Personal Style: Informal or Formal?
Personal style concerns the forms a negotiator uses to interact with counterparts
at the table. Culture strongly influences the personal style of
negotiators. It has been observed, for example, that Germans have a more
formal style than Americans (Hall and Hall 1990: 48). A negotiator with a formal
style insists on addressing counterparts by their titles, avoids personal
anecdotes, and refrains from questions touching on the private or family life
of members of the other negotiating team. An negotiator with an informal
style, on the other hand, may try to start the discussion on a first-name basis,
quickly seek to develop a personal, friendly relationship with the other
team, and (if male) may take off his jacket and roll up his sleeves when deal
making begins in earnest. Each culture has its own formalities, and they have
special meaning within that culture.
Among all respondents, two-thirds claimed an informal style, while only
one-third a formal style. Gender seemed to have no significance, for the distribution
among males and females was almost exactly the same as that
among the respondents as a whole — 66 percent of women and 69 percent
of men believed they had informal negotiating styles.
The responses according to culture demonstrated greater variation.
Except for the Nigerians, a majority of the respondents within each of the
twelve groups surveyed claimed to have an informal negotiating style; however,
the strength of this view varied considerably. While nearly 83 percent
of the Americans considered themselves to have an informal negotiating
style, only 54 percent of the Chinese, 52 percent of the Spanish, and 58 percent
of the Mexicans were similarly inclined. Among the four European
national cultures surveyed, the French were the strongest in claiming an
informal style.
Although both Germans and Japanese have a reputation for formality,
only slightly more than one quarter of the respondents in these two groups
believed they had a formal negotiating style. Differences in cultures with
respect to the meaning of the terms “formal” and “informal” may have influenced
this result. The survey’s findings on this negotiating trait are
summarized in Table 5.