NEGOTIATIONS – DISCUSSION POINTS

1. Negotiations can cover a wide range of business activities, from a formal discussion between a buyer
and a supplier to agree terms to an informal discussion with a colleague to confirm the next stages of a
project. Make a list of different types of negotiations you have to take part in.
2. What do you find easy or challenging about negotiating in these situations?
3. How important do you think preparing for a negotiation is? How do/ could you prepare for a
negotiation?
4. What are the stages of a negotiation?
5. What makes a good negotiator?
6. How important are trust and liking in negotiations?
7. Is there an important difference between the way you might approach one-off
negotiations (e.g. selling your car) and negotiations as part of a long-term business relationship?
8. How can you avoid being manipulated in a negotiation with a more experienced negotiator?
9. Which relationship-building techniques do you find the most effective in negotiations and why?
finding things in common / showing an interest / generosity / flattery / gratitude
10. What does bargaining involve? Does bargaining always involve an element of deception?
11. What exactly is a trade-off? Do you always opt for a win-win solution?

Do you agree with these statements?

1. Walking away from the deal is usually disadvantageous for both parties.

2. It’s usually better to hold the negotiation in your office.

3. Once you have agreed on one point (e.g. a 5% discount), you shouldn’t go back

to renegotiate that point later.

4. You must always tie up all the loose ends before you clinch the deal.

5. Throwing a spanner in the works at the last minute can sometimes be an effective strategy.

6. Even if you’ve invested a lot of your own time and effort in the negotiation, you
shouldn’t let this influence your decision-making.
Quiz: Are you a hard-nosed negotiator or a soft touch?
 NEGOTIATIONS VOCABULARY – REVISION EXERCISE

1. It was nice chatting to you but let’s ______________________________ .

2. It is a real ______________________________ point but we need to resolve it somehow.
3. I’m afraid we’ve reached a _____________________________. Let’s reconsider our stances and reconvene
tomorrow. Today we won’t arrive at any consensus.
4. We could save ourselves a ____________________________ of organizing another meeting if we reached a
decision now.
5. We may be able to give some _____________________________ if the other side doesn’t drive a hard bargain.
6. I am glad we have managed to _________________________ a deal after all. It’s been a very effective meeting.
7. If they don’t want to stick to the original agreement, we will have to _____________________________ down as
we will start making losses with such alterations.
8. We should ________________________ more attention to the issue of safety on site. The client is very
particular about it.
9. I cannot take such a decision straight away. It does not _________________________ entirely on me.
10. Let me suggest something. I don’t mean to ____________________ anything on you but if you follow my
advice you won’t have to spend extra money.
11. There are several issues we need to ______________________ with. To begin with, I would like to raise the
issue of ...
12. We were hoping for a slightly bigger discount. We hope there is still some room for __________________ .
13. Could you ________________________ on this problem? We would like to have a full picture of the situation.
14. What ________________________a problem is the lack of understanding between the two sides, neither of
them wants to make concessions.
15. To ____________________________, we’ve agreed to give you a 15% discount if you pay 50% upfront.
16. We cannot _____________________________ to any of these dates as we haven’t been informed of the
delivery dates yet.
17. Time _______________________ make it impossible to change the supplier at the eleventh hour.
18. Could you ______________________________ 5% off the price? We are planning to make another order in the
nearest future.
19. Are we going to give some ground or will you be driving a hard _____________________?
20. What exactly do you have in _______________________? Can you expand on it?
21. In ____________________________ of quantity, how many units are we talking about?
22. Let me ___________________________ through what we have agreed.
23. We are not able to meet the deadline due to unforeseen ________________________________ .
24. How about meeting _________________________. We can make concessions as long as you agree to some
of our conditions.
25. Let’s get back to the items on our agenda. There are still several __________________________ issues that
need to be discussed.
 FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE - NEGOTIATIONS

GIVING REASONS IN NEGOTIATIONS

… (in order) to…

… as/ because/ since…/ As/ Since/ Because…,…
…, so (that) we/ you can…
An additional reason is…
Another (good) reason…
Because of…, ….
Due to…
If you’re wondering why…
It’s important for us to…
Our justification for this is…
Our purpose in suggesting this is…
The (chief/ main) reason for this is…
There are many reasons for this. The most important one is…
This is because (of)/ due to…
This should help you/ us in…ing
We have another reason for proposing this is, which is…
We need…/ We require…
You are probably wondering why…

