This essay describes and provides a rationale for the Rhetoric of Negotiation as a useful frame for what is typically considered persuasion in business communication. It argues for a broader understanding of the opposition and draws from Eckhouse’s work on business communication as a competitive activity as well as Booth’s concept of Win-Rhetoric versus Listening-Rhetoric. Using illustrations from the author’s previous research, this commentary proposes that the Rhetoric of Negotiation is useful in business communication for both ethical and practical reasons.
Booth, W.C. ( 2004). The rhetoric of rhetoric: The quest for effective communication . Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
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Brook, D., King, C., Anderson, D. & Bahr, J. ( 2006). The Department of Homeland Security: Gateway to civil service reform? (Tech. Rep. No. NPS-CDMR-HR-06-006). Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Defense Management Research.
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Buber, M. ( 1970). I and thou: A new translation. New York: Scribner.
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Eckhouse, B. ( 1999). Competitive communication: A rhetoric for modern business . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
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King, C., Brook, D. & Hartge, T. ( 2007). Effective communication practices during organizational transformation: A benchmarking study of the U.S. automobile industry and U.S. Naval Aviation Enterprise (Tech. Rep. No. NPS-CDMR-GM-07-001). Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Defense Management Research.
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Putnam, L.L. ( 1994). Challenging the assumptions of traditional approaches to negotiation. Negotiation Journal, 10, 337-345.
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Putnam, L. L. & Roloff, M. E. (Eds.). (1999). Communication and negotiation . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
