LegalGears is about agreement and the means people use to get there: negotiation. Negotiation is a necessary precursor to agreement, even if the negotiation is as simple as, “Sushi tonight?” But just what is negotiation? It has been described as the means of “getting what you want from others” (see last month’s post) and defined by the Oxford English Living Dictionaries as “Discussion aimed at reaching an agreement.”
The description and definition may be efficient at expressing what negotiation is, but their efficiency leaves out the human experience. After all, negotiation on any level is the interaction between people who may have different interests and different objectives, but who are trying to achieve enough consensus so that each side gets its “must haves”. People are not simply rational value-evaluators and decision-makers, they are also sentient beings with complicated histories and backstories.
The decision whether or not to arrive at agreement is the product of both rational consideration and emotional evaluation and results from the give and take between the parties. As with negotiation, the question can then be asked about “give and take”, just what is it? One way to begin this inquiry is to see the process as persuading the other party of certain ideas and concepts central to achieving your own goals.
Delving into the concept of “persuading” I researched its definition and came upon an excellent blog post from a few years ago. The blog is The Common Parlance, subtitled “An erudite discussion about the proper usage of words in the English language.” In a post from October 2007 titled Suasion v. Persuasion, “Parlance” wrote the following:
Suasion. I remember this word raising my hackles a couple of years ago when it was the wotd [Word of the Day] on DD [previously Doctor Dictionary, now Dictionary.com]. Merriam-Webster defines both “suasion” and “persuasion” as “the act of persuading”. Now, normally, I would reiterate that there are no true synonyms and distinguish the etymologies on each, except the etymologies are a little fuzzy. Suasion says it comes from Latin “suadere” for “persuasion” or “to advise”, while persuasion says it comes from—wait for it—“per” and “suasion”, so these are unhelpful.
In a previous post from March 2007 titled Welcome “Parlance”, a lawyer, wrote about synonyms and her reason for starting The Common Parlance:
In law, we are taught that there are no true synonyms, so it became my duty to explore the subtle differences of usage of words we thought we knew, based in part on the wotd [Word of the Day] offerings and some more erudite conversations with my friend. [Emphasis added]
In response to Suasion v. Persuasion “Anonymous” posted the following thoughtful comment (dated June 14, 2012):
My sense has always been that suasion is, through dialogue, attempting to convince you of my cause. Persuasion on the other hand has a bit of manipulation to it. Perhaps not with aggression or malice but some bit of pressuring that goes beyond presenting a logical argument.
It seems to carry the implication that logic alone might not work and so I must add in extra elements to try to get you over to my side. [Emphasis added]
I suggest a different interpretation from that of “Anonymous”. I see persuasion—true persuasion and not persuasion while “carrying a big stick”—as without manipulation or force, except for the force of ideas developed through logical argumentation.
In its International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict of the University of Colorado, wrote the following in a section titled “Crafting Effective Persuasive Arguments”:
Persuasion is the process of convincing an opponent to change his or her beliefs and/or behavior through moral or logical argument (rather than force). When someone is persuaded to do something, they do it because they have come to believe it is the right thing or the best thing to do. They thus do it willingly, even gladly, not grudgingly, as they do when they are forced to do something against their will. [Emphasis added]
Suasion has most often been thought of in connection with the concept of moral suasion, such as “the attempt by William Lloyd Garrison and his American Anti-Slavery Society to end slavery in the United States by using moral suasion.” [Emphasis added] (See Wikipedia entry on moral suasion.)
This concept of suasion is less that of logical argumentation and more that of reasoning based upon a higher purpose, at least from the vantage point of the proponent. Both persuasion and suasion have a useful place in the process of negotiation leading to agreement, though suasion would seem to have the larger societal call. That type of higher call may have been expressed most concisely in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing (1989) by the exhortation of Da Mayor (played by Ossie Davis): “Always do the right thing.” Such a higher call is surely not a solution in itself, but it is a vital reminder that in “getting what you want from others” discussion remains an alternative to conflict.