SUGGESTED REASONS IN NEGOTIATIONS

(potential) bankruptcy
… not as we predicted
… slowing down
a buyer’s market
a seller’s market
an unexpected…
an unforeseeable…
change in the law/ government policy
change of company strategy
change of management
changes by the other person’s competitors
changes by your competitors
changing business climate
changing demand for products
non-compliance
costs (e.g. transportation costs, storage costs)
decreasing…
exchange rates
financial issues (cash flow etc)
increasing…
interest rates
make losses
merger/ takeover
misunderstanding
new technology
old fashioned/ out of date
only just break even
PR/ negative publicity/ scandals
previous agreement was a one off
quality control
shrinking market/ niche market
staff shortages/ lack of skilled staff
supply chain problems
supply glut
taxation
technical problems
worldwide shortages
DESCRIBING A PRODUCT NEGOTIATIONS: PURCHASES and ORDERS
1. attribute, feature, characteristc, trait –
Asking about the price:
właściwość, cecha
How much will you charge me for …?
2. ensure/ provide / guarantee - zapewniać
Negotiating the price or other terms:
3. indispensable – niezbędny (in every household)
I am sure that we can work something out. What price
4. cutting-edge / state-of-the art – nowoczesny
were you thinking would be a good deal for you?
5. top-notch –pierwszorzędny
We were hoping for something around $3.40 per unit.
6. a real boon – dobrodziejstwo, dar
Please bear in mind that we want to order nearly a
7. versatile – wszechstronny
million components,
8. only one of its kind = unique
I was thinking a little lower than that.
9. tailored to your needs – dopasowany do potrzeb
What exactly did you have in mind?…
10. equal at sth – równać się pod względem …
You’re driving a hard bargain. (set hard conditions)
11. upside, merit, benefit, advantage – zaleta
Compromising:
12. downside, drawback, disadvantage, flaw – wada
But there may be some room for manoeuvre.
13. a real breakthrough –prawdziwy przełom
Well, could you meet us half way?
14. groundbreaking - przełomowy
I feel there has to be a trade-off here.
15. enhance / boost / improve – polepszyć
Disagreeing:
16. labour-saving / time-saving – oszczędzający
I don’t think we could go that far.
pracę / czas
I am afraid that is out of the question.
17. durable/ hard-wearing – trwały
to clinch a deal
18. handy - przydatny
Can we run through / go over what we've agreed?
19. long-lasting - długotrwały
Let’s strike / struck a bargain.
20. innovative - nowoczesny
good value for money
21. reliable – niezawodny
a win-win solution = a situation which satisfies both sides
22. resistant to– odporny na
a middle-way / trade-off - kompromis
23. user-friendly – łatwy w obsłudze
to back out of = to withdraw
24. out-of-date, outmoded - przestarzały
take it or leave it = make a quick decision
25. short-lived - krótkotrwały
to reach a deadlock = a situation without a way out
26. impractical - niepraktyczny
to reach an agreement/ clinch a deal
27. timeless – ponadczasowy
to give, make concession / give ground = agree to some
28. adjustable - regulowany
reductions or other favours
29. portable – przenośny
to have room for manoeuvre = possibility for changes
30. folding – składany
to pose a problem = cause a problem
31. unfolding - rozkładany
to run through the main points / go over the main points
32. retractable – wysuwany
to impose on sb - narzucać
33. adjustable – regulowany
to save sb a hassle – zaoszczędzić kłopotu
34. be reminiscent of - przypominać
affordable price – przystępna cena
35. a cost-cutting innovation
a rip-off / a highway robbery – zdzierstwo
36. for tech-savvy consumers - obeznany
the cost is next to nothing = very little
37. a device / an appliance / a gimmick / a gismo
to reconsider / give it a second thought
38. this product boasts = is equipped with
at a fraction of the cost – for small money
39. spark/ arouse curiosity – rozbudzić ciekawość
to pay through the nose – przepłacić
 NEGOTIATIONS ROLE-PLAYS

SCENARIO 1

Person A:

You need to purchase six new computers for your office. Call JA's Computer World and ask for the following
information:
 Current special offers on computers
 Computer configuration (RAM, Hard Drive, CPU)
 Guarantee
 Possibility of discount for an order of six computers

Person B:
You work in at JA's Computer World answer Person A's questions using the following information:
 Two special offers:
1) HP Slim Desktop - S01-aF0134z / 350 EUR
Windows 10 Home 64
AMD Ryzen™ 3 processor
AMD Radeon™ Graphics
8 GB memory; 1 TB HDD storage; 256 GB SSD storage

2) HP All-in-One - 20-c410 / 280 EUR

Windows 10 Home 64
Intel® Celeron® processor
Intel® UHD Graphics 600
4 GB memory; 1 TB HDD storage,

 1 Year guarantee on all computers

 Discount of 5% for orders of more than five computers

SCENARIO 2

Person A:
You are a salesperson for Red Inc. You are telephoning a client who you think might be interested in buying
your new line of office supplies. Discuss the following information with your client:
 New line of office supplies including: copy-paper, pens, stationary, mouse-pads and white boards
 You know the customer hasn't ordered any new products during this past year
 Special discount of 15% for orders placed before next Monday
 Any order placed before Monday will not only receive the discount, but also have its company logo
printed on the products at no extra charge

Person B:
You work in an office and receive a telephone call from your local office supplier. As a matter fact, you need
some new office supplies so you are definitely interested in what the salesperson has to offer. Talk about the
following:
 New pens, stationary and white boards
 Do they have any special offers
 You would like to place an order for 200 packages of copy paper immediately