BCP Education & Psychology CEPC 2022 Volume 8 (2023) 185 Intercultural Communciation in the International Negotiation Shurun Li1, †, Saier Shangguan2, *, †, Yujia Shen3, †, YitianYu4, † 1Malvern College in Qingdao, Qingdao high school, China 2University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, Canada 3Beijing Normal University – Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, Zhuhai, China 4Pujiang High School, Zhejiang Province, China *Corresponding author: 100807@yzpc.edu.cn †These authors contributed equally. Abstract. With the gradual increase of international trade, international negotiation has become an indispensable skill in today's society. Intercultural communication is becoming more and more important in international negotiations. Effective cross-cultural communication and international negotiations with the other side can leave a good impression. Understanding the cultural differences between the two sides in international negotiations greatly improves the success rate of negotiations. However, to avoid offending others easily in negotiations, it is important to understand the negotiator's culture of the other party in advance. This paper mainly studies the factors that lead to cross-cultural negotiation, how to better analyze the differences in cultural differences, and how to carry out intercultural communication more effectively. Finally, it is concluded that it is important to respect the culture of other negotiators and understand the cultural background of other negotiators. This paper puts forward targeted suggestions, raises the issue of cultural differences, and helps promote the success of international negotiations in the context of cultural differences. Keywords: International negotiation, Cultural difference, Intercultural communication. 1. Introduction Nowadays, international business has developed gradually and become much more popular than before. When involving in cross-cultural business trades, having international communication and negotiation is definitely inevitable. Successful communication will be able to help negotiators reach the goals, reduce potential disputes and build relationships, especially in cross-cultural negotiations [1]. Therefore, in order to communicate and negotiate effectively in international business, it is necessary to analyze the possible cross-cultural factors that will lead to influence on negotiation. Our report will make detailed analysis based on some existing research and combine them with the knowledge of negotiation. 2. Intercultural Factors in Negotiation 2.1 The Analysis of Intercultural Factors 2.1.1. Social Customs and Habits In international negotiation, there are great differences between Chinese and western customs, mainly reflected in body language, diet, and time concepts, it is easy to offend others without knowing others' backgrounds, they might feel uncomfortable and unhappy, and even not want to continue the negotiation. For a successful negotiation, the most important thing is to do some research about other’s cultures before negotiation. Knowing the customs of each other is a kind of respect for each other. In terms of body language, the same gesture has different meanings in different countries. The most common expression gesture "Okay" has different meanings. For example, in the United States and China, people think that "OK" means no problem. In Japan, people think that this gesture represents "money", while the French think that this gesture represents "zero" or "worthless", while mailto:100807@yzpc.edu.cn BCP Education & Psychology CEPC 2022 Volume 8 (2023) 186 the Brazilians think that this gesture is disrespectful and insulting, meaning to let the others go away. Influenced by culture and customs, different countries have a different concepts of time. In China, It is a common thing to be late on some occasions, the other people will not think that it is a big problem to be late for about ten minutes. However, In England, people think time is precious, British are usually punctual to show their attitude and respectful to other. Therefore, if the negotiation object is British, it is very important to tell the other people they may be late in advance. Otherwise, the British may not want to continue to wait and they might think that the other side does not respect the negotiation and leave directly. In international negotiations, it is also important to find a suitable occasion, sometimes negotiation will choose a restaurant to discuss their business, and the choice of restaurants has become important. For instance, In China, some people like to eat visceral food such as duck blood, fat intestines, and chicken gizzards, those food is not suitable for negotiations, because most people in other countries cannot accept those foods. The French like to eat horse meat and snails. They think that these foods are of high nutritional value, but China and most countries can not accept it. Some people have religious and cannot eat meat as they want, so vegetable is the most suitable choice for them. It is very important to inform the other party in advance and choose a restaurant together with the other party to avoid making the other party unable to have a pleasant meal and reach a consensus on food with the other people, which can leave a good impression on the other people. 