process

Secondly, I wish to convey my deep thanks to all my FIS/USSH lecturers who haveimparted a great deal of content knowledge to me through their enthusiasticlectures

Lastly, I would like to thank my loved ones for all their support and encouragement

I welcome any comments and suggestions

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Figures and Tables 6

INTRODUCTION 7

Chapter 1: Overview of Basic Concepts 12

1.1 Defining Communication 12

1.1.1 Verbal Communication 12

1.1.2 Nonverbal Communication 14

1.2 Defining Culture and Intercultural Communication 15

1.2.1 Culture 15

1.2.2 Intercultural Communication 16

1.3 The Concepts of International Negotiations 22

1.3.1 The Definition of International Negotiations 22

1.3.2 Types of Actors 23

1.3.3 Types of International Negotiations 24

1.3.4 Phases of International Negotiations 24

Chapter Summary 25

Chapter 2: Communication Factors and Cultural Differences Influencing International Negotiations 2.1 The Influences of Communication Factors on International Negotiations 27

2.1.1 The Model of Inter-cultural Negotiation as a Communication Process 2.1.2 The Impacts of Communication Factors in the Process of International Negotiation 28

2.1.3 The Importance of Questioning Skills in Negotiation 32

2.1.4 Listening Skill from the Message’s Receiver in Negotiation 34

2.1.5 Messages in International Negotiations 36

2.1.6 Persuasion Skills 37

2.2 The Impact of Inter-cultural Factors on Negotiation 37

2.2.1 The Model of Inter-cultural Negotiation 37

2.2.2 The Model of the Negotiation Process Influenced by Cultural Differences 39

2.2.3 Culture Affects the Beginning of Negotiations 41

2.2.4 Culture Affects Psychology of Negotiators 43

2.2.5 Culture Affects the Process of Negotiations 43

2.2.6 Negotiation Style as a Result of Cultural Influences 47

2.2.7 Cultural Barriers to International Negotiations 48

Chapter Summary 52

Chapter 3: Strategies to Deal with Intercultural Communication in International Negotiations and Implications for Vietnamese Negotiators

53

3.1 Strategies to Deal with Intercultural Communication in International Negotiations 53

3.1.1 Applying Key Components of Intercultural Communication Competency (ICC) 53

3.1.2 Entering into Dialogue 56

3.1.3 Training Intercultural Communication 57

3.2 Implications for Vietnamese Negotiators 62

3.2.1 The Positive Aspects of Vietnamese Communication Style 62

3.2.2 The Negative Aspects of Vietnamese Communication Style 63

3.2.3 Some Recommendations for Vietnamese Negotiators 65

Chapter Summary 66

CONCLUSION 67

REFERENCES 69

Figures and Tables

Figure 2.1: The culture as one influence factor of communication pattern in

international negotiation 28

Figure 2.4: Triangle of an effective negotiation 34

Figure 2.5: The model of inter-cultural negotiation 38

Figure 2.6: The influence of cultural distance on the negotiation process 41

Figure 3.1: Satoshi Ishii’s Model of Culture 59

Table 2.2: Non-verbal language in negotiation 30

Table 2.3: Importance of communication skills in negotiation 31

Table 2.7: Communication Rules for Global Negotiators 45

Table 3.2: Hierarchical Decision Making of German negotiators 60

Table 3.3: Indonesian communication style 60

Table 3.4: How to talk with an Australian 61

INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the Study

In the era of globalization nowadays, people in the world have been interactingmore increasingly and intensively with one another One of the main reasons is thatbecause of the rapid and strong development of sciences and technologies in allaspects that have blurred, flatenned and connected all corners of the world closely.Therefore, people in different countries, in different cultures have beencommunicating with one another very much They meet one another in international

or regional, conferences, forums, discussions especially in international negotiations

in all different aspects such as politics, economics, social and cultural fields Thisreflects a more general trend toward multilateralism As Robert O Keohane writes

in “Multilateralism: An Agenda for Research” on International Journal 45, no 4(1990), p.731: “since the end of World War II, multilateralism has becomeincreasingly important in world politics, as manifested in the proliferation ofmultilateral conferences on a bewildering variety of themes…” Internationalnegotiations are advantageous opportunities which different actors can interact andexchange their mutual ideas, opinions, preferences and compromises Thesenegotiations also help them understand one another better Clearly, internationalnegotiations are considered one of interaction environments for actors fromdifferent cultures And we see clearly that there is a relationship betweenintercultural communication and international negotiations Intercultural interaction

is an inherent, attached feature of international negotiations Certainly, culturaldifferences are regarded as one of indispensable traits in international negotiations.One of the big barriers to international negotiations is the difference in culturalvalues in which conflicting cultural values create their own special obstacles andbarriers to negotiations Culture can be conceived as a system or entity whichconsists of interdependent parts that can be understood through related contexts.Culture can shape the behavior of individuals and negotiators in a wide range ofsituations Culture–bound aspects of behavior, including language, forms ofcommunication, and customs, as well as the individual traits or psychologicalcharacteristics of members of a delegation, can also affect the ways issues are

handled to reach an agreement In large-scale international negotiations, whenmany different countries, and hence cultures, are represented at the bargainingtable, the likelihood that culture differences will hinder communications andnegatively affect the process of negotiations through the conflicting desires andstrategies of the actors Therefore, it would be very important to study interculturalcommunication in order to understand the different cultures of negotiation actors;

to find out the causes of cultural conflicts and barriers to negotiation andunderstand the communication factors as well as skills so as to interact with ourcounterparts successfully; and then to work out solutions for effective negotiation The above-mentioned ideas helped me choose “Intercultural Communication inInternational Negotiations” as my research topic

Meanwhile, the study of intercultural communication has developed strongly inforeign countries, especially in the United States and elsewhere, in which somefamous scholars include Edward Hall, Hofstede, Kluchhohn, Strodtbeck, Gudykunstand Kim, Stella Ting - Toomey… Today, some neiboughring countries of Vietnamlike China and Singapore have implemented increasingly and deeply the study andtraining of intercultural communication

