Negotiation and Communication

2-yr Evening Program Senior ClassSpring Semester 2011Instructor: Inga Koehler

Required Textbook: Malcolm Goodale; The English Language of Meetings: A Pragmatic

Perspective

Course objectives and requirements

At the end of the course students will be able to master the skills necessary for successful business negotiations.

Students will practice individually, in pairs and small groups.

Midterm and final exams account for 30 and 40 per cent respectively, homework and active participation for another 30 per cent.

Missing more than one third of the class constitutes mandatory failure.

Week 1Unit 1

Language of Meetings Using would; asking questions; adding n’t to

suggestions; introductory phrases; I’m afraid; qualifiers

Week 2Unit 1

Language of Meetings Not+very+positive adj.; comparatives;

continuous forms; stressed words; stressed auxiliaries; collocations

Critical Thinking Questions for Discussion

Week 3Unit 2

Presenting an argument Beginning; ordering; introducing a new

point; adding; giving an example; balancing; generalizing; stating preferences; concluding

Critical Thinking Questions for Discussion

Week 4Unit 3

Opinions Asking for an opinion; asking for a reaction;

giving strong opinions; giving neutral opinions; giving tentative opinions; bringing in to answer a question; bringing in to present a point; summarizing

Critical Thinking Questions for Discussion

Week 5Unit 4

Agreeing and Disagreeing Strong agreement; neutral agreement;

partial agreement; softening strong disagreement; strong disagreement; softening neutral disagreement; neutral disagreement; tactful disagreement

Critical Thinking Questions for Discussion

Week 6Unit 5

Interrupting Interrupting; taking the floor; commenting;

coming back to a point; preventing an interruption; pre-empting an interruption

Critical Thinking Questions for Discussion

Week 7

National Holiday

Week 8Unit 6

Clarifying Asking for confirmation; asking for a

repetition; correcting misunderstandings; rephrasing

Critical Thinking Questions for Discussion

Week 9

Midterm exam Students will take a written test covering

material studied during the first half of the semester.

Week 10Unit 7

Questioning Asking general questions; asking for further

information; playing for time; saying nothing; questioning

Critical Thinking Questions for Discussion

Week 11Unit 8

Proposals Strong, neutral and tentative proposals;

expressing total support; expressing support; expressing partial support; expressing total opposition; expressing opposition; expressing tentative opposition

Critical Thinking Questions for Discussion

Week 12Unit 9

Persuading Asking questions; adding information;

challenging; expressing reservation; reassuring

Critical Thinking Questions for Discussion

Week 13

Review

Week 14

Final exam Students will engage in a meeting putting

into practice what they have learned during this course.

There should not be more than three students to a group.