2.1.2. Language Barrier Learning English and understanding slang is becoming a key instrument in intercultural negotiation. China is a high-context country. In high-context cultures, a significant portion of the message is sent through the negotiation's perspective or background, whereas just a small amount of actual information is presumed [2]. Generally speaking, the Chinese tend to express their thoughts in subtle and modest ways, and they will not directly express their thoughts, people be more considerate of each other’s feelings. However, the United States and Western countries are low-context countries, and Americans generally prefer to express their thoughts in direct and accurate ways. When Chinese negotiators communicate with American negotiators, the best way is for both sides to directly express their own views and ideas, otherwise, it is difficult for the other side to understand the negotiators' information and ideas. In the context of cultural differences, people need to pay more attention to expression ability, clearly describe their ideas, pay attention to details and avoid misunderstanding. For example, in the China and US negotiations, China is not very satisfied with some of the other side's conditions. The Chinese will choose a tactful way to tell the other side that the conditions are good, but it will be better if the cost can be reduced and the quality can be improved. This may make us negotiators think that the Chinese people like the conditions put forward by US companies very much and there is no need to make any further adjustments. The language barrier is not only manifested in the high and low context environment, but also in some slang words in the negotiation. Understand the meaning of these slang words and more clearly understand the position of the other party. For example, if the English slang "a done deal" is directly translated as the completion of the transaction, the slang meaning of this sentence is that this matter has become a foregone conclusion and cannot be changed. There is another sentence "a piece of cake" in slang, which does not really mean a piece of cake but represents a small thing that can be easily done. Therefore, it is important to understand each other's culture and express it in fluent English. Slang has its unique expression in different countries and cannot be used casually. When negotiating with Western negotiators, use polite expressions in a good manner, such as pardon, excuse me, sorry, and so on. Even if a small mistake or correcting other people's mistakes, it will say sorry to the other people. These polite words can make Westerners feel happy, respect each other more during negotiation, and help to realize some small needs as much as possible. In China, establishing a long-term and sustainable relationship with negotiation partners can help to successful negotiation and reach an agreement [3]. 2.1.3. Stereotypes In the international negotiations we may encounter stereotype because of the nationality can reduce the time to get to know each other so as to promote the negotiations.But because each other do not BCP Education & Psychology CEPC 2022 Volume 8 (2023) 187 understand our limited cognitive distortions and produce communication will leave each other in the negotiation for our stereotypes of communication and it usually cause problems. We can't put forward the favourable conditions. First of all, we can't compare each other in the presence of stereotypes, which can lead to a vicious cycle of discrimination between each other. The biggest example of breaking out of each other's stereotypes is that Koreans like kimchi. Stereotypes can lead companies to misdesign their products. For example, in the stereotype of Chinese people, many people think that foreigners may not be able to eat spicy food, which leads to the difference in the taste of the products introduced by the company to foreign countries. And in real case few companies which have original products with mild spicy, medium hot and extremely hot are sold abroad with only one flavor - mild spicy. This caused foreign customers to misunderstand the product and fail to express the product better. The taste might not satisfy the customer. And companies also fail to performing as well as they expected at abroad. How stereotypes made? As a part of mass media, advertising is also an important aspect of forming and reinforcing stereotype. In order to meet the Chinese people's "worshiping foreign things" psychology to improve the brand reputation, or for the internationalization of the brand road and other reasons, The main way to form national stereotype is mass media, while advertising is different from other mass media in that: in order to conform to consumer psychology, it will only reinforce stereotype rather than rewrite it; There are positive and negative stereotypes. The former is the reflection of the group image, which is mainly positive and favorable evaluation. For good one, example is Japanese people are polite. So it influences us speak extra politely to the Japanese and to think it is easier to make a good deal with them. For bad one, few foreigners think Chinese people eat strange food at every meal including all kinds of disgusting bugs and cats and dogs. In facts ,absolutely it will not happen. But it already effect some foreigners to reluctant to try Chinese food and Some even question the quality of Chinese food [4]. It causes only small numbers of Chines food are still selling abroad. Expand reach with people of different cultures. A lot of stereotypes come from real personal experiences. That's because personal contact tends to be limited. However, it is difficult to have a comprehensive understanding of a cultural group if the scope of contact with foreign culture is too small. Only extensive exposure to different cultures can help people discover the cultural diversity and thus reduce the false stereotype of this cultural group. Companies or groups can increase this aspect of training to improve. In order for seller/consumer to see us beyond stereotypes, we need to first introduce them to our real culture. First to learn seller/consumer ,then break their stereotype of us. Understanding each other correctly helps a lot during the global negotiation. 