Unit 13. Getting what you want. Part1. Key principles of negotiating.

A key principle in negotiating is to give a little and get a little at the same time.

Vocabulary.

Win – win

In a successful negotiation, everyone should leave the negotiating table happy with the outcome: there shouldn’t be winners and losers. The negotiation should try to reach a win-win solution: an agreement of equal benefit to both sides. This can be achieved in a number of ways.

Part2. Probing, proposals and counter-proposals, trade-offs.

Probing

One way of furthering negotiations is probing (asking the right questions and listening carefully to the answers).

Here are some probing questions:

1. What is the situation on production at your plant at the moment?

2. What sort of quantities are you looking for?

3. What are we looking at in the way of discount?

4. What did you have in mind regarding specifications?

5. What were you thinking of in terms of delivery dates?

6. How important to you is the currency for payment?

Proposal and counter-proposal.

Through a series of proposals or offers from one side and counter-offers from the other side, the two sides work towards an agreement which will benefit them both.

Here are some ways of making offer
If you offer more flexible payment conditions,	will be able to+inf.
As long as engine performance improves by ten per cent,	can agree to +inf.
On condition that you deliver 20 engines by May.	could consider +-ing
	then we
Supposing that you provide good technical support,	may offer +noun
Provided that you supply documentation in French	might offer to +inf.
Providing that this contract works out OK,

Unit 13

Trade – offs

When you offer to change your position to one that is less favourable to yourself, you make a concession. Perhaps this is in exchange for a concession from the other side, although there is no guarantee of this. Your concession may be a goodwill gesture: a concession that you make hoping that the other side will see this as friendly and make a concession in return.

Even in a friendly negotiation, there may be horse-trading, with each side making a series of concessions in return for concessions from the other side. (This expression is often used to show disapproval). If you argue about something for a long time, especially about the price of something, you haggle.

A series of concessions in exchange for concessions from the other side is a series of trade-offs. If you make a concession, you may not get anything back. If you make a trade-off, you give something away and get something in return.

DISCUSSION.

Exercise 1. Read the text above again and answer the questions.

1. What situation can you observe in a win-win negotiation?

2. What do you mean by «probing»?

3. What question from B do you suggest for the following reply: «We’d prefer US dollars»?

4. What question from B do you suggest for the reply: «We’ll need the first 30 units in six months»?

5. What is the best translation for the following conjunctions:

If
providing that
on condition that
as long as
supposing that
provided that

6. When do we usually make a concession?

7. What is meant by «horse-trading»?

8. What two expressions do we use to describe long negotiations with a series of concessions?

9. What’s the difference between «to haggle» and «to make a concession»?