1. Introduction to an article.

Read the introduction to an article giving tips (advice) on successful negotiating.
Then, choose the correct definition for each phrase in bold.

Negotiating: Top Ten Tips
Your business depends on doing a deal with a major supplier. This is make or break. One wrong move and you risk losing everything. What can you do to ensure that the deal goes through? Experts in business negotiation put their heads together and came up with a 10-point strategy.

2. Article headings.

Now match some of the headings from the article to phrases with similar meanings.


3. Negotiating tips.

Quickly read the article and choose the best title for each paragraph.
(You will be able to read the article in depth in the next exercise.)

Negotiation: Top Ten Tips

Your business depends on doing a deal with a major supplier. This is make or break. One wrong move and you risk losing all. What can you do to ensure that the deal goes through? Experts in business negotiation put their heads together and came up with a 10-point strategy:

4. Negotiating tips.

Now read the first part of the article in more detail.
Choose the best definition for the underlined words and phrases.

1. Do your homework
Don’t arrive unprepared: this will put you into a position of disadvantage from the outset. Find out everything you can about the people you are dealing with – their past, their plans, their needs, and what makes them tick. If you’re dealing with people from a different culture or language background, do some research. For example, if the other party is Chinese, knowing that it just happens to be Chinese New Year will make a big difference to their impression of you.
2. Decide what you want
If you are in any doubt about the deal you are entering into, resolve those doubts now! One tried and tested way of doing this is to write down as many sentences as possible beginning with “Why do I want X?” Then write another list in answer to the question “Why don’t I want X?” If the second list is longer than the first, maybe you need to rethink the deal you are about to enter into.
3. Find out what they want
Ask questions, but try to make these questions as non-judgmental as possible. This is often simply a matter of tone. The question “What makes you think we can afford that?” can be asked in at least two different ways: total disbelief or genuine curiosity. Go for genuine curiosity at all costs. Don't give the impression that you have already answered your question before you ask it. Make sure your voice and body language also project an interested, non-hostile attitude.
4. Have something up your sleeve
Don’t get stuck in a rut of your own making. Explore and develop alternatives. This doesn’t mean splitting the difference as in “You say black, I say white, so let’s agree on grey.” It means thinking red, green or blue – a whole new way of looking at the situation in hand. If you haven’t had time to develop alternatives before the negotiation begins, try asking the other party during your negotiations. You may find that a few well-placed questions open up a whole new set of possibilities.
5. Stop, look, listen
Take a deep breath and button your lip! Listen to the people you are dealing with – and then listen to them again! Remember the old saying, “You learn more with your mouth closed and your ears open.” Whatever you hear, it is likely to help you understand the other party and design your next move. And even if you hear nothing of value, you can still have the satisfaction of knowing that by being quiet you gave away nothing of value.

5. Common expressions.

Use words and phrases from the previous exercise to complete the sentences.

6. Negotiating tips.

Now read the second part of the article in more detail.
Choose the best definition for the underlined words and phrases.

6. Don't prejudge
Ideally, negotiation should focus on the interests and needs of both parties. This is more likely to happen if you haven't already made up your mind about the other party. The negotiator's goal is to collaborate and co-operate, rather than to force the other party into a mould. This also means not pigeonholing the other party, whether by their gender, ethnicity, occupation or organisation. The danger here is making a broad and potentially wrong assumption about someone.
7. Be flexible
Flexibility is important because you can never predict with 100 per cent accuracy the way negotiations will go, however much homework you may have done. If negotiations break down or become deadlocked, it's usually because one or both parties are incapable of flexibility. Being flexible means knowing when to say goodbye to your assumptions and adopt a new strategy to deal with the ongoing course of events. Sometimes this may mean having to make concessions – losing a battle in order to win the war.
8. Help the other party save face
You may be flexible, but the other party may not be, simply because to do so might seem like backing down. And backing down means losing face. In order to help save face, don't do anything that might make them think that they are backing down. You may need to be less competitive than you might have wished. If you back them into a corner, they are likely to get more unreasonable, not less. Instead, find a way for them to be flexible without looking foolish. Agree to change some of the minor details of the offer in their favour, for example.
9. Buy time
There will be times in any negotiation when you may need to get in touch with an adviser, your boss or your bank manager. Or you may need time to do some calculations. Whatever the problem, your hands are tied. Don't be rushed into a decision that you might regret. At the same time, don't give the impression that you are dragging your feet. Play for time by being accommodating: make it clear that, while you don't agree, you will go along with the other party for the time being, and then discuss it again later on. Use wording like "for now" and "until I have time to look into it". In other words, make it clear that you are keeping your options open.
10. Play off competing parties
Whenever you negotiate a deal in which you have a choice of vendors, partners or other sorts of players, try to find a way to play them off against each other. This way you can find out who will give you the best deal. Get a good offer from one, go back to the other and ask them to beat the offer, go back to the first and ask them to beat the second, and so on. And let them know you are doing this. They won't be surprised. These are their competitors, after all, and you have every right to shop around.

7. Practice.

Use phrases from the previous exercise to complete the description of a negotiation.

8. Collocations.

Match the two halves of these expressions from the "Top Ten Tips" article.


9. Practice.

Use words from the previous exercises to complete the summary. Type one word in each box.

10. Revision.

Can you remember the 10 tips in the article you read?
Type in the missing words. Type one word in each box.
The first letter of each word is given.