International Negotiations

Background notes

According to Module 1A exercise 7, we should interrupt people from People cultures 

immediately if we need to, and people from Fact cultures politely and seldom. This 

advice relates to the negotiation as a whole, and the difficult balance between keeping 

to an agenda and spending time building relationships. The advice in Module 6A relates 

primarily to the technique of exploring interests: never interrupt while the other person is 

answering your probing question about interests.

Extension activity

Trainees read the commentary on page 67 to answer these questions. Use the follow-up 

questions to generate four mini-discussions based on trainees’ own experience.

1 

What five things should negotiators not do when asking probing questions? Do you 

agree with the advice?

2 

Apart from not speaking, how else can you avoid interrupting? Give examples from 

your own experience.

3 

What does the commentary mean by counter-balancing? Can you think of an example?

4 

What three listening techniques are mentioned in the commentary? Are there any 

active listening techniques that you should avoid?