III. Read and translate the text. Negotiations

Negotiation is the act or process of discussing formally for the purpose of arranging a business deal, of bargaining over business deals. The aim of any negotiation is to reach an arrangement acceptable to all those taking part.

Conducting a negotiation in a foreign language is a complex activity that requires a combination of listening and speaking skills. For any negotiation to succeed, each side must only have a clear understanding of what the other side is proposing but be able to present convincing arguments in support of their own positions. That is why before negotiations start, preparing and planning are very important.

Get as much information as possible about the situation. If dealing with people from another culture, find out about its etiquette and negotiating styles. Work out your initial bargaining position: what your needs and objectives are. Decide your priorities. Try to estimate the needs and objectives of the other side. Prepare a fallback position. Perhaps you are in a position to influence the choice of venue. If so, would you prefer to: be on your own ground/ on home ground, meet on neutral ground, for example, in a hotel or go to see the other party on their ground?

Agreements usually involve a degree of compromise with each side making concessions which are usually accompanied by conditions. The following guidelines will help you adopt the right general approach during the negotiation.

1. Self-control is a key quality – you should be careful not to let emotional reactions influence your judgment.

2. Being able to reach a compromise is a critical ingredients and it is important to understand that you may have to make concessions.

3. Understanding the position of the other side is essential if you are going to reach an agreement.

4. Allowing time arguments to be developed and not making hasty decisions are two important qualities.

5. Distinguishing what is important from what is not helps to focus on the main issues.

6. Reacting calmly to criticism will help to increase the chances of a successful outcome.

7. Doing the background research before entering a negotiation that you will be able to anticipate problems that may arise and the people will adopt on certain issues.

8. Looking for a solution that can benefit both parties is the key to win-win negotiating.

9. Being able to deal with stress will enable you to remain composed during a negotiation.

10. Listening carefully to what people have to say is essential in order to understand exactly what they are expecting from you and to seek clarification where necessary.

11. Adopt an active approach to listening during the role-play by maintaining eye contact.

12. Use appropriate body language to show acknowledgement of what is being said (i.e. nodding, smiling). When you are negotiating with people from other cultures, it is important to think about what they consider as “normal” behavior. You will need to think about the following: body language, physical contact, conversational rules, hierarchy.

Take opportunities to summarize the arguments of the other person to confirm your understanding and ask for clarification when statements are vague or ambiguous. For negotiation to be successful both sides must have feeling that they can trust each other. Establishing such a relationship is the first priority.

It is important that you speak slowly and clearly and explain exactly what is involved in what you are proposing. Invite the other party to respond to your proposals by asking them for feedback.

Through a series of proposals or offers from one side and counter-proposals or counter-offers from the other side, the two sides work towards an agreement which will benefit them both. When you offer to change your position to one that is less favorable 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.

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. If you argue about something for a long time, especially about the price of something, you haggle.

A series of concession in exchanging 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. Sometimes one side is in a stronger position than the other: they have more bargaining power. For example, during a recent strike at Lamba Inc., the company was in financial difficulty and the public was on the workers’ side, so Lamba was negotiating from weakness. The strikers’ union knew this: they were negotiating from strength.

The union made demands: objectives that were so important that they were unwilling to change them. They wanted 15 per cent pay increase. Later they moderated these demands, and said they would accept ten per cent. However, their demand for a week’s extra holiday was non-negotiable: they would not accept less.

Lamda said they were being forced to accept something that they did not want. They accused the union of making them negotiate under duress.

Eventually Lamda conceded to most of the union’s demands and gave them what they wanted. The media said that Lamda had backed down, climbed down and given in.

The feelings had been very strong on each side: the dispute was bitter, and the negotiations were confrontational and adversarial.

Although using tricks is not recommended, there are negotiators who: issue threats, final offers or ultimatums, lie and bluff. Of course, you can always call someone’s bluff: if you can gain an advantage of it.

When negotiations get stuck and don’t progress, there are a number of things you can do:

1. underline common ground;

2. reassure the other side on key points that have been decided;

3. be willing to compromise on your original objectives;

4. identify the exact obstacles or sticking points;

5. postpone discussions until later so that each side can reconsider its position.

In a successful negotiation, everyone should leave the negotiating table happy with the outcome: there shouldn’t be winners and losers. The negotiators should try to reach a win-win solution: an agreement to their mutual advantage.