Recording Negotiations: good use of technology, or limiting creativity?

In December we polled visitors to this blog to see whether they thought recording of telephone negotiations was a good idea. The reason behind the question was that one of our clients offers a nifty call recording service, and we were considering whether this would be a useful value-add for our clients, when we negotiate on their behalf.

The poll was overwhelmingly in favour of recording.

My first instinct upon considering this question was that yes, recording phone negotiations was a good thing - after all, there is nothing more frustrating than working through an hour's contract negotiation, agreeing a number of key points, only to find when you send the updated contract for the client's review that they reject all the points you thought you'd agreed.

Then my mind wandered in the direction of Shrodinger's cat - you remember, the one where a number of possible outcomes (dead cat/alive cat!) co-exist simultaneously, until the point at which the box is opened and we see whether the cat is actually alive or dead.

This thought-experiment made me consider whether the 'observation' of the negotiation (by the recording equipment) would make the parties take a more entrenched view than they would take if the negotiation was unrecorded. In the unrecorded world (Shrodinger's 'closed box'), all possibilities are up for discussion, however creative and strange they may be. This creative space can be extremely useful in enabling the parties to explore alternative means of meeting both of their requirements in a novel way.

Would the fact that the discussion was being recorded inhibit a party's willingness to explore such alternatives? Would the simple fact of 'observation' affect the outcome, as in the world of quantum physics?

I'd be really interested in any research or experience that our readers may have had - if you have thoughts on this topic, please do email me or publish a comment on the blog. In the mean time, I think we'll offer this service and start collecting some data of our own.