Communication as Changing the Negotiation Game

Abstract

This article explores the implications of my research on bargaining and conflict management for formal and informal negotiations. In particular, I focus on ways to differentiate conflict issues, prevent premature closure, engage in conflict framing and reframing, and join together through collective sense making. I urge negotiators to change the name of the game through reaching new understandings and exploring alternative spaces of actions that transform conflicts rather than settle for easy compromises.