Historically, the study of intercultural communication has been associated withseveral disciplines and it is only since the 1950s that intercultural communicationhas been evaluated in its own right Intercultural communication, as a study, beganwith the initial works by Edward Hall and others at the Foreign Service Institute inthe early 1950s In literature, Edward Hall is considered the founder of interculturalcommunication Prior to World War II, the United States was relatively isolated and

was not caught up in intercultural communication issues At the end of World War

II, the United States found itself as the largest economy As a result, with itsincreasing strength, the US tried to help Europe overcome the damages from thewar However, the US’ efforts seemed to be unsuccessful, because of the lack of theunderstandings about Europe’s cultures

In 1947, the Foreign Service Institute was established with the aim to traindiplomats and other staff members whose duties were related to foreign affairs Thefunction of this Institute was to promote the understanding about cultures of foreigncountries and people From 1959 to 1960s, intercultural communication had yet todevelop the necessary resources for it to stand alone as a discipline The best sellingbook “Silent Language” of the author Edward T Hall in 1959 was considered thestarting point of intercultural communication The real “birth” of interculturalcommunication happened in the 1970s with specialized intercultural communicationcourses in diplomacy, army forces - training, business negotiations…

Since the late 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, there have been manybooks of foreign authors researching the connection between interculturalcommunication and international negotiations or evaluating internationalnegotiations at the cultural aspects and communication aspects Some typical booksand authors in this field in the world are named as follows: Cross – CulturalBusiness Negotiations written by Donald W.Hendon, Rebecca Angeles Hendon,Paul Hergig (1996); Essentials of Negotiation written by Roy J.Lewicki, DavidM.Saunders, John W.Minton (2001); Intercultural Communication in Contextswritten by Judith N.Martin, Thomas K.Nakayama (2010); Negotiating acrossCultures: International Communication in an Interdependent World written byRaymond Cohen (2002)…

3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the thesis is to research the impacts of intercultural communication oninternational negotiations Clearly, the international negotiations would beevaluated and analysed in communication and cultural aspects of interculturalcommunication

In order to achieve this aim, the following research questions were to be answered

to specify the objectives of my thesis:

- What do communication and intercultural communication mean? What are thecharacteristics of intercultural communication? And how is the relationship betweenintercultural communication and international negotiations?

- How are the impacts of intercultural communication on the process ofnegotiations?

- What intercultural communication experiences do Vietnamese negotiators arerecommended to have so as to succeed in international negotiations?

4 Scope of the Study

The thesis is to focus on researching two objects including interculturalcommunication and international negotiations which are closely related with eachother, and the author looks at them dialectically These factors (interculturalcommunication or international negotiation) are not put separately or independently.Moreover, international negotiations tend to involve many aspects includingbusiness as it is one of the main fields in which there is much more participation ofnon-state actors besides state actors And the interaction between non-state actorshas become one highlighted tendency of the era of international integrationnowadays such as private firms, non governmental organizations (NGOs)…International negotiations can be bilateral or multilateral ones And internationalnegotiation actors are not only state- actors but also non-state actors includingpeople, individuals in state or non-state firms or enterprises…in different cultures.Thus this thesis ‘s scope would be limited to the business aspects of internationalnegotiations

As regards theoretical analyses and practical examples used in the field ofintercultural communication, the author would select these from communicationstyles of some countries in the world as well as from the Vietnamesecommunication style

7 The Structure of the Study

Besides the introduction and conclusion, the thesis consists of three chapters, in which:

Chapter 1: Overview of Basic Concepts - offers an overview of basic concepts

relating to the thereotical issues of communication, culture, interculturalcommunication, negotiation, intercultural communication and internationalnegotiation

Chapter 2: Communication Factors and Cultural Differences Influencing International Negotiations- mentions the influences of intercultural

communication on the process of international negotiations

Chapter 3: Strategies to Deal with Intercultural Communication in International Negotiations and Implications for Vietnamese Negotiators-

provides some useful solutions for the effective intercultural communication,especially for Vietnamese negotiators in order to facilitate international negotiationssuccessfully

Chapter 1: Overview of Basic Concepts

1.1 Defining Communication

Communication may be understood as a “symbolic process whereby reality isproduced, maintained, repaired and transformed” (Carey, 1989) [9, pg.85] Thissimple definition involves several ideas Why communication is symbolic? Thismeans that the words we speak and the gestures we make have no inherent meaning,but rather gain listeners’ significance from an agreed- upon meaning Thus, when

we use symbols to communicate, we assume that the other person shares oursymbol system Also, these symbolic meanings are conveyed both verbally andnonverbally [9, pg 85] According to Nancy J.Adler (1991), communication is theexchange of meaning: communication includes sending both verbal messages(words) and non-verbal messages [31, pg.1] The framework of communicationincludes certain components: sender(s), message(s), channel(s), receiver(s),noise(s), feedback [11, pg 9- 10] Every communication has a message sender and

a message receiver The sent message may be hardly identical to the receivedmessage Why? The sender encodes the message into words or behaviors according

to his or her viewpoints While the receiver decodes the message in his or herinterpretations The receiver can understand the message in another way or thereceiver can select which information to get according to his or her concerns,opinions, needs Therefore, the meanings of the message from sender and receivermay be different Especially, the differences in cultural backgrounds betweensender and receiver are greater, the gap between encoding and decoding themessage is wider

1.1.1 Verbal communication

Language is considered as the main tool in the process of communication Butaccording to the Italian filmmaker and director Federico Fellini, “a differentlanguage is not just a dictionary of words, sounds and syntax It is a different way ofinterpreting reality, refined by the generations that developed the language” [13,pg.199] Because when people from different cultures communicate, culturalfactors affect how they encode and decode their messages Language and linguisticstructures (i.e the manner in which words, grammar, syntax and the meaning of

words are organized and used) are closely linked to cultures because while cultureprovides the meaning and meaning- making mechanisms, language provides thesymbols to facilitate the expression of such meanings On one hand, languagereflects culture because it describes thoughts, ideas, and artifacts that are relevant to

a cultural group It is through language that we share information, teach, and learnhow to behave appropriately On the other hand, culture reflects language becauselanguage provides the means with which we organize our thinking and describe theworld around us [13, pg.205]

