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The Relevance of Personality Traits for Negotiation
By Philippe Gruca
Negotiation Consultant
Rational Games, Inc.
February 1, 2025
The most established model in personality psychology today is the "Big 5", also known as the "OCEAN model". Its acronym refers to the 5 personality traits present in everyone to varying degrees.
How are they relevant to the negotiator and when does the strength often become a weakness?
Those with an important Openness to experience, and who are therefore naturally creative, will find it easier to come up with ideas to "make the pie bigger" – a prerequisite for win-win agreements. Moreover, they tend to find their BATNAs more easily during the preparation phase and to be good improvisers during the negotiation itself. However, they run the risk of spreading themselves too thin and losing sight of the objectives they set themselves in advance!
The person with a high level of Conscientiousness, who has an affinity with organization and attention to detail, will of course be the one with the most solid preparation. Data, statistics, information, arguments: you'll have it all. However, his weak point will be his difficulty in integrating novelty, especially during the negotiation phase. He is likely to be perceived as a rigid negotiator, clinging to his preparation.
For him, the most useful thing will be to practice through role-playing, but also to work on his ability to improvise, with the help of professional actors!
If your Extraversion is particularly marked, and social interaction therefore gives you more energy than it takes, you'll find it rather easy to communicate and assert your interests. You’ll know how to direct the small talk for a while, before tackling the big one. However, there's also a danger in this ease of reaching out: neglecting to bring the other person to you. We teach this counter-intuitive lesson in the context of time constraints: the good negotiator is not necessarily the one who knows how to "get his ideas across", but first and foremost the one who knows how to listen to the other person, and this... by asking questions!
Those with high Agreeableness also have specific strengths and weaknesses. In fact, they are highly empathetic and will readily take an interest in the needs of their negotiating partner, and dive deep into the iceberg of his interests. Because of their collaborative nature, they love win-win results. However, this is also the most dangerous personality trait in a negotiation, if the negotiating partner has a much lower level of empathy. A naive negotiator can easily turn into an aggressive (or "passive-aggressive") negotiator, seeking to set limits and gain respect. Those will need to work on what I call warm assertiveness.
Finally, a person with a high level of Neuroticism, i.e. a heightened sensitivity to negative emotions, will be a vigilant negotiator. He'll find it easier to escape the traps set for him,
given his natural ability to magnify risks. But of course, stress and its physical manifestations can make negotiation very difficult. The work we do with dancers, and particularly their
techniques related to visualization, body posture and breathing, plays precisely a role in balancing this personality trait.
The tools we have developed at Rational Games to perfect negotiation skills can also be classified according to personality traits:
Our preparation matrix allows you to keep your negotiation objective clearly in mind and will be of great help to those with a particularly open personality.
Our role-playing games and team of Rational Games Players help the most conscientious to become better improvisers.
For extroverts, a deep understanding of the notion of “interest” and work on active listening is particularly welcome.
If you recognize yourself as too agreeable and conflict-averse, you'll benefit from coaching to become warm and assertive.
Finally, if you know yourself to be particularly high in neuroticism, the methods of our dancers Lisa Laiblin and Johannes Hofmann will help you approach your future negotiations with a slower-beating heart, and perhaps even a smile.
Ready to transform your negotiation game? Let’s find the right approach for you—contact us today!