preview

Effective Communication As An Effective Negotiator Essay

Better Essays

“Delivering a difficult message is like throwing a hand grenade. Coated with sugar, thrown hard or soft, a hand grenade is still going to do damage” (Stone, Patton, & Heen, 2000, p. 17). If the underlying context of our message is not desirable, no matter how hard we try to throw the grenade softly, once it lands, it shows its consequences. Difficult conversations are not about who’s right, rather they are about dissimilar insights, perceptions, interpretations, and beliefs.
Effective communication is not only important to be an effective negotiator, but it’s very essential in all aspects of life. Regardless of our level of proficiency, some conversations are always cause of anxiety and frustrations.
As argued by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen, “conversations take place on multiple levels: the rational, the emotional, and the “identity” level”. Essentially, by considering these parts of conversation, we can learn each party’s version of what was articulated; what feelings take place throughout the conversation; and to what extent one’s identity may have been exposed, sapped, or fortified by the dialogue.
The “rational” conversations are essentially the “what happened” conversations, which are usually made much more complicated than what parties’ initial expectations are and commonly involve tension over what happened and who is to blame for. In such conversations, each side of the conversation should look for their contribution to the dilemma, rather than

Get Access