Furthermore, language may not convey all the meanings in the process ofcommunication Firstly, language is static, while reality is dynamic Wordsthemselves do not change over a period of time, yet the world around us is full ofchange The world changes much faster than words do We are always using verbalmodels that are somewhat out of date and no longer describe the world we live in

So, we need recognize the nature of the issue and negotiation partners through otherfactors such as non- verbal communication, their cultural customs, habits…, notonly basing on their verbal communication Secondly, Language is limited, whilereality is virtually unlimited Wendell Johnson (1972) points out that there are 500

000 to 600 000 words in the English language and that they must represent millions

of individual facts, experiences, and relationships [12, pg.93] The vocabularies thatpeople ordinarily use are much smaller In telephone conversations, people typicallyuse a vocabulary of about 5000 words, and the average novel uses a vocabulary ofabout 10 000 words This might suggest that our vocabularies are normallysufficient for every day communication, but it is difficult to express every case inwords, especially in complex and professional cases such as negotiation case withlimited vocabularies Thirdly, language is abstract Abstraction is a process ofselecting some details and leaving out other details Any use of language involvessome abstraction Indeed, abstraction is one of the most useful features of language

As words become more and more abstract, their correspondence to reality becomesless and less direct S.I Hayakawa (1964) developed a useful diagram to show theway words can have differing degrees of abstraction His diagram, called anabstraction ladder, is based on a concept developed by Korzybski (1958) called the

structural differential [12, pg.94] The abstraction ladder shows some object or issuefrom the lowest level of abstraction to the highest level of abstraction, at whichparticular details of the object or issue are presented in the lowest level ofabstraction, and no details presented in the highest level of abstraction Notice that

at each level, more detail is left out until at the last level we come to a very abstractword This abstract word does not suggest a particular picture to the mind about thementioned object or issue That is one of the characteristics of abstract words: they

do not suggest a clear picture of something in reality, and people often have verydifferent meanings in mind for them Fourthly, there are assumptions built in tolanguages The structure and vocabulary of every language contain manyassumptions about the nature of reality Wendell Johnson (1972) observed that thelanguage we use not only puts words in our mouths, but it also puts notions in ourheads [12, pg 96] Benjamin Lee Whorf (1952) put it this way: “every languageis…different from others…Culture determines the forms and categories by whichthe personality…communicates…analyzes nature, notices or neglects types ofrelationships and phenomena, channels his reasoning, and builds the house of hisconsciousness Each language performs this artificial chopping up of reality in adifferent way [12, pg 96]

Clearly, language is not only words but also contains cultures of communicatorssuch as their ideas, opinions, awareness, evaluations, interpretations…So, in order

to communicate effectively, communicators not only master verbal skills but alsounderstand what are hidden behind words

1.1.2 Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication is very significant because what cannot be conveyedthrough words is sent through by many other factors such as facial expressions, eyecontact, gestures, body movements, posture, physical appearance, space, touch, andtime usage They are all different from culture to culture Nonverbal behaviorseither accompany verbal messages or are used independently of verbal messages.They may affirm and emphasize or negate and even contradict spoken messages.Nonverbal behaviors are more likely to be used unconsciously and spontaneouslybecause they are habitual and routine behaviors The meaning of any nonverbal

communication act depends upon the individual involved, the context in which theact is performed, and the cultural backgrounds of the interacting people: thetremendous impact of the “silent language” on the interaction process Forexample, facial expressions are an important component of non verbalcommunication Whereas some facial expressions are fairly universal – a look ofhappiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust and surprise – and typically can berecognized by people from almost all cultures, research has demonstrated thatindividuals are better able to recognize such emotions in people from their ownculture than from other cultures This is because cultural expectations dictate when,where, how, to what extent and to whom such facial expressions are displayed InMediterranean cultures, it is common to exaggerate signs of grief or sadness, whileChinese and Koreans prefer to conceal emotions and not engage in animated facialexpressions While smiling is also understood differently In Thailand (the “Land ofsmiles”), a smile is a sign of friendliness, in Korea and Japan, it can be a sign ofshallowness Comparing Japanese and American interpretations of emotions,Americans tend to express emotions more openly than the Japanese Americansoften focus on the mouth to interpret emotions, while the Japanese often focus oneyes [13, pg.219] In terms of personal space, in some cultures including NorthAmerica, Northern Europe and much of Asia, people tend to remain relatively farapart when talking to each other, even among good friends, so as not to invadeanyone’s personal or private space In other cultures, such as those in Latin Americaand many Arab countries, people tend to stand much closer together when talking ordoing business, frequently touching one another [13, pg.220].

1.2 Defining Culture and Intercultural Communication

1.2.1 Culture

There are many definitions of culture Some emphasized culture as a set of patterns

of thought and beliefs, others viewed culture in terms of a set of behaviors, stillothers focused on the nonmaterial aspects of human life or on the material aspects

of societies The founder of anthropology Tylor (1871) defined culture: “thatcomplex whole which indicates knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and anyother capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society” [5, pg.15]

According to anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1973), “culture denotes an historicallytransmitted pattern of meaning embodied in symbols, a system of inheritedconceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate,perpetuate and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life” [9, pg.78].Carrol (1982) describes culture as: (a) something that is shared by all or almost allmembers of a social group, (b) something that the older members of a group try topass on to the younger ones, and (c) something that shapes behaviour or structuresone’s perception of the world [5, pg.15] Linton (1945) conceived culture as learnedbehaviour and results of behaviour [5, pg.15] Similarly, Barnouw (1979) describedculture as patterns of learned behaviour and said that: “a culture is a way of life of agroup of people, the configuration of all of the more or less stereotyped patterns oflearned behaviour, which are handed down from one generation to the next throughthe means of language and imitation” [5, pg.15] According to the psychologicaldefinition of culture of Geert Hofstede (1984), culture is defined similarly as the

