Q & A Table of Contents
Tell Me About Americans
From: Beatrice, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Question: Could you please advise me on negotiation with Americans ? What approach do Americans use during negotiation ? What kind of mistake should we avoid?
Response: Americans are a very diverse group of people; our population includes people from virtually every cultural group in the world. Thus it is particularly risky to generalize about a specific American style of negotiating.
There are some general points one might keep in mind:
1. People who are natives of the USA or who have assimilated the general American culture tend to be annoyed by people who give dishonest answers. There is an American saying: 'If you cheat me once, shame on you. If you cheat me twice, shame on me.'
2. While many Americans can be very hard-nosed in their negotiation style, the concept of interest-based negotiation (often called win/win) is increasingly popular. This is a reflection of the belief that unless the parties to a negotiation are more or less equally satisfied with the result, the deal may not be fulfilled with equal enthusiasm by the parties.
3. Like other people, Americans do not like to lose face. We do not enjoy being embarrassed in front of other people, either the parties with whom we are negotiating or others who observe the process.
4. When an American asks a question, s/he wants a direct, honest answer.
Many other characteristics can describe how Americans negotiate. Each individual is a unique person -- like everywhere else in the world. So it is crucial to ask questions and then listen very carefully to the other party's answer to develop an understanding of why a particular objective is important to them.
Good luck with your negotiating.
Steve
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