VII. NEGOTIATIONS IN ENGLISH

Word

Meaning

ExampleSentence

Partofspeech

alternatives

We can't offer you the raise you

Otheroptions

requested, but let's discuss some other

noun

alternatives.

amplify

expand;

Could you amplify on your proposal

verb

givemoreinformation

please.

arbitration

conflict that is addressed

We're better to settle this between us,

by using a neutral third

because a formal arbitration will cost

noun

party

both of us money.

bargain

try to change a person's

We bargained on the last issue for

mind by using various

over an hour before we agreed to take

verb

tactics

a break.

bottom-line

the lowest one is willing

I'll accept a raise of one dollar per

noun

to go

hour, but that's my bottom-line.

collective

Together

This is a collective concern, and it isn't

adj

fair to discuss it without Marie present.

compensate

If you are willing to work ten extra

make up for a loss

hours a week we will compensate you

verb

by paying you overtime.

comply

Agree

I'd be willing to comply if you can

verb

offer me my own private office.

compromise

changing one's

We are willing to compromise on this

mind/terms slightly in

verb

issue because it means so much to you.

order to find a resolution

concession

a thing that is granted or

I think we can offer all of these

noun

accepted

concessions, but not all at once.

conflictresoluti

Generaltermfornegotiatio

It is impossible to engage in conflict

on

resolution when one of the parties

ns

noun

refuses to listen.

confront

present an issue to

I confronted my boss about being

undervalued, and we're going to talk

verb

someone directly

about things on Monday.

Word

Meaning

ExampleSentence

Partofspeech

consensus

agreementbyall

It would be great if we could come to a

noun

consensus by 5:00 P.M.

cooperation

theworkingtogether

I have appreciated your cooperation

noun

throughout these negotiations.

the offer/request which is

In their counter proposal they

counterproposal

presented second in

suggested that we keep their company

noun

response to the first

name rather than creating a new one.

proposal

counterattack

present other side of an

Before we could start our

counterattack they suggested we sign

verb/noun

issue

a contract.

counterpart

person on the other side

I tried to close the discussions at noon,

but my counterpart would not stop

noun

of the negotiations

talking.

In the past I have had little respect for

cordially

Politely

that client, but today she spoke

verb/noun

cordially and listened to my point of

view.

demands

needs/expectations that

They had some last minute demands

one side believes it

adv

that were entirely unrealistic.

deserves

deadlock

point where neither party

When the discussions came to a

deadlock we wrote up a letter of intent

noun

will give in

to continue the negotiations next week.

dispute

I was hoping to avoid discussing last

argument/conflict

year's dispute, but Monica is still

noun

holding a grudge.

dominate

have the most

Max has such a loud voice, he tends to

verb

control/stronger presence

dominate the conversations.

entitled

My contract says that I am entitled to

bedeservingof

full benefits after six months of

adj

employment.

flexible

open/willingtochange

We have always been flexible in terms

adj

of your working hours.

haggling

arguing back and forth

We've been haggling over this issue

verb

(often about prices)

for too long now.

hostility

long-term anger towards

I want you to know that we don't have

noun

another

any hostility towards your company

Word

Meaning

ExampleSentence

Partofspeech

despite last year's mixup.

high-ball

make a request that is

I'm planning to high-ball my

much higher than you

expectations when I open the

verb

expect to receive

discussion.

impulse

quick decision without

I acted on impulse when I signed that

noun

thought or time

six-month contract.

indecisive

has difficulty

They were so indecisive we finally

choosing/making a

asked them to take a break and come

adj

decision

back next week.

(bargaining power)

We have a little bit of leverage

leverage

something that gives one

because we are the only stationary

noun

party a greater chance at

company in town.

succeeding over another

log-rolling

trading one favour for

After a bit of log-rolling we came to

verb

another

an agreement that pleased both of us.

low-ball

offer something much

I was expecting my boss to low-ball in

lower than you think the

the initial offer, but he proposed a fair

verb

opponent will ask for

salary increase.

mislead

convince by altering or

They misled us into thinking that

not telling the whole

verb

everything could be resolved today.

truth about something

mutual

agreed by both or all

The decision to call off the merger was

adj

mutual.

objective

My prime objective is to have my

goalfortheoutcome

family members added to my benefits

noun

plan.

pointofview

person'sideas/ thoughts

From my point of view it makes more

noun

sense to wait another six months.

pressure

work hard to convince

He pressured me to accept the terms

verb

another of an idea

by using intimidation tactics.

proposal

argumenttopresent

While I listened to their proposal I

noun

noted each of their objectives.

receptive

open to/interested in an

His positive body language

demonstrated that he was receptive to

adj

idea

our suggestions.

resentment

anger held onto from a

Mary's resentment stems from ours

noun

previous conflict

not choosing her to head the project.

resistance

a displayofopposition

We didn't expect so much