“programming of the mind” and the “interactive aggregate of commoncharacteristics that influence a human group’s response to its environment” [9,pg.78] Gerry Philipsen (1992) writes “culture…refers to a socially constructed andhistorically transmitted pattern of symbols, meaning, premises, and rules…” [9,pg.80] Therefore, despite different aspects of the definition of culture, the nature

of culture is formed by the transmission of the values of life between people, andespecially in the process of interaction or communication, culture of eachcommunicator will be expressed, or created or acculturated properly So, culture isconsidered an important aspect of intercultural communication

1.2.2 Intercultural Communication

According to Gudy Kunst (2003) and Jandt (2004), Intercultural communicationgenerally refers to a type of face- to- face communication involving people fromdifferent cultures [25, pg.13-14] Lustig and Koester (1999) did not confine theirdefinition of intercultural communication to face - to – face, but they used moregeneral terms of interaction with people from different cultures They also addedthat “intercultural communication is a symbolic process in which people fromdifferent cultures create shared meanings” [25, pg.13-14] Barnet and Lee (2003)

identifies the interaction to be “the exchange of cultural information” betweengroups of people from different cultures [25, pg.24] According to Milton J Benrutt(1998), the study of intercultural communication has tried to answer the question

“how do people understand one another when they do not share a common culturalexperience?” Intercultural communication is the sending and receiving of messagesacross languages and cultures It is also a negotiated understanding of meaning inhuman experiences across social systems and societies [3, pg.2] Samovar & Porter(1997) point out that as cultures differ from one another, the communicationpractices and behaviours of people will inevitably vary as a result of their differentperceptions of the world Intercultural communication, more precisely, is defined asthe study of communication between people whose “cultural perceptions andsymbols systems are distinct enough” to alter their communication [14, pg.3] Intheir model of intercultural communication, Samovar & Porter (1997) illustrate theprocess of how the meaning of a message changes when it is encoded by a person inone culture and decoded by a person in another culture in the context of his or herown cultural background In some cases, the message may be interpreted to carry adifferent meaning than was intended [14, pg.3] Karlfried Knapp (1995) definesintercultural communication “as the interpersonal interaction between members ofdifferent groups which differ from each other in respect of the knowledge shared bytheir members and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behaviour” “It is

a symbolic interpretative, transactional, contextual process in which the degree ofdifference between people is large and important enough to create dissimilarinterpretations and expectations about what is regarded as competent behaviors thatshould be used to create shared meanings” [24, pg.2] If we use what is said about

“culture” and “communication” as a base, we would now be able to defineintercultural communication as the sharing of information on different levels ofawareness between people with different cultural backgrounds

Clearly, intercultural communication can be defined as an exchange of meaningbetween the senders and the receivers from different cultures which can create

“cultural noise” of the process of commnication Communication can be verydifficult if the differences between the cultures are great It can break down

completely if there is too much “cultural noise” (Jahn, 1995) [32, pg.46] So, if wereduce this cultural noise, it would be necessary to understand some basicdimensions of culture differences.

1.2.3 The characteristics of Intercultural Communication

Firstly, it creates the uncertainty and ambiguity between interactants Intraculturalcommunication refers to communication between interactants sharing the samecultural background, while intercultural communication, interactants come fromdifferent cultures During intracultural communication, interactants share the sameground rules of communication and interaction In intercultural communication this

is often not true One of the typical aspects of intercultural interactions isuncertainty and ambiguity concerning different ground rules and signals’ meaning

of interactants [26, pg.16] Because of the pervasive influence of culture on allaspects of the communication process, the sending messages of one side and thereceiving the messages of other side are different, which creates the uncertainty orambiguity between interactants For example, intercultural interactants generallyengage with each other in a verbal language that is often not a native language for atleast one, and sometimes both sides, thus creating intrinsic uncertainty in themeaning of the words Cultural differences in the use of non verbal channelsproduce uncertainty in the messages as well

Secondly, it is the difference in the perception of interactants The process ofselecting, organizing, and evaluating stimuli or signals is referred to as perception.The volume of environmental stimuli is far too large for us to pay attention toeverything, so we select only what we consider relevant or interesting Afterdetermining what we will attend to, the next step is to organize the selected stimulifor evaluation A common assumption is that people conduct their lives inaccordance with how they perceive the world These perceptions are stronglyinfluenced by culture In other words, we see, hear, feel, taste and even smell theworld through the criteria that culture has placed on our perceptions So, perception

is an important aspect of intercultural communication because people fromdissimilar cultures frequently perceive the world differently Thus, it is important to

be aware of the more relevant socio-cultural elements that have a significant and

direct influence on the meanings we assign to stimuli These elements represent ourbeliefs, value and attitudes systems

Culture of each interactant can produce different ways of knowing and doing.Research by Nisbett (2003) has disclosed that Northeast Asians (Chinese, Japanese,and Koreans) employ a holistic thinking pattern, whereas Westerners use a linearcause- and- effect model that places values on logical reasoning and rationality [11,pg.13- 15] Thus, problems can be best solved by an in- depth analysis of eachcomponent, progressing from the simple to the more difficult Northeast Asians,however, see problems as much more complex and interrelated, requiring a greaterunderstanding of problems and the collective insight rather than a focus onindividual parts

Thirdly, in terms of verbal behaviors, language itself is merely a set of symbols that

a cultural group has agreed upon to help them bring meanings to objects, events,emotions, experiences, places…Different cultures have, of course, decided to usedifferent sets of symbols The use of symbol systems to construct and expressmeaning, however, is an inexact process, because the meanings for words are open

to a variety of translations by cultures The word “parallel” can be used todemonstrate how culture influences meaning and can lead to misunderstandings inintercultural exchanges In the United States, telling someone they are on a

“parallel” course implies agreement or similarity of views In Japan, however,

“parallel” is used to indicate that the parties disagree, because parallel lines o-sen) never converge Another example is that there is only one personal pronounfor oneself in English called “I”, but there are plentiful systems of personal pronounfor oneself in Vietnamese such as “bà”, “cháu”, “anh”, “em”, “mẹ”, “bố”, “tao”,

(heik-“tôi”…which depend on the relationship of interactants, feelings, status and ages between interactants Clearly, the collective and community characteristicsdominate Vietnamese people’s verbal system whereas individualism is describedstrongly through personal pronoun “I” of English culture

Fourthly, the salience in intercultural communication is non verbal behavior, whichincludes gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, posture and movement, touch,dress, silence, the use of space and time…These non verbal behaviors, which are

inextricably interwinded with verbal behaviors, often communicate as muchmeaning than spoken words Non verbal behaviors show different variances acrosscultures.

