Business English Conversation: 10 Tips for Negotiations

In this article, you will

• learn how to be an expert negotiator
• practice key vocabulary on the topic of reaching business agreements
• practice phrasal verbs with “step.”

Newsmart Level 4 (B2, TOEIC 551–668, TOEFL iBT 53–64, IELTS 5–6)

On Monday, we discussed how to make a business deal. In this article, we further examine one aspect of dealmaking: the art of negotiation.

It’s interesting (though unfortunate) that negotiations are often seen as a battle, challenge, or game between two parties, where there is often a winner and a loser. In fact, a better way to view them is as business conversations between two or more people with a common goal of reaching a mutually acceptable result.

In this post, we’ll challenge the ‘battle’ perspective and present 10 tips to effectively manage negotiations as successful business English conversations.

1. It’s a conversation, not a battle

Don’t think of a negotiation as a battle or competition, with a winner and loser, but instead, as different parties on a journey to the same place. They’re trying to go in the same direction and having a conversation along the way. The exact route you take may depend on the lay of the land, but the ultimate destination is the same: you both want to do business together, or at least find out if you can.

2. Remember that business is about relationships

There is a fine balance between relationships and results. Be aware of how much focus the other person needs to place on the relationship and adapt your style accordingly. This is especially important when doing business internationally as there may be a need for more focus on the ‘getting-to-know-you’ and exploring needs phase, and less on the ‘get-down-to-business’ quickly phase, or vice versa.

3. Preparation

Focus on the end result you are looking for and prepare the steps necessary to get to that end result. You might not have the exact route to your goal planned, but working backwards from your goal will help you identify the steps necessary to get there.

4. Focus on your desired result

Don’t forget why you’re having the conversation. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked by small details and take your focus from your main goal. And remember that it might make sense to give a concession on the smaller points if they bring you closer to your desired result.

5. Find out the other person’s desired result — don’t assume

Ask lots of questions. It’s only through understanding the other person’s needs and objectives that you know if your suggestions will be interesting or even relevant for them.

6. Put yourself in their shoes

When making a suggestion, put yourself in the other person’s shoes and think about whether they would truly be interested in it. Also, think about the challenges they are facing and how you might help them to overcome these challenges.

7. Look for alternatives. Remember the 18th camel.

Sometimes we can be so emotionally tied to a problem or something that is blocking agreement, that it is difficult for us to see a way out. William Ury’s story about the 18th camel demonstrates that sometimes we need to be able to step back from unresolvable challenge and look at the situation through fresh eyes to be able to come up with a solution, an 18th camel.

8. Know your ‘walk away point’.

Of course, you may not be able to reach agreement with the other person, or reaching one may come at such a cost that you or they may feel like ‘losers’ in the negotiation. In such cases, it may be better for everyone involved to agree not to agree. You need to be prepared to walk away and know what you options are if you do.

9. Once you reach an agreement, stop talking about it.

This is a typical rule we hear in sales training, but it applies to all areas of business. Make people feel good about the decision they have made and then stop talking about it. Move the conversation to small talk or something else. If you keep talking about the business topic itself, the other person may begin to have second thoughts or feel that you may have got a better deal than they did.

10. Don’t try and sneak in ‘one last point’

Some negotiations suggest this as a tactic to win an extra point, such as ‘free delivery’ or ‘free accessories’ (if you’ve bought a consumer product). This is not a very ‘fair’ strategy as it’s not going to help that all-important relationship we mentioned earlier. It’s better to be upfront and transparent.

York Associates runs a full range of training courses, from language to leadership, from its executive training centre in York, UK and client locations around the world, including international negotiation skills seminars.

Photo credit: Gremlin for iStock

Originally published at www.getnewsmart.com.