The effect of emotion on negotiations

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,3, Catholic University Eichsttt-Ingolstadt (WFI School of Management), course: Effective Meetings and Negotiations, language: English, abstract: Negotiations often create negative emotions and can become more powerful than present facts and figures. These emotions can change the primarily course and hence will determine the negotiation outcome. A therefore widely shared notion about effective negotiation behavior implies to not get emotional. Emotions in negotiations are viewed as loss of rational thinking. Showing them makes a person weak and vulnerable. But, even though people can suppress emotions, the emotional experience remains. Hence a cognitive arousal takes place and higher brain activity is needed.
Against folk wisdom, the following paper will discuss how emotional awareness can affect the negotiator's behavior and how emotions can positively enhance the negotiation outcome.
In the first part of the paper factors influencing the negotiation environment will be identified. A short excursion into discoveries from evolutionary research explains the connection between reactions and emotions. An overview of personal prerequisites and what approaches exist in order to improve the own ability in regards to better identify emotions in ones self and in others are presented. Chapter three focuses on different strategies of how to apply emotions to in order to enhance the negotiation outcome. Different tactics, leading to either value enhancement for only one party or to value enhancement for both parties, are discussed. This part will be followed by practical instructions and easy to use techniques applicable during the negotiation process.