Business Metaphor Examples

“A good metaphor is something even the police should keep an eye on.”
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Words can have a powerful impact. The way we use words in a business negotiation can make or break the deal. This is especially clear if our dialog is phrased poorly, misinterpreted, or misunderstood. Words can evoke visceral reactions or emotional responses such as boiling rage or howls of laughter.

The language we use also provides some insight into the individuals on our own team. Unraveling these clues can tell us a lot about the other team. These clues can even lend some introspection into our own psyche along the way.

Understanding these cues entails acute listening. When we understand what to listen for, then the result may be the edge we need to close the deal. Listening to the language used is also a valuable tool for the mediator who is trying to find a negotiation conflict resolution.

The area of dialog we are going to examine is the use of negotiation metaphors. We are going to look at how metaphors apply to a negotiator or might impact talks. Webster’s Dictionary defines a metaphor as “a figure of speech in which a name or quality is attributed to something to which it is not literally applicable, e.g. ‘an icy glance,’ or ‘nerves of steel’.”

A metaphor is often used in framing a dispute or situation. Metaphors can also be the means by which we address or approach a negotiation problem. Often, the metaphors used in business are at the core of how a person perceives the situation. These metaphors also suggest how a person might react or respond.

Business Metaphors as an Emotional Mirror

In business negotiations, we may be sitting on one of the ends of the negotiation table or in the middle as a third-party mediator. In both situations, metaphors can help orientate us to how people think or identify the event as the meeting unfolds.

Metaphors mirror our emotional perspectives: the conscious perspective and, more importantly, the unconscious perspective. Additionally, the use of metaphors provides a means to discern not just what a negotiator says, but also what they intended to say!

These two points are especially important in the more collaborative negotiation process. The sides who adopt positions in a negotiation are in fact fueled by underlying interests. These interests include security and self-esteem. In other words, we must unravel what the negotiation is “really” about. Unless a negotiator can unlock these underlying interests, the talks may stumble along like a stuttering auto in fits and starts.

How we view the other side’s real interests is dependent on our ability to get them to reveal their understanding of the issues or conflicts. It’s all about dialog management.

We can use the other person’s use of metaphors to “hear” what they are really saying. In addition, we can understand the other side’s true thoughts or feelings. This will guide us in how we should respond, react, or, when necessary, to intervene in conflict management.

What does this mean in practical application? Let’s explore and use examples to illustrate.

How Metaphors Reflect a Negotiation Relationship

Let’s take one glaring example to illustrate the point, and the underlying psychological component that lies beneath the surface. If one team is using a “combat” connotation as a metaphor in their dialog, this could be very telling about their negotiation relationship attitudes. This team may see the negotiation process in terms of “win or lose.” This might present an attitude of an “all’s fair in love and war” kind of mentality. In such a case, the other team may be suspicious of the motives.

A combative competitive negotiation style may also influence the team to apply unethical tactics against us. The other team might withhold vital information or use an approach that they have designed to conceal their real intent. As a negotiator or mediator, we might need to use a combat metaphor to change the mood of the dispute. We could suggest something along the lines of “making a truce or ceasefire.”

Another means to address combative business metaphors is to change the metaphor into something else. This can have the effect of altering the direction of the talks. The idea is to prompt the other side into a different mindset and engage in negotiation conflict resolution.

For example, if one negotiator says, “we’ve been fighting over this for weeks,” you might change the combative context to something more benign. You may reply that the dispute does indeed appear to be “well-choreographed.” This subtle change suggests a collaborative mentality instead of an “us versus them” attitude.

How Metaphors Affect the Negotiation Process

The use of metaphors in business can provide a clue about the negotiation style being employed by one or both teams and how the language used can result in negotiation conflicts. Let’s examine some of the most common positive and negative metaphors used by negotiators. We’ll also analyze what their meaning might convey.

Negative Metaphors

• War metaphors: Could mean “anything goes.” Any such references suggest a combative approach or business negotiation style. Such an attitude should prompt you to approach the negotiation with considerable caution.
• Poker metaphors: Poker and related terminology could suggest that the other side will resort to the use of “bluffing” in their repertoire of tactics. So, we have to be vigilant about the possibility of this tactic being employed against us.
• Games or sports metaphors: There are both positive and negative references here. Some people view negotiation as being like a chess game. The idea is to outsmart your opponent by strategizing with the plan of mating the opponent’s king. Chess players don’t play for a draw if they can avoid it. Chess players want to win! When we play games or sports, we play to beat our opponent. Negotiators might be inclined to vigorously defend the positions they adopt in making proposals or in responding to offers.
• Sports metaphors: These metaphors can sometimes be ambiguous. If reference is made to a “level playing field,” it can refer to the negotiation strengths of either side. On the other hand, this expression may show a desire to take a more collaborative approach.
• Mountain climbing metaphors: This one is not good at all. It suggests an uphill struggle all the way, especially if one of the sides makes reference to heading towards a “precipice.” There won’t be much “smooth sailing” here.

Positive Metaphors

There are also positive metaphors that can provide vital clues to the negotiator’s style or the type of negotiation you might be encountering. Positive phrases that suggest a collaborative approach might include:

• “mending fences”
• “building bridges”
• “hammering out our differences”
• “working through our problem”

Business Metaphors as Self-Reflection

More importantly, we should ask ourselves what metaphors we like to use. The language we use during a business meeting (even a casual, off-the-cuff remark) could have reverberations down the road. Metaphors can be used to telegraph out intent. Imagine someone on the other side jokingly suggests to you that they think you’re only “holding a pair of deuces.” Don’t you think you’re likely to sit up straight and wonder what this person is really up to?

On the other hand, imagine, for example, that the other side suggests that “we ought to be dancing more in sync.” Wouldn’t this phrase suggest that we might be headed towards a productive agreement that has value for both sides?

Now, just put yourself in the other side’s shoes. Think about the metaphors that you might have uttered or employed during a negotiation. Ask yourself just what you might have been “telegraphing” to others! Were you suggesting a problem-solving approach or a battle?

Conclusion

Our use of language is very important. What you say and how you say it can be literally translated into how the other side will respond to you, or vice versa. The business metaphors we employ in our negotiations can influence how either side perceives the other. We can also change the metaphors we use to influence the mood of a business meeting and to bring about a result that is both positive and productive.

Reference: The Negotiators Fieldbook, “The Road to Hell is Paved with Metaphors,” Howard Gadlin, Andrea Schneider, and Christopher Honeyman