In short, the nature of intercultural communication shows the dialectic relationshipbetween culture and communication Cultural differences in interactants createsdifferences in perception, verbal expression, behaviors and interpretation ofmessages Culture can be really regarded as communication because only in theprocess of communication between people, culture exists, develops and is created,acculturated through generations Communication contains culture becausecommunication styles of different communicators contain their cultural characters.There are some typical characteristics of cultural differences in the world mentionedbelow These cultural differences will create different communication styles that weneed to research

*/ Low – context and High context

In high context cultures, the external environment, situation and nonverbal signs arecrucial in creating and interpreting communications The meanings are exchangedthrough many other factors besides and even without written or spoken words Inhigh context cultures, building long-lasting and harmonious personal relationships

is highly appreciated Therefore, such cultures focus much time and energy ondeveloping the mutual understanding and trust one another rather than emphasizingdetails of some deal or work And agreements tend to be spoken rather than written.High – context cultures can be found in East Asia (Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam),Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy, Arabia, Spain, to lesser extent France), theMiddle East, and to a lesser extent Latin America and South America

Conversely, low context cultures are prone to convey explicit messages by verbalcommunications A direct style of communication is highly valued and theambiguity is not well- regarded In low context cultures, contracts are bound clearly

by written words, by logic arguments, by detailed information, not regarding thehuman relationships Low context cultures are popular in the Anglo- Americancountries and the Germanic and Scandinavian countries

*/ Views of Time

Cultures also have different ways of organizing and using time In the West, timetends to be scheduled; clear, detailed segmented, prompt; which called monochronictime (linear time) The users of monochronic time tend to focus on one thing at atime Monochronic cultures are “doing oriented” as they concentrate on the future

In constract, polychronic time (cyclical time) cultures tend to do many things orsimultaneous things at a time For these cultures, time has no clear beginnings andends Traditional and non- industrial societies are typically polychronic.Polychronic cultures are “being oriented” which means viewing the here and now asthe focus So, they do not have long – term plans or predictions for the future Theyare just familiar with short – term plans at the present time, and the plans forpolychronic users are very flexible and easy to be changed Polychronic people donot regard the process of work, so they do not adhere to time schedules, they justconcern about the end results regardless of how the process is

*/ Relationship with people

In different societies, there are differences in evaluating the positions betweenpeople in the society which can be equal, hierarchical or individualistic Therefore,characters of communication may follow the consensus of collectivity, the centralvoice of leaders or the voices of individuals [27, pg.4]

*/ Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty Avoidance is degree of uncertainty that can be tolerated and its impact

on rule making Low uncertainty avoidance is tolerance for ambiguity, little needfor rules to constrain uncertainty Examples: Singapore, Jamaica, Denmark,Sweden, UK High uncertainty avoidance is intolerance for ambiguity, need formany rules to constrain uncertainty Examples: Greece, Portugal, Uruguay, Japan,France, Spain [27, pg.5] So, people in low uncertainty avoidance culture meetpeople in high uncertainty avoidance culture, which means people with styles of theflexibility, no rules or no details interact with people with detailed and clear rules asmuch as possible

*/ Masculinity – Femininity

In the societies characterized by Masculinity, Values such as material possessions,money and the pursuit of personal goals are appreciated For examples: Japan,Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico So, the communication styles are consideredstrong, active, direct, frank, prone to pursue material and personal purposes Incontrast, Femininity societies appreciate values such as social harmony, quality oflife and the welfare of others For examples: Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, CostaRica Therefore, the communication styles tend to meet the benefits and get thecooperation of all sides

*/ Neutral – Affective

Neutral – Affective are the extents of emotions which people express in theinteraction Neutral is refrain from showing emotions, hide feelings Examples:Japan, Singapore, UK Affective is emotional expressions acceptable or encouraged.Examples: Mexico, Brazil, Italy [27, pg.6] Knowing these emotionalcharacteristics, we will understand psychological sides and feelings of otherinteractants so that we have proper feedbacks

*/ Conservatism – Autonomy

Conservatism – Autonomy are the extents to which individuals are integrated ingroups Conservatism means that individuals are embedded in a collectivity, findingmeaning through participation and identification with a group that shares their way

of life Autonomy means that individuals are autonomous from groups, findingmeaning on their own uniqueness Two types of autonomy include Intellectualautonomy: (independent pursuit of ideas and rights) and Affective autonomy(independent pursuit of affectively positive experience) [27, pg.7] So,understanding the interactants is very important Our interactants can be friendly,sociable, living in collectivist society or can be idiosyncratic, strong with personalidentity

1.3 The Concepts of International Negotiations

1.3.1 The Definition of International Negotiations

The word “negotiations” stems from the Roman word “negotiari” meaning “to carry

on business” and is derived from the Latin root words “neg” (not) and “otium” (ease

or leisure) Obviously, it was as true for the ancient Romans as it is for mostbusiness persons today that negotiations and business involves hard work Amodern definition of negotiation is two or more parties with common (andconflicting) interests who enter into a process of interaction with the goal ofreaching an agreement (preferably of mutual benefit) [7, pg.1].

