About

Leigh Thompson is the J. Jay Gerber Distinguished Professor of Dispute Resolution and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Her research focuses on negotiation, creativity, virtual communication, and teamwork. She has authored several books including Negotiating the Sweet Spot: The Art of Leaving Nothing on the Table, Creative Conspiracy: The New Rules of Breakthrough Collaboration, Making the Team, The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, The Truth about Negotiations, and Stop Spending, Start Managing. In fall 2022, her newest book, Advanced Introduction to Negotiation, co-authored with Cynthia Wang, was published. Thompson is a featured contributor to articles in the Wall Street Journal and Business Insider. She directs multiple executive education programs such as Leading High-Impact Teams, Negotiation Mastery Certificate program, Constructive Collaboration, and Negotiate with Confidence. She has designed and published numerous teaching videos and posts weekly best-practice videos on LinkedIn, sharing insights on negotiation and teamwork. Her academic background includes a PhD from Northwestern University, an MA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a BS from Northwestern University. She has held positions at Northwestern University and the University of Washington, and has received awards including the NCMR Best Article Award in 2018.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Social psychology
• Psychology
• Computer Security
• Artificial Intelligence
• Human–computer interaction
• Engineering
• Cognitive psychology
• Engineering ethics
• Internet privacy
• Management science
• History
• Economics
• Communication
• Epistemology

Selected publications

• An Application of Large Language Models to Coding Negotiation Transcripts

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2024-07-18 · 2 citations

  preprintOpen access

  In recent years, Large Language Models (LLM) have demonstrated impressive capabilities in the field of natural language processing (NLP). This paper explores the application of LLMs in negotiation transcript analysis by the Vanderbilt AI Negotiation Lab. Starting in September 2022, we applied multiple strategies using LLMs from zero shot learning to fine tuning models to in-context learning). The final strategy we developed is explained, along with how to access and use the model. This study provides a sense of both the opportunities and roadblocks for the implementation of LLMs in real life applications and offers a model for how LLMs can be applied to coding in other fields.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Virtually Intelligent Negotiator: Building Trust and Maximizing Economic Gain in E-Negotiations

  Current Directions in Psychological Science · 2023-05-06 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Virtual intelligence is “the ability to communicate and navigate relationships and achieve business goals when engaging with others who are not physically co-present.” Virtual intelligence is particularly critical in e-negotiations because negotiators compete to achieve economic goals but must cooperate to reach mutual agreement and maintain social relationships. I review key research findings on the advantages and disadvantages of virtual and in vivo negotiations. I make the point that in vivo negotiation does not always result in more trust and mutually beneficial outcomes than virtual negotiations. I use insights from research on e-negotiations and virtual communication to identify skills that facilitate trust and information sharing and lead to more desirable negotiation outcomes. I organize my discussion of virtual intelligence in terms of four key challenges that confront negotiators: relational concerns (building trust), conveyance (transmitting and receiving information), convergence (reaching a shared understanding of the situation), and achieving instrumental goals (negotiating a favorable outcome).

  PublisherDOI

• How Leaders Can Be Better Communicators in the Virtual Era

  2023-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Finding sweet spot solutions: Kellogg’s cereal

  ˜The œbusiness & management collection. · 2022-03-30

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Virtual Intelligence in the Post-Pandemic Era

  Advances in logistics, operations, and management science book series · 2022 · 3 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Sociology
  • Computer Security

  Numerous yet deceptively subtle differences between virtual and face-to-face communication profoundly influence organizational performance, team interaction, and psychological well-being. This chapter identifies the “Big 10” factors that affect human communication in virtual mediums: (1) mutual gaze, (2) directional gaze, (3) objective self-awareness, (4) seating configurations, (5) back-channel utterances, (6) side conversations, (7) touching, (8) gesturing, (9) collisions (unplanned face to face encounters between colleagues), and (10) shared context. This chapter then examines research on each of these key factors, discusses how each affects virtual communication, and suggests best practices for overcoming and navigating these challenges.

  PublisherDOI

• Chapter 15 Detecting Deception in Negotiation: From Natural Observation to Strategic Provocation

  2022-08-22

  book-chapterSenior author

  The benefits along with ease of deception make it a common occurrence in negotiations. Whereas the majority of previous research on deception in negotiations has focused on motivational and ethical issues, we focus on cues to deception and how negotiators might detect it when seated at the negotiation table. We examine natural cues to deception in negotiation, via the use of nonverbal expressions and emotion. And we review strategic techniques that negotiators may consciously employ to detect deception. The observational and strategic techniques that we review are designed to be part of a negotiator's repertoire for constructive negotiations with longterm business partners.

  PublisherDOI

• Feeling Competitiveness or Empathy Towards Negotiation Counterparts Mitigates Sex Differences in Lying

  Journal of Business Ethics · 2021 · 6 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Psychology
  • Social psychology
  PublisherDOI

• Negotiating the sweet spot: personal negotiations

  ˜The œbusiness & management collection. · 2021-01-31

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Finding sweet spot solutions: Greek yogurt

  ˜The œbusiness & management collection. · 2021-04-28

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Negotiating the sweet spot: workplace negotiations

  ˜The œbusiness & management collection. · 2021-02-25

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Max H. Bazerman

  23 shared

• Jeffrey Loewenstein

  13 shared

• Laura J. Kray

  University of California, Berkeley

  12 shared

• Kathleen L. Valley

  11 shared

• Roderick M. Kramer

  10 shared

• Janice Nadler

  8 shared

• Taya R. Cohen

  Carnegie Mellon University

  8 shared

• Adam D. Galinsky

  7 shared

Labs

• Kellogg School of Management - Leigh Thompson LabPI

Awards & honors

• NCMR Best Article Award 2018, International Association for…