Driving Negotiation Forward: The Power of Push-and-Pull Expressions in Japanese Negotiation Discourse

‘If you speak firmly, negotiations will go well’—is that really the case?
Actually, it is not only forceful expressions that drive negotiations forward. Seemingly subtle "pull" expressions—such as intentionally stepping back, using ambiguous phrasing, making concessions, or strategically pausing—also possess significant power to prompt the counterpart's decision-making and lead to an agreement.
I am researching the dynamics of negotiation woven from ‘push’ and ‘pull’ linguistic expressions, based on actual negotiation conversation data. For example, whilst there are ‘push’ expressions that strongly appeal to the other party, such as ‘I would really like to ask you to do this’ or ‘I’d like to decide on this right away’, we also see ‘pull’ expressions that involve mitigation, such as ‘You are certainly right’. I am interested in what kinds of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ expressions are used in the give-and-take of negotiation, how they are selected based on the participants’ positions, their roles, and the stage of the negotiation, and how these choices influence the course and outcome of the negotiation. Furthermore, negotiations progress through a series of exchanges involving proposals, assertions, concessions and readjustments, eventually reaching a ‘climax’. I am also focusing on what kinds of expressions bring about this climax and why those particular expressions are chosen at that juncture.
By elucidating the linguistic mechanisms of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ in negotiations, I am exploring the depth of Japanese communication. I am re-examining the essence of communication from the perspective of the ‘negotiation process’.