International negotiation is the cross border negotiation between countries,companies, delegations, individuals…from different cultures Clearly, culture is themain factor which affects the process of negotiation Cultural misunderstandingsbetween actors may lead to block the results of negotiation because actors willinterprete the contents of negotiation and behave with one another according to theirdifferent customs, cultural backgrounds Therefore, negotiation is not just a matter

of arriving at a contract or a deal It is a complicated process that involves a number

of factors, many of which are culturally determined You must never assume thatyour counterparts from another culture think like you do Therefore, it would bevery necessary to study cultural differences when negotiating, so as to avoidmisunderstandings, frustration, conflicts and failed deals

1.3.2 Types of Actors

International negotiations can be in many aspects such as political, social andeconomic issues However, within the framework of this thesis, internationalbusiness negotiations would be chosen Because with the tendency of internationalintegration in the region and the world in depth, the proportion of foreign trade hasbeen increasing, so does the frequency of business negotiations among people fromdifferent countries and cultures Surely, international trade is considered one ofmain tendencies in the global integration nowadays At the forefront of internationalbusiness opportunities are the agreements between firms or enterprises Therefore,the actors of international negotiation who are mentioned in the thesis are mainlybetween all firms or enterprises of different nationalities [7, pg.15] The enterprisescan negotiate with one another to make business deals or sign contracts Therefore,the members of firms can be leaders, managers, staff, executives, specialists,consultants from different cultures Clearly, in the current globalization era,international negotiations diversify negotiation actors including not only state

negotiators, but also non - state actors And the negotiations can be bilateral withthe participation of two parties (two firms or enterprises) or can be multilateral withthe participation of more than two parties “International” aspect in negotiationmeans that negotiators or actors stem from different cultures or countries.

1.3.3 Types of International Negotiations

*/ Distributive Negotiations

This situation happens when there is a fixed pie to be divided among the parties.Thus, one side gains and the other loses The objective of both sides in distributivenegotiations is to claim value to get a larger wedge of the pie as possible This kind

of negotiation often takes place when there is one negotiation issue between parties.Single issue negotiations tend to be zero sum game

Moreover, parties of the negotiation often use traps or tricks to cheat one another or

do not want to cooperate with one another to seek common interests The partiesjust only want themselves to be winner while they do not concern about interests,opinions or arguments of counterparts because they just focus on gaining their ownbenefits This kind of negotiation seems to be the win- lose competition Therefore,

it would be difficult to get the agreement in this case

1.3.4 Phases of International Negotiations

The process of negotiation often includes three main phases: prenegotiation,negotiation, agreement and implementation

Prenegotiation has been described as a necessary step of the preparation for the nextformal negotiation The prenegotiation phase can be divided in stages such as (1)the identification of problems considered by parties, (2) the search of options, whenparties begin to “think the unthinkable” and “come to terms with the need tonegotiate”, (3) the commitment to negotiate, when parties begin to decide upon theinitiate substance or agenda of negotiations, and (4) the agreement to negotiate,where the parties agree to enter into formal negotiations

Negotiation

P.H Gulliver identifies eight stages: (1) the search for an arena, (2) the composition

of the agenda and the definition of the issues, (3) the establishment of maximallimits to the issues in dispute, (4) the narrowing of the differences, (5) thepreliminaries to final bargaining, (6) the final bargaining, (7) the ritual affirmation,and (8) the execution of the agreement [6, pg.25- 28]

Agreement and implemetation

At this phase, parties will reach a preliminary settlement and seek to translate thatsettlement into a concrete package of mutual commitments and undertakings Whenthe parties reach the final agreement, there are questions of the implementation andhow the agreement is to be enforced Sometimes, new or unanticipated problemswhich will crop up in the implementation phase require further negotiations ordiscussions among the original participants

Chapter Summary

Chapter One provides an overview of basic concepts of intercultural communicationand international negotiation Firstly, because intercultural communication containstwo core factors including communication and culture, the author mentions thenature of communication (verbal and non verbal communication, framework of theprocess of communication) and culture and takes a quick look at the closerelationship between communication and culture, especially the impact of culture onthe process of communication because intercultural communication shows eachtypical cultural identity of communicator (sender/ receiver), which creates and

interprets the messages differently The cultural differences also may create culturalnoises of communication Secondly, this chapter analyses the characteristics ofintercultural communication Thirdly, it also mentions the concepts of internationalnegotiations (definition, types of actors, types of negotiations, stages ofnegotiations) Based on these basic definitions, the next chapters will analyse theimpacts of intercultural communication on international negotiations in depth anddiscusses necessary measures so as to make the international negotiations moreeffective.

In summary, chapter one researchs the nature of intercultural communication andinternational negotiations They are similar with each other because they alsoconsists of two factors: communication and culture Therefore, when analyzingimpacts of intercultural communication on international negotiations, it means thatthe impacts of both communication and culture factors need to be analysed

Chapter 2: Communication Factors and Cultural Differences Influencing

International Negotiations

2.1 The influences of communication factors on international negotiation

2.1.1 The model of inter-cultural negotiation as a communication process

First and foremost the negotiation is a way of communication The negotiation is aprocess in which two or more entities come together to discuss common andconflicting interests in order to reach an agreement of mutual benefit Theinternational negotiation as an organized communication process between two ormore partners from different countries It means that the senders and the receiversare negotiators, and feedback is the interaction back between negotiators Messagesare the contents of the negotiation such as the preferences, options, interests,bargains, issues…Noises of the communication process are caused mainly bycultural differences between actors such as different language, religions, nations,customs…

Figure 2.1 shows that in the process of negotiation, each different culturalnegotiator understands or explains the message of mentioned issues differentlybecause the encoding and decoding are different The cultural differences betweennegotiators create the noise of the interaction process, which reduces the efficiency

of the negotiation Or another example of noise is that the translation factor in thenegotiation process may hinder mutual understanding because some tough messagesmay be lost or misinterpreted Most transactions are completed without formallytrained interpreters, and most translators are not formally trained Usually the two ormore parties find a colleague who will take on the translating task for the team Themajor hurdle is when the translator has to deliver the tough message And thetoughness that is needed for effective communicating of a position is lost intranslation [18, pg.11] Or even all parties use one common language by themselveswithout any translation in the negotiation, which may sometimes lead to differentinterpretations So as to overcome this defect, all partners should give their mutualfeedback to one another

Figure 2.1: The culture as one influence factor of communication pattern in

international negotiation [17, pg.89].

