How to Master the Art of Business Negotiations in English

Negotiating at work, especially when a lot (literally) is at stake, is challenging and stressful.

On one hand, you need to keep calm and protect your interests, aiming for the best result. On the other hand, you need to interact with the other side and successfully manage the process. If all this takes place in a language other than your native one, it can become even more challenging.

For many professionals, negotiations can be a game-changer. If they do well and reach beneficial agreements, they may get promoted. But if they fail, they risk their reputation, even their job altogether.

Add to it the personal and linguistic blockages and you can realise how big a challenge it can become.

“What if my English level is not high enough and I won’t be able to express myself using the right words?”. “What if they don’t understand what I’m saying because of my bad pronunciation? Or even misunderstand my points and issues arise?”.

All the factors above create a lot of stress and anxiety among professionals who can take part in and impact the outcome of business negotiations. I have heard stories where otherwise highly-skilled and talented professionals dread negotiations and prefer to avoid being involved (with all the risks this entails). 

What if I told you that there is a way to perform at your natural best during negotiations in English, letting your personality and talent shine while reaching the desirable results?

How to negotiate in English like a pro

First things first, you need to change your mindset. It doesn’t have to be “the winner takes it all”. If one of the parties or both insist on their positions, there may never be an agreement and the deals usually fail. Insisting will not get you far. Nor accepting that you have to compromise in everything and be the “loser”. 

Win-win situations and mutually beneficial agreements are what you must aim for. It’s a completely different mindset that can help both sides win, each one on their own terms. This mindset change can take away much of the stress and guide you to a direction where you don’t need to be aggressive or hold back.

You no longer have to choose where in the spectrum you position yourself: from sore losers to dominant winners. You need to have a positive mindset that helps you and the other side work out any differences and reach a fair and sustainable agreement.

Speaking of sustainability, this is a key factor in negotiations. You can be aggressive and rush everyone to a quick but unfair agreement. Most probably, it’s going to fail pretty quickly, so what’s the point? To make it work in the long-run (thus saving everyone’s time, money and energy), you need to aim for fair win-win situations. 

To help further, I’m giving you the 5 most important values to guide your efforts (to make it easier for you, I grouped them in pairs)

1. Honesty & transparency. Old school rules dictate keeping half of the truth or reality to yourself and revealing it later on when in need or the going gets tough. This is exactly that, old school (doesn’t work today). Expressing yourself clearly and stating your position concisely, without hiding, understating or exaggerating anything, can minimize friction and open communication channels for a collaborative negotiation.
2. Positivity & empathy. Thinking and speaking English in a positive way when stating your terms and responding to the other side’s terms during negotiations can work wonders. Remember, it’s about win-win outcomes. Go into the other side’s shoes and try to understand their position. Respond to their positions with empathy without sounding aggressive or insulting them. 
3. Creativity. It’s normal and part of the game in negotiations to have disagreements. To handle them, use the two values above. However, when there are sticking points or deadlocks, you need to be creative. Think positively to come up with suggestions and proposals that aim at bridging the gaps. 

Keep this mindset change and these 5 values as I break down the specifics of business negotiations in English below.

How mindfulness can help during negotiations

Infusing mindfulness into how you approach negotiations can be a game – changer. Really! Listen now, when I work with my clients in such areas as negotiations, presentations, even networking, we always focus on creating (and maintaining at all times) a mindful mindