Here's why male negotiators get better deal by 'chit chatting'

A team of researchers has explained how small talk before a negotiation impacts perceptions and outcomes.

Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, Technische Universitat in Munich, Germany and American University reveal that small talk can be another tool in the arsenal for men, one that builds social capital and increases their likelihood of beneficial gains from negotiation.

Researcher Alexandra Mislin said that they saw a boost in positive negotiation outcomes for men when they engaged in small talk before the negotiation. Even a little small talk contributed to getting a better deal. However, the same is not true for women.

People negotiating employment contracts, particularly men, think twice before skipping the small talk, said Mislin, while both men and women may experience benefits from small talk when negotiating salary, men might walk away with a better deal.

According to the researchers, it comes down to expected gender behaviors and stereotypes. Because women are expected to be more communicative, they are anticipated to make small talk and thus earn no extra social capital for engaging in "chit chat" before a negotiation.

Mislin added that it's not as notable a behavior when a woman makes small talk and so she is not as likely to experience a social boost from the effort, but the same communal behavior from men is unexpected, and thus contributes to more positive perception of men as well as more favorable final offers.

The findings reinforce the notion that men and women in the same situation, engaging in the same behavior, can experience different reactions because of different behavioral expectations associated with their gender, noted Mislin, adding but the research also suggests that there may be areas where violating stereotypes is beneficial, as it is seen here for the men who engage in small talk.

The study is published in the Basic and Applied Social Psychology.