Cultural patternExporter Importer

or agreement To achieve the goals of negotiation effectively, negotiators need touse communication skills competently as follows: (1) have a good ability of self-expression and know how to adjust the tunes of his or her expression properly; (2)

be able to develop the conversation stories by asking questions skillfully; (3) be able

to listen the counterparts and give feedback effectively; (4) be able to transfer thenegotiation messages to the counterparts professionally; (5) be able to dispute withthe counterparts by giving and defending persuasive arguments; (6) be able tounderstand the signals of non-verbal communication from the counterparts

Communication, verbal and non- verbal, is fundamental in reaching negotiationresults and in resolving conflicts As Lewicki, Minton and Saunders (2000) refer

“communication is at the heart of the negotiating process” [21, pg.3- 7] Althoughplanning, preparation and the definition of a strategy are critical elements to thesuccess of a negotiation, it is through communication that they are integrated in anoverall logic and implemented According to Putnam and Poole (1987): “…theactivity of having or managing a conflict occurs through communication More

specifically, communication undergirds the setting and reframing of goals; thedefining and narrowing of conflicting issues; the developing of relationshipsbetween disputants and among constituents; the selecting and implementing ofstrategies and tactics; the generating, attacking, and defending of alternativesolutions; and the reaching and confirming of agreements” [21, pg.3- 7]

Clearly, in negotiations, communication skills are very important because throughcommunication process, negotiators proceed with making offers and counter-offers,exchanging information and proposals, clarifying their preferences, viewpoints andperspectives For these reasons, the ability to communicate is regarded as beingcritical for negotiators A successful negotiator should know how to present hisideas and opinions clearly, how to persuade the other party by proper arguments,how to understand the viewpoints from the other party

Information is one of the main sources of negotiating power, it is up to thenegotiator to know how to ask questions and how to listen to the other party in order

to try to improve his/her negotiating approach and, consequently, his/her outcomes.Knowing how to ask questions requires a skillful art of negotiators with the aim ofgaining neccessary information about the other party such as their interests,preferences, opinions, targets, needs… Moreover, the success of negotiations alsodepends on listening skills of negotiators that they should know how to capture theother party’s ideas most exactly and rightly and how to get information as much aspossible In short, great negotiators should be good listeners and ask a lot ofquestions To him, average negotiators are focused on themselves their problems,their objectives, their perceptions A superior negotiator prepares at home andbrings a series of questions in his/her head Listening and questioning skillscombine together A great negotiator is the person who can imagine any issue, anysituation, predictable things to ask questions and who has his or her willingness tolisten to the other party’s ideas

But communication in negotiation is not restricted to verbal communication It isimportant to consider all the non- verbal communication that takes place in abargaining session “Gestures and body language communicate just as effectively aswords – maybe even more so” (Axtell, 1991) The real meaning of negotiations inmany situations is not only based on the verbal interaction, but also on non-verbalsignals Thompson (2001) considers non- verbal communication: (1) tone and pitch

of voice, (2) facial expressions, (3) eye contact, (4) interpersonal space, (5) posture,(6) body movements, (7) gestures, and (8) touching Non- verbal language isimportant because it conveys a series of clues about real feelings and intentions ofthe other side, giving relevant information to the negotiator Thompson (2001),conducted a survey to 50 Master of Business Administration (MBA) students whohad concluded a negotiation simulation The majority of students followed non-verbal clues, namely: (1) eye contact – people who lie avoid looking the other partystraight in the eyes, (2) close body posture – tends to create more trust between theparties, and (3) movements indicative of some tension, such biting of lips or playingwith a pen, as a sign of nervousness and anxiety [21, pg.3- 7] Table 2.2 showssome of the non- verbal behaviors that make people trust or distrust theirnegotiation opponent, which does not mean that there is necessarily a directrelationship between these behaviors and trust or distrust attitudes from thenegotiators In terms of the ability to use non- verbal communication, scientificevidences suggest that women are more skilled than men Women are typicallyconsidered more expressive, and men are viewed as more composed However, interms of non- verbal interpretation and reception there are some differences Whentheir opponents are being truthful, women are more accurate than men, but whenthey are deceptive, women tend to be less accurate than men.

Table 2.2: Non-verbal language in negotiation

Behaviors that create distrust Behaviors that create trust

Signs of nervousness, impatience,

fidgeting

Direct speech

Excessive smiling, sheepish smiles Open behavior and gestures

Excessively serious tone of voice, lack

Excessively quite attitude Close proximity

Source: Adapted from Thompson (2001) [21, pg.3- 7].

In fact, there is the survey researching the importance of communication skills inthe negotiation conducted by the researcher John Hammond (1979) Starting from alist of 34 characteristics, he performed a survey to 32 upper managers from one ofthe major American banks about the relative importance of each one of thosecharacteristics Table 2.3 illustrates the results concerning the different

communication skills that this researcher included in his study (scale from 1- notimportant at all to 5 – very important).

Table 2.3: Importance of communication skills in negotiation

Skill Relative position

between 34 skillsstudied

Ability to persuade others 8th 4,1

Debating skill (skill in

parrying questions and

answers across the table)

Source: Adapted from Hammond (1979) [21, pg.3- 7].