2.1.4. Mode of Thinking Business negotiation generally has strong logical thinking. This often requires negotiators to have better clarity and expression. Every sentence must have a purpose and a clear specific plan. Any racial, ethnic or cultural group has an inherent cultural judgment mode, that is, it uses its cultural judgment style as a standard to find out whether the behavioral basis of different cultural groups is appropriate. This kind of behavior that puts one's cultural model above other cultural models will inevitably weaken cross-cultural communication skills and hinder business negotiation. For example, relatively speaking, the Chinese do not pay much attention to local analysis, but pay attention to understanding things as a whole, grasping the overall situation, and generalizing things. Westerners, on the contrary, pay more attention to the objectivity of things and advocate a rational attitude to analyzing problems, and they usually divide things into small parts for specific analysis. Therefore, before negotiating, Westerners will do meticulous preparations, such as accurate data, so that they can make decisions during the negotiation process; they generally make the contract terms precise, especially when it comes to the responsibilities of both parties, claims, etc. Contently. The Chinese believe that if the negotiating parties have reached an agreement, then everyone should work together and seek common approaches while reserving differences to achieve big goals. In cross-cultural communication, the main reason for cultural misunderstandings and communication barriers is the difference in the way of thinking. After a set of information organized by one way of thinking is sent out. The receiver uses another way of thinking to decipher or reorganize, resulting in ambiguity, and causing unnecessary BCP Education & Psychology CEPC 2022 Volume 8 (2023) 188 troubles. Contemporary scientific research shows that people living in different cultural backgrounds face different worlds and have different experiences. Based on this, different problems are raised and need to be solved, so it is not possible to use the same value standard to judge all kinds of thinking way. There are two methods to resolve the problem. Overcome the "colorblind" society, abandon the sense of superiority of the original culture, respect each other, seek common ground while reserving differences, and do not measure each other's words and deeds with your model [5]. Only on the premise of equal status, mutual respect, and understanding of both parties can the successful communication of information be carried out. While inheriting the excellent traditions of the nation, it is necessary to learn and draw on the essence of foreign cultures and enhance understanding and cooperation through continuous absorption, integration, and transformation [6]. 2.1.5. Behavioral Patterns With the development of the Internet, consumer behaviors have undergone tremendous changes. Consumers have become diverse from noticing the formation of interests. Consumers can obtain product information offline and product information online. The entire product space has become closer to consumers and closer to convenient consumption. So which product resonates with consumers' consumption behavior can win consumers. In this regard, the policies given by different countries are not the same. For example, American corporate values are characterized by strong individualism, rationalism and utilitarianism, which determine their unique corporate management model. That is to give priority to efficiency, and constantly seek new markets and new demand. However, Japanese corporate values emphasize the spirit of group with loyalty as the core, and have a unique family system and hierarchical concept. Which reflects that Japanese enterprises are collective rather than individual Values. Below I will give a real case to illustrate this point of view. Below I will give a real case to illustrate this point of view [7]. Negotiation example of a well-known Japanese company In 2010, the negotiation between a well-known Japanese company and a customer was on the last day, and the two sides could not give in to the dispute. When asked at noon meal time, the negotiation was going on on the 1st. The Japanese side noticed that the negotiators on the other side were constantly rubbing the handles of chairs, and unconsciously and habitually bumping water glasses. At this time, although the lunch was ready, the Japanese side did not hesitate to adopt the negotiation method of attrition. Once the other party did not agree with its own conditions, it responded by "talking slowly". In the end, the opponent agreed to the conditions that it did not want to agree to. Japan won the victory. Small movements such as hand rubbing a chair or unconsciously bumping a water glass are considered in behavioral psychology as a kind of external psychological emotions that want to quickly escape, leave, and intolerable performance. When negotiating opponents behave in this way, Japanese corporate negotiators can know through observation and speculation that the other party is eager to end the negotiation and go for a meal, and then take the practice of delaying, aggravating the opponent's impatience, and making them compelled to agree to the day due to their own psychological emotions. square condition.Therefore, in business negotiation, it is indispensable for us to deal with the behavior and habits of the opponent's company and country before negotiating, which is conducive to a successful negotiation. 