BUSINESS SKILLS

5.4 Negotiating
typicalnegotiation and canuse a range
aware of the stagesnegotiation
ini
Lesson outcome
Learners are
ofthe process.
of phrases for each stage

a discussion between
two or more
people to
A negotiation can be defined as
Lead-in 1A
A negointion eaa he wonki pais and draus, utar ines ornegoiation you
o
have in a typical week. D
B Look at
of an international
Tie let of oualitesimportant? Why?
negotiator. Which two qualities
do you think are the
most Adatiy ADo
INFLUENCE)
The Expert Negotiator can build excellent
•••

relationships is structured
and
understands analytical
other cultures can influcncc others

is competent
with
excellent English the content
speaks
has the authority to
is a good listencr
takc decisions
is flexiblc
can be direct and firm

good (or bad) negotiator?

C How good are you at negotiating? What makes you a

Listening 2 Read the background. Anne wants to negotiate new terms and conditions for
sent a four-step meeting agenda to Anders. In
TravelExec's services and has
pairs, read the agenda and suggest what should happen in each step.

Meeting agenda
BACKGROUND
Anne Roberts is a purchasing manager for a sports clothing 1. Welcome and opening

company, DesignPro, with its headquarters based in

salesperson from Proposals
London. She is meeting Anders Rik,
TravelExec, which organises all travel services (flights, taxi 3. Discussion to find agreement
transfers, hotel accommodation) for DesignPro's staff who
travel for business. 4. Close

Tootle COrNeL BA 4)5.01 Listen as Anne opens the negotiation with Anders, and answer the questions.
ANCe ar
1 Why does Anne apologise to Anders at the beginning of the meeting?
2 What does Anne suggest are the main items to negotiate?
3 How does Anne suggest that they start the negotiation, and why?

Note down the different proposals which they make for each of the three topics.
Bosan C 4 5.03 Listen as Anne and Anders discuss in more detail. What agreement is
reached on each point?

D 4> 5.04 Listen as Anne and Anders summarise and close the meeting.
1 Which topic do they make an additional agreement about? What is the agreement?
S01#1202 How does Anne close the meeting? How effective is it to close the meeting in this way?
In general,
how effective do you think this negotiation was? Why?
54
 5.4 >1 Business skills:
Negotiating (11100>

Functional Negotiating.
language
5A Look at the expressions (1-12) from the recordings in Exercise 3. Match them with
thecorrect points (a-l in the four step negotiation process.
1 To start, idlike to hearfrom you first. v8 If you confirm that in an email to me,
Just
to clarify, you mean. then I will
3
We agreed to ... V9 I think we can do this, but we will need to

Goodto see you again. Are youwell? V10 What I'd like to discuss today is.
That seems
reasonable 11 That's a little high; we were hoping for
y 6
How does that (all sound to you? something lower.
THE FOUR STEPS
12 My proposal would be that we ...
OF NEGOTIATING Excellent. Well, that wasIquick and efficient].
OPENING
2 PROPOSALS 3 BARGAINING/DISCUSSION 4 SUMMARY AND CLOSING
Welcome
a Present own proposals 1 g Bargain to find an Summarise agreement
agreement reached
b State agenda Request feedback on
own ideas h Give positive feedback k Confirm next steps
Invite other party to on a proposal
present f
Clarify other person's I Close positively
ideas
Give negative feedback
on a proposal 11,

B Look at some more examples of bargaining to find an agreement. Match the

negotiation proposals (1-6) with the correct response (a-f).
1 How would you feel ifwe [reduced the price]? a What do you mean by [increasing]?
2 Could you accept [a smaller volume)? b
I'm happy to [link price and payment
9- 3 We can't agree to [lower prices] unless terms].
[you're flexible on payment]. I think we'd find price reduction] difficult.
4 What if we tried [a different approach to this]? d I think that's quite reasonable for[the U.S.
5 Can we look at [increasing the discount]? side of the business].
Teacher's resources:
extra activities Would you be prepared to [change to e But [volume]is veryimportant to US.
invoicing in dollars]? f What did you have in mind?

6A Work in pairs and read the professional context. You are going to prepare
a negotiation between ATAX and LAURA.
TASK
Professional context
ATAX (the seller) and LAURA (the buyer) already have a contract in place. LAURA
imports 2,000 coats per year, in three different colours and three different designs,
for a unit price of €85 each. This includes a 15 percent discount on the standard
unit price of €100. Payment terms are currently 45 days from date of invoice.

B
In pairs, prepare the role of negotiator for either ATAX (see page 129)
or LAURA (see page 131). Plan to negotiate five areas: the number
of coats to buy/sell, the number of colours, the number of designs,
the discount, and the number of days for payment. Prepare both
the content (what you want to achieve in each of the five contract
each of the
areas) and also the process how you will manage
four
negotiation steps.
L
When you are ready, find two negotiating partners who have
prepared the other role and negotiate a new deal.
your negotiation, discussin your group what went well and
D
After
what you found difficult during the negotiation. Then share your
ideas with the class.