Active Listening & Reframing Flashcards

A negotiator notices their counterpart uses the phrase 'we feel exposed' repeatedly. The best active listening response is to:

Answer: Note the phrase and explore what 'exposed' means to them

Repeated language signals importance; exploring the specific meaning of 'exposed' surfaces the underlying fear that must be addressed.

When reframing a 'loss' frame to a 'gain' frame in negotiation, which psychological principle are you leveraging?

Answer: Loss aversion

Loss aversion means people respond more strongly to perceived losses than equivalent gains; reframing in gain terms reduces resistance rooted in that bias.

Which of the following statements about silence as an active listening tool is most accurate?

Answer: Silence after a counterpart speaks encourages them to elaborate and reveals more information

Strategic silence creates space that counterparts naturally fill with additional information, often disclosing priorities or constraints they hadn't planned to share.

A vendor insists they cannot reduce their margin. Using a temporal reframe, a skilled negotiator might say:

Answer: 'What if we structured payments differently so margin pressure eases over the contract term?'

A temporal reframe shifts the conversation from present margin to future payment structure, creating flexibility without directly attacking the stated constraint.

In active listening, 'paraphrasing' differs from 'summarizing' in that paraphrasing:

Answer: Restates a specific point in your own words to check understanding, while summarizing condenses multiple points

Paraphrasing targets a single statement to verify comprehension, whereas summarizing synthesizes several points to confirm overall understanding.

Which questioning style is most consistent with active listening principles during a negotiation?

Answer: Open questions that invite elaboration without suggesting an answer

Open questions (who, what, how, why) align with active listening by giving counterparts space to express their full perspective without being led.

A counterpart says, 'We've always done it this way.' An effective reframe to encourage openness would be:

Answer: 'Given how markets have changed, what outcomes would you want from a new approach?'

Connecting the reframe to desired outcomes rather than criticizing tradition invites the counterpart to envision change in terms of their own goals.