2.1.6. Value Differences The differences of values are inevitable in international negotiations. Values refer to people’s principles or standards related to their behaviors, reflecting what they attach importance to when facing different situation. Cultural Value is the core principle of a whole society. The members in the society will act revolving these shared principles to form relationships. Values differ for various reasons under different cultural context. Social environment, the development of history, and modes of thinking will all influence the differences of cultural values. Cultural values differences can be classified into several types. Initially, the most important part is the core principle difference. According to an article, in Eastern culture, especially Chinese culture, the close connection and relationship between individual and group is always emphasized [8]. People under such a social environment will concern more about the benefits of a group rather than individual BCP Education & Psychology CEPC 2022 Volume 8 (2023) 189 benefits. On the contrary, values in most western cultures encourage people to concern more about themselves. This value difference can be summarized into collectivism and individualism, which will be reflected in international negotiations. Individualism and collectivism have impacts on what people care more about in negotiation [9]. For example, when representing the company to have negotiation with another company, people with individualism value think more about whether they could obtain more benefits for themselves from the business. Therefore, these people will make offers and concessions based on individualism instead of collectivism. In addition, the value differences that people have leads to separate ways of values achieving. Generally, western cultures appreciate the risk-taking spirit greatly. People with this value will be more fearless in achieving their goals. When this value be reflected in the negotiation, people with it will be more confident to take higher risk in obtaining more benefits by taking a relatively extreme offer, such as starting a bargaining with an extreme low price. What’s more, various cultures lead to different focus on formalism or pragmatism. It is mentioned in an article about the example of how Japanese and American act with their own values of formalism and pragmatism, putting forward the view that people with formalism pays more attention on some written forms in the negotiation, such as business contracts [10]. American with formalism always prefer to follow the terms in the original contract without alternatives. But Japanese only consider contracts as the expression of a newly formed relationship, they think they can adjust the relationship by discussing and altering some contract terms based on actual needs. 3. Conclusion Reducing potential problems in international negotiations and increasing the likelihood of successful negotiations requires us to understand each other thoroughly and therefore reduce barriers in communication. In order to establish better cooperation in international negotiations in modern society, it is necessary to strive for a win-win situation, therefore set effective communication as main goal. Understanding the culture of different countries as a basis to learn other countries' way of thinking, habits, language and behavior. To put it simply, empathy is what works best in international negotiations, which will be a negotiating technique in international negotiations that greatly reduces conflicts of interest and enhances the interests of both parties. References [1] Cardenas L. (2022) Overcoming cultural barriers in negotiations and the importance of communication in international business deals. https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/international-negotiation-daily/bridging- the-cultural-divide-in-international-business-negotiations/. [2] ResearchGate (2014) Cross Cultural Communications in Negotiations https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294085528_Cross_Cultural_Communications_in_Negotiation s. [3] ResearchGate. (2010) Intercultural Negotiation. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stefan_Kammhuber/publication/342701138_Intercultural_Negotiat ion/links/5f01d517a6fdcc4ca44e78a0/Intercultural-Negotiation.pdf?origin=publication_detail [4] Bilibili, (2020) What Chinese food do foreigner usually dislike, https://me.mbd.baidu.com [5] Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA. (2022) How to Help Reduce Racism. wikihow.com [6] Keke English (2015) Seek common ground while respecting differences. https://m.kekenet.com/Article/201511/405503.shtml [7] Renren Library Network (2022) As an application of psychology in business negotiation，renrendoc.com [8] Ming Hong. The form and comparison of value between China and western countries. Sino-US English Teaching, 2007, 4: 70-72. [9] Volkema R, Kapoutsis I, Bon A, et al. The influence of power and individualism-collectivism on negotiation initiation. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 2016, 20: 673-692. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294085528_Cross_Cultural_Communications_in_Negotiations https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294085528_Cross_Cultural_Communications_in_Negotiations BCP Education & Psychology CEPC 2022 Volume 8 (2023) 190 [10] Sharp M. (2021) Ultimate guide to cross-cultural negotiations. http://www.redbearnegotiation.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-cross-cultural-negotiations.