Mastering the art of asking questions in high-stakes negotiations involves a delicate balance.
While questions are crucial for gathering essential information to navigate the negotiation, they must be posed carefully to avoid potential pitfalls. Mishandled questions can inadvertently expose your position or strain relationships with counterparts.
Research highlights that negotiations’ success depends on the strategic acquisition and application of information. Lewicki, Saunders, and Barry (2010) stress that the ability to ask insightful questions allows negotiators to uncover critical details about the other party.1 This knowledge provides a comprehensive view of the negotiation landscape, enabling negotiators to anticipate challenges and develop tailored strategies that enhance the likelihood of a favorable outcome. Additionally, asking questions and sharing information can facilitate a reciprocal exchange of information, promoting openness and transparency between negotiating parties. This reciprocity fosters a more conducive atmosphere, enhancing the overall negotiation process.2
However, the impact of questions is not without its challenges. The quality of questions in negotiations can profoundly influence the outcome. Putnam (2010) notes that questions perceived as confrontational or overly intrusive can provoke defensiveness, potentially undermining the negotiation process.3 Thus, mastering the art of questioning is essential. Vale (2013) points out that effective questioning is not merely an innate skill but also requires intentional practice. This highlights the need for continuous learning and improvement in the art of questioning.4
At the Schranner Negotiation Institute, we agree that asking questions is crucial to the negotiation process, but it needs to be executed with strategic intent. We propose dividing the negotiation into two distinct phases: the information phase and the actual negotiation phase. During the information phase, targeted questions are essential to address misunderstandings and fill information gaps, focusing on clarifying content-related queries. In the actual negotiation phase, avoiding overly broad or open-ended questions is advisable. Instead, questions should be framed within a defined scope to obtain specific information and maintain focus throughout the negotiation.
Additionally, we advocate for a cautious approach to providing direct answers. In the initial stages, prematurely committing to questions can restrict flexibility and create complications as the negotiation progresses. When one offers definitive answers too early, it can limit the ability to adapt to new information or changing circumstances, potentially undermining one’s bargaining power. Instead of giving direct answers that might compromise one’s position too early, we recommend responses that maintain flexibility and preserve negotiating power.
References:
1 Lewicki, R. J., Saunders, D. M., & Barry, B. 2010. Negotiation, 6th edn. Boston: McGraw-Hill
Irwin.
2 Miles, E. W. 2013. Developing strategies for asking questions in negotiation. Negotiation Journal, 29(4): 383–412.
3 Putnam, L. L. 2005. Are You Asking the Right Questions?. Negotiation: Decision Making and Communication Strategies, 8(3): 7–9.
4 Vale, R. D. 2013. The value of asking questions. Molecular biology of the cell, 24(6): 680–682.