Lesson 3

Communicative Skills Part 2 – The Art of Negotiating

Presented by:

Mark Kennelly Course Educator

B.Sc. (Hons.)

Diploma in English for Business – Part I

Today’s Lesson

You will learn about the art of negotiation

You will gain confidence and improve your ability to negotiate

You will learn how to prepare for meetings involving negotiation

You will study the Conditional Tenses

You will explore an international case study

You will acquire more Business English terminology and be exposed to pronunciation

Summary

Next Steps

Q & A

Negotiation

Negotiation

What is negotiation?

Is it a verb, a noun or an adjective?

Noun

Context: Negotiation, negotiations, to negotiate negotiating

What is negotiation?

Negotiation is the bargaining process between two or more individuals aiming to:

• reach an agreement

• resolve a conflict

• agree on an issue of mutual interest

New Terminology

• a negotiation = a discussion to get a result• the bargaining process = the negotiating process• individuals = people• to aim to = the desire to get/achieve something• to reach an agreement = to finish the negotiations• an issue of mutual interest = something that all parties are interested in• to resolve a conflict = to fix a problem/issue/disagreement• a party = another person or people

How can you negotiate?

• Be confident, patient, empathetic and trustworthy• Articulate what you want• Listen to the other party • Do your research and be prepared• Walk away if you have to

Adjectives or nouns?Confident, patient, empathetic and trustworthy articulate (verb or adjective?) = express yourself in a confident and clear manner

How can you negotiate?

• Be positive and expect the best outcome• Understand the other party’s weaknesses and limitations• Promise your client’s needs will be met• Give and receive something for the business transaction• Be professional and avoid personal issues

New Terminology

• to expect the best outcome = to believe you will achieve the best result• to achieve = to reach• a weakness = something you are not good at• a limitation = a weakness• to meet your client’s needs = to do what your client wants• a business transaction = an activity or event that involves some sort of exchange or an interaction

between a business and its customers or clients• personal issues = problems you have relating to your private life

Which of these is a goal of negotiating?

• to be in dispute

• to come to an agreement

• to never reach an agreement

• to meet other professionals

to come to an agreement

Language for Negotiation

Language for Negotiating

What language will help you negotiate?

Could you please confirm you’ve received the agenda for our meeting?

Does the agenda meet your needs?

Do you agree with…?

Would it be possible to…?

How about we...

How do you do?

It’s a pleasure to meet you.

I look forward to meeting you.

The Beginning of the Process

What language will help you negotiate?

I believe we will need to discuss…

I/We propose… I/We suggest…

Would/Could you consider…?

Would/Could you accept…?

What is your opinion on…?

Do you suggest…? Are you suggesting that…?

What do you suggest…?

It seems that… It appears that…

Can you tell me how…?

Does that mean…?

The Beginning of the Process

The Middle of the Process

In my/our opinion…

I/we think we should…

I’m confident that…

Considering this, I/we would…

There are several options…

It sounds like a possibility… (noun)

It might be possible to… (adjective)

That would depend on…

If we agree to that, then we will save time and money.

What language will help you negotiate?

Almost at the End of the Process

What language will help you negotiate?

In my/our experience, the best way to…

Could the problem be solved by…?

Can you offer any alternatives…?

I understand how you feel.

How important is that for you?

I agree with you regarding…

How can we reach a compromise?

Do you agree with our position on…?

Let me explain our position.

If I were in your position, I would…

What language will help you negotiate?The End of the Process

That seems reasonable.

Do you think we can/could…?

I hope you can see our point of view.

I know exactly what you mean.

We should come to a decision by…

You’ll be hearing from us by…

Thank you for coming.------------------------------------------to bargain

to close/make a deal

to make/reach/come to an agreement

to sign an agreement

New Terminology

• to confirm = to make something certain• the agenda for the meeting = the schedule for the meeting• It’s a pleasure to… = It’s wonderful to and I’m so happy to…• to propose/to suggest = to recommend• to consider = to think about• an opinion = your view on something or what you think• It seems that…/It appears that… = It looks like…• Considering this… = When we think about this…• an option = a possibility• an alternative = another possibility or option• to solve a problem = to fix a problem• I agree with you regarding… = I agree with you about one point…• to reach a compromise = to do what somebody wants and they do what you want

and you meet in the middle• to be reasonable = to be fair• to close/make a deal = to finish the negotiations• to make/reach/come to an agreement = to finish the negotiations

Conditionals

Conditionals

First Conditional Recap

When do we use it?

