The study and interpretation of body language and related cues has become very popular in recent years. A cue is a message sent indirectly, whose meaning may be ambiguous and require interpretation. Essentially these fall into three basic categories:
1. Unintentional cues, in which behaviors or words transmit an inadvertent message. For example a Freudian slip
2. Verbal cues, in which the voice, intonation or emphasis, sends a message that seems to contradict the words being spoken
3. Behavioral cues, body language displayed by posture, facial expressions, eye contact, hand gestures, where a person sits at a conference table, who nudges whom or who pats whom on the shoulder, and so on. In our culture pattors seem to have more power than pattees!
The interpretation of much body language is obvious, but beware of ascribing some universal meaning to an isolated gesture, without taking the circumstances into account.
How can we apply all this to a negotiating situation? The key information that any negotiator would like to have about the other side is their real limits, just how much they will sacrifice to make this deal. In other words, what is the lowest price the seller will sell for? Or, what is the absolute top figure that the buyer will pay? You may be able to determine this by carefully observing the other side’s pattern of concession behavior.
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