Before and during your next important meeting or negotiation, should you drink caffeine or water?  According to a recent study reported by BPS Research Digest, the answer to this question depends on whether you are female or male.  The study compares the performance of men working in pairs, to women working in pairs.  The researchers varied whether their subjects drank caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, while exposing them to performance pressure.  Here's what they found:

"If a meeting becomes stressful, does it help, or make things worse, if team members drink lots of coffee?  A study by Lindsay St. Claire and colleagues that set out to answer this question has uncovered an unexpected sex difference.  For two men collaborating or negotiating under stressful circumstances, caffeine consumption was bad news, undermining their performance and confidence.  By contrast, for pairs of women, drinking caffeine often had a beneficial effect on these same factors.  The researchers can't be sure, but they think the differential effect of caffeine on men and women may have to do with the fact that women tend to respond to stress in a collaborative, mutually protective style (known as 'tend and befriend'), whereas men usually exhibit a fight or flight response."

More research is definitely needed to confirm these results.  But, I believe these researchers are onto something.  So, to be safe, I know what I'm going to do… I'm going to personally limit my caffeine intake when attending potentially stressful meetings.  What does this mean for you and your agents?  If there is a chance that these findings can be generalized to all negotiations, it might make sense to at least let your agents know about this research…..and in the next meeting, instead of labeling your coffee "Decaf" or "Caffeinated," perhaps label them "Male" and "Female."