In this survey table, the characteristics related to communication skills always have

a high importance and are included in the main competences required fornegotiators, namely the ability to communicate verbally (4th most important, with4,4 average of 5), knowing how to listen (5th also with 4,4 average) and the ability topersuade others (8th with 4,1 average) Nevertheless, the ability to debate and theability to communicate non- verbally are not rated by these executives as critical,with an average importance of 3,2 and 2,7, respectively

2.1.3 The importance of questioning skills in negotiation

Questioning is one of important skills in communication Skillful questioningprovides negotiators with positive effects possible for developing the negotiationstrategy

Gain Information

Obtaining information is the most obvious reason for asking questions Questioningthe counterpart is to discover the issues in details, to understand more about the

characteristics of the counterpart [29, pg.1-7] For example, to estimate the zone ofpossible agreement (ZOPA) which means that the zone is the overlap between themost acceptable reservation points of all sides, we need to research, calculate themaximum or minimum reservation point of our counterparts through askingquestions about their needs, finance capacity ; if we know that the maximumpurchase price they are willing to pay higher than the minimum sale price we canaccept, we know that the agreement will come into reality because these two levels

of price belong to the overlapped zone of interests Or if we find out that theirreservation points do not meet with our interests, we should predict otheralternatives such as seeking other potential parties or changing our objectivesproperly

Clarify or Verify Information

When the counterparts give their proposals or information, we need to clarify orverify that information so as to make information more details or clearer Therefore,

we will get further information which is not mentioned by the counterparts in thebeginning For example, our sale counterparts just give the sale price of products ingeneral So, we need to ask more questions if that price includes shipping ordistribution fee or not, and how much does the shipping fee cost if it is chargedseparately

Check Understanding and Level of Interest

One side should ask questions for their counterparts relating to their interests or thenegotiated topics so that one side can know what their counterparts are interested.Therefore, one side can adjust the contents of the deals properly to the preferences

of their counterparts

Determine Behavioral Style

Through questions, the characteristics, manners, psychological features of ourcounterparts can be understood more deeply For example, our counterparts arefrank, aggressive, or friendly, honest, decisive or sensitive negotiators Therefore,suitable interaction strategies with our counterparts will be given accordingly Forinstance, to communicate with frank negotiators, we should use the directcommunication style such as giving more direct feedback and detailed information

from the beginning of the negotiation process As regards sensitive negotiators, weshould use and understand the meanings of non verbal commnication besides theexchange of words.

Encourage Participation

When one side asks questions for the other side, it means that there is moreincreasing participation of dialogue and exchange of information from both sides.Two sides get information about one another and have chance to explain andexpress their opinions and topics more specifically

Bring Attention to the Subject

Appropriate questions can make negotiators pay much attention to the issues ofnegotiation and deepen important issues For example, one party does not expressdirectly their viewpoints because they seem to be reticent The other party shouldask questions to encourage their counterparts to answer and express the issuesgradually and deeply

Reduce Tension

Besides the questions relating to the negotiation issues, negotiators should use otherquestions in different situations such as tensions, conflicts or oppositions…Theaims of giving questions for their counterparts are to create a relax atsmosphere todispel the pressure or tensions, or to build harmonious relationships with oneanother, or to bring a sense of humor in tense negotiations These questions willmake advantages for negotiators to gain successful results of negotiations later Forinstance, at the break-time of negotiations, negotiators of both sides can ask aboutmutual hobbies or family situations if proper or give an offer to invite thecounterpart to have lunch or dinner with the intent to develop a close rapport withone another

2.1.4 Listening skill from the message’s receiver in negotiation

The perception that good negotiators talk a lot and dominate the discussions toachieve optimum results is erroneous In reality, skilled negotiators spend more timelistening and asking questions to ensure that they fully understand the other sidethan they do talking The ability to listen effectively is fundamental to the success of

any negotiation It also proves the ability of feedback or interaction from one side(the receiver) to the other side (the sender of negotiation message) [22, pg.2-3]

Empathy is linked to success in a variety of careers The skill of “empatheticaccuracy”, according to William Ickes, is what creates “the most tactful advisors,the most diplomatic officials, and the most effective negotiators” Being empathetic

in a negotiation requires a complex mix of skills – a willingness to hear the otherside, open-mindedness or curiosity, good questioning and excellent listening.Empathy (Listening and Inquiry) is regarded as one of three sides of an effectivenegotiation triangle as the figure 2.4 below

However, only listening skill is not enough Listening is to get more information forasking questions and make the negotiation put into focus, is to adapt to the tunes ofthe negotiation and is to present the issues to the other party in suitable ways

Figure 2.4: Triangle of an effective negotiation [20, pg.26]

There are three major forms of listening [8, pg.124- 127]:

- Passive listening: involves receiving the message while providing nofeedback to the sender about the accuracy or completeness of reception.Sometimes passive listening is itself enough to keep a communicator sendinginformation Some people like to talk and are uncomfortable with longsilences Negotiators whose counterpart is talkative may find that their beststrategy is to sit and listen while the other party eventually works into, or out

of, a position on his or her own

Assertiveness(Speaking)

Empathy(Listening and Inquiry)

Flexibility(Inventing and Adapting)

- Acknowledgment: is the second form of listening, slightly more active thanpassive listening When acknowledging, receivers occasionally nod theirheads, maintain eye contact, or interject responses like “I see”, “Mm-hmm”,

“Interesting”, “Really”, “Sure”, “Go on”, and the like These responses aresufficient to keep communicators sending messages, but a sender maymisinterpret them as the receiver’s agreement with his or her position, butsimply as receiving the message at the beginning

- Active listening: is the third form of listening When receivers are activelylistening, they restate or paraphrase the sender’s message in their ownlanguage Successful reflective responding is a critical part of active listeningand is characterized by the following: (1) placing a greater emphasis onlistening than on speaking, (2) responding to personal rather than abstractpoints (for example, feelings, beliefs, and positions rather than abstractideas), (3) following the other rather than leading him or her into areas thatthe listener thinks should be explored (for example, allowing the speaker toframe the conversation process), (4) clarifying what the speaker has saidabout his or her own thoughts and feelings rather than questioning orsuggesting what he or she should be thinking or feeling, and (5) responding

to the feelings the other has expressed

By recommending active listening, it is not suggested that receivers shouldautomatically agree with the other party’s position and abandon their own Rather,active listening is a skill that encourages people to speak more fully about theirfeelings, priorities, frames of references, and by extension, the positions they aretaking When the other party does so, negotiators will better understand his or herpositions, the factors and information that support it, and the ways that the positionscan be compromised, reconciled, or negotiated in accordance with their ownpreferences and priorities

2.1.5 Messages in international negotiations

How the messages are constructed will decide the success of the negotiation Thereare three major issues to consider when constructing a message: the content of themessage (the facts, topics, ideas, arguments…should be covered), the structure of