Trust me, I'm a negotiator: Diagnosing trust to negotiate effectively, globally

Around the world, negotiators who fail to trust fail to achieve their goals. In other words, trust appears to be a near-necessity that global negotiators cannot afford to ignore. Yet, fears of exploitation make trust in negotiations scarce, so negotiators also need practical guidance on why to trust, how to trust, and how to work within the level of trust that prevails in their own negotiations. Drawing from 15 years of cross-cultural negotiation research, the current paper first highlights the centrality of trust to negotiation, noting its influence on behaviors and ultimately on outcomes. It then describes the scarcity of trust in negotiations around the world, and especially in certain cultures. The joint importance and scarcity of trust noted, we then provide research-validated guidance for diagnosing the level of trust in negotiation and putting that diagnosis into practice through strategic adjustments. Overall, this approach helps to sensitize global negotiators to the importance and implications of trust.