협상에서의 잡담은 남성에게만 유리?

협상 전략 중 하나, 바로 딱딱해지기 쉬운 협상 분위기를 완화해 주는 가벼운 대화가 남성에게만 유리할 수 있다는 최근 연구가 발표되었습니다.

노스웨스턴 대학 제니스 네들러 교수에 따르면 임의의 협상상대인 조안나와 앤드류가 협상전에  맛집이나 스포츠와 같은 짧은 담화를 나눌 경우와 그렇지 않은 경우 협상결과를 살펴보자, 남성 실험자 '앤드류'가 협상 전 담화를 나눈 경우, 그렇지 않은 경우보다 더 좋은 계약 오퍼나 협상 결과에 도착하였습니다. 반면, 여성 실험자인 '조안나'의 경우 담화를 나눈 경우나 그렇지 않은 경우 비슷한 협상 결과에 도달했다는 연구입니다.

흔히 남성 협상가는 무뚝뚝하고 비즈니스적인 태도일 거라는 고정관념이 남성 협상가의 친근한 대화의 행위로 깨지게 되자 친근한 대화가 협상 결과에 긍정적으로 작용한 듯 합니다. 여성의 경우 비즈니스상 남성보다는 사교적이고 말하기를 꺼리지 않을 거라는 고정관념으로 인해 협상 전 여성의 잡담은 협상 결과에는 큰 작용을 하지 않은 것으로 보입니다.

그렇다고 해서 여성은 협상 전 가벼운 대화를 나누지 말라는 얘기는 아니겠죠. 남성이건 여성이건 상대방을 편안하게 만들며 신뢰감을 주는 커뮤니케이션을 겸비했다면 성별을 떠나 협상 전 그들의 멋진 대화는 협상 결과에 긍정적인 작용을 할 것 입니다.

- 에듀센트로 이지윤 대표

Negotiators are often advised to engage in small talk before getting down to business. Indeed, the benefits of chit-chat for rapport building have been well documented. Professor Janice Nadler of Northwestern University found that pairs of strangers who engaged in a casual five-minute phone chat before participating in a negotiation simulation via e-mail were four times more likely to reach a beneficial agreement than were pairs who didn’t have a chance to chat.

But a new research study, conducted by researchers Alexandra A. Mislin et al. reveals only men—and not women—received positive results from chit-chatting with their counterparts.

In the study, presented at the August annual meeting of the Academy of Management, participants read a transcript and evaluated a negotiator named either JoAnna or Andrew who either did or did not engage in small talk—about local restaurants and a hometown sports team—before negotiating with a business counterpart for control of a scarce resource.

Participants judged Andrew to be more communal and likeable when he engaged in small talk before negotiating than when he did not, and the chit-chatting Andrew also was rewarded with better final offers from participants than was the all-business Andrew. JoAnna, on the other hand, was judged the same whether or not she chatted informally with her counterpart, and on a par with the Andrew who didn’t make small talk. Chatty Andrew was the clear winner.

Gender stereotypes and expectations likely explain the results, according to the authors. Because men are generally viewed as less communal, sociable, and concerned about others than women, men who buck the stereotype with small and unexpected communal behaviors, like making small talk, may be rewarded in negotiation.

Meanwhile, because we tend to expect women to behave communally, we may not punish them for the minor violation of a gender stereotype—no small talk before negotiating. Women may need to find other ways than small talk to cultivate a positive regard in their counterparts, but thies doesn't mean that women should assume they could skip the chit-chat.

As we all have experienced, in the real world, idle conversation about the weather, sports, and so on can lead to discoveries of commonalities and connection that build bonds for male and female negotiators alike.

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