Real situation which is very possible

Example sentence from slides:

If we agree to that, then we will save time and money.

Structure

If + present simple, will (can) + infinitive of verb

e.g. If I negotiate well, I will (can) come to an agreement.I will come to an agreement if I negotiate well.

Second Conditional

When do we use it?

Imaginary or ‘unreal’ situations, almost impossible

Example sentence from slides:

If I were in your position, I would start a new business.

Structure

If + past simple, would (could) + infinitive of verb

e.g. If I set up an extremely unique company, I would (could) become a millionaire.

*verb ‘to be’ an exception, ‘were’ can be used instead of ‘was’

Third Conditional

When do we use it?

Imaginary result of a completed past action, which is impossible

Structure

If + past perfect, would (could) have + past participle

e.g. If I had generated more sales, I would (could) have made more profit.

When do we use them?

When the condition and the result refer to different times.There are two types, but they are not frequently used.

First Type:Past condition with a present result

StructureIf + past perfect, would (could) + infinitive

e.g. If I had generated more sales, I would (could) make more profit.

*Can generally use the Third Conditional instead of a Mixed Conditional form

Mixed Conditionals

Second Type:

Present or continuing condition with a past result

Structure

If + past simple, would (could) have + past participle

e.g. If I generated more sales, I would (could) have mademore profit.

Mixed Conditionals

Zero Conditional

When do we use it?

Making a statement about the real world. General truths or scientific facts

Structure

If + present simple, present simple

e.g. If you heat ice, it melts.You get purple if you mix red and blue.

Which of these sentences is not a conditional construction?

• If I were a millionaire, I could build an empire.

• If I had made more profit last year, the company would have been more successful.

• I made profits last year and I was more successful than this year.

• If you work hard, you will be promoted.

I made profits last year and I was more successful than this year.

International Case Study

International Case Study

China: Apple’s Apology

In China in April 2013, Apple’s CEO, Timothy Cook apologised to their Chinese customers for the problem with their warranty policy and promised to resolve the issue.

According to negotiation research conducted by Professor William Maddux of INSEAD Graduate Business School, reactions to apologies in the US, Japan and China were compared and it was discovered that in countries such as China and Japan, an apology can be an extremely effective negotiation tactic.

This is to mitigate conflict and resolve disputes even if the apology is delivered by someone who is not responsible for the issue.

Their findings showed that negotiators who personally deliver apologies could resolve conflicts and alleviate issues in a way that money cannot.

New Terminology

• to apologise (to apologize) = to be sorry for something• CEO = Chief Executive Officer (in charge of managing an organisation)• a warranty policy = a guarantee to protect you if the product is defective or faulty• to resolve the issue = to fix the problem• INSEAD = a graduate business school with campuses worldwide• to conduct research = to do research• According to research = the research claims• negotiation tactic = negotiation strategy to achieve objectives• objectives = goals/aims• a strategy = a plan• mitigate conflict = reduce the issue• resolve disputes = fix the problem• findings = results• negotiators = parties involved in the negotiation (bargaining) process• alleviate issues = resolve issues• defective product = faulty product

What did Timothy Cook do for Apple’s Chinese customers to solve the problem with the warranty policy?

• He sent them an email.

• He sang a song for them.

• He publicly apologised to them.

• He wrote to them.

He publicly apologised to them.

Summary

You learnt about the art of negotiation

You gained confidence and improved your ability to negotiate

You learnt how to prepare for meetings involving negotiations

You studied the Conditional Tenses

You examined an international case study

You acquired more Business English terminology and were exposed to

pronunciation

o Now we can continue building on your English for Business

o Attend all of the lessons live to ask questions in real time and benefit the most

o We’re here to help, so contact us anytime!

markkennelly@shawacademy.com thomasmcgovern@shawacademy.com