2.2.1 NEGOTIATING BASICS

NEGOTIATING

1.Warm up

  1. In which situations is it necessary to negotiate with others?
  2. Have you ever taken part in a negotiation in work? What did you have to negotiate? What was the outcome?
  3. Do you think you are a good negotiator? Why or why not?
  4. What advice would you give to someone preparing for their first negotiation?

2A. Vocabulary – Negotiating

2B. Practice

2C. Speaking (pair work) Discuss the questions below.

  • In a negotiation, which points are usually non-negotiable, and which ones are more flexible? Why?
  • Is it always necessary to meet halfway to achieve a positive outcome? Explain your view.
  • When might it be more effective to make a concession early rather than later in a negotiation?
  • How can identifying common ground help to break the deadlock in difficult negotiations?

2D. Scenario role-play (pairs or small groups)

Situation: Two parties are negotiating the terms of a business collaboration. While both sides want to work together, they disagree on several key issues.

Task:

  • Begin by clarifying priorities.
  • Attempt to break the deadlock if negotiations stall.
  • Aim to achieve a win-win solution.

Role A:

  • You are under time pressure and need to reach an agreement quickly.
  • Budget limits are non-negotiable.
  • You are willing to make a concession on timelines.

Role B:

  • You want long-term benefits rather than short-term gains.
  • You intend to put forward a proposal that includes higher costs but added value.
  • You are prepared to counteroffer if necessary.

3A. Listening

Click HERE to listen.

3B-3D. Negotiation strategies

3E. Discussion

  1. Have you tied any of these strategies or ‘neutralising’ suggestions when negotiating?
  2. Have you ever noticed that someone was using these strategies on you?

4A. Listening 2

Listen again to the negotiation extracts. Which of the strategies from Ex 3B did you hear.

4B Useful expressions

4C. Role plays

Try some or all of the following role plays.

Context: A company wants to buy 100 cases of a product.

Roles:

  • Buyer: wants a low unit price (€4.50), faster delivery, flexible payment terms
  • Supplier: higher price (€5.20), longer delivery time, strict payment terms

Tasks:

  • Open the negotiation (“get down to business”)
  • State interests (order size, target price)
  • Bargain (delivery time vs price)
  • Reject at least one proposal
  • Accept a final offer
  • Close the deal

Context: A tour operator is negotiating room rates for the next season.

Roles:

  • Tour operator: wants lower rates and free upgrades
  • Hotel manager: wants higher price but flexible extras

Negotiation points:

  • Price per room
  • Number of rooms
  • Cancellation terms

Context: There is a problem with delivery, pricing, or payment.

Example scenario:

  • Delivery is 15 days late
  • Buyer threatens to cancel
  • Supplier offers alternatives

Try this role play with 2 buyers, and a supplier. Follow the instructions for your character.

Buyer A – Cooperative (Good Cop)

You want to build a long-term relationship with the supplier.

Your position:

  • Open and friendly
  • Acknowledge the supplier’s constraints
  • Try to find compromises

Your priorities:

  • Unit price around €4.50
  • Reasonable delivery time
  • Flexible payment terms

Useful moves:

  • Suggest meeting halfway
  • Rephrase or soften Buyer B’s strong statements
  • Encourage agreement

Buyer B – Very Firm (Bad Cop)

You are focused on results, not relationships.

Your position:

  • Direct and demanding
  • Push back hard on price and delivery
  • Reject offers quickly

Your priorities:

  • Lowest possible price
  • Fast delivery
  • Strict penalties for delays

Useful moves:

  • Reject the first offer clearly
  • Use phrases like:
    • “Come on, let’s be realistic.”
    • “We don’t have any more room to negotiate on this.”
  • Apply pressure (mention alternative suppliers)

Supplier

You want to secure the deal without damaging the relationship.

Your position:

  • Professional and calm
  • Willing to negotiate, but with limits

Your constraints:

  • List price: €5.20 per unit
  • Standard delivery: 6 weeks
  • Payment: 30 days, no extensions

Your goal:

  • Handle rejection diplomatically
  • Respond to pressure tactfully
  • Trade concessions (e.g. delivery time vs price)
  • Close the deal if possible

5.The grammar of diplomacy

In order to negotiate more effectively, various grammatical features are used to keep your options open, soften ‘bad news’ and generally make remarks and questions more diplomatic and persuasive.

  1. Continuous forms of tenses – we were looking, we were hoping
  2. Modifiers, e.g. s bit, a little – a bit more flexibility
  3. Modal verbs like would/might/could – I think we could…, I suppose we could…, would you be willing…, we would be prepared to…
  4. Approximation, e.g. sort of – what sort of price…, a price of around…
  5. Introductory softeners, e.g. unfortunately – I don’t have any more room…

5B. Practice

5C. Opinion Swap

Instructions:

  1. Look at the negotiation statements:

The supplier wants to increase the price by 10%.

Delivery will take 8 weeks instead of 6.

We can only pay half now and half later.

The warranty period is too short.

We need a faster response if we are to proceed.

The discount you offered is not enough.

The product doesn’t meet our specifications.

Payment must be made within 15 days.

To download the pdf of this topic, click on the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CgRJZwnBc1-b8KF1ChYR9VchfXEGY2I6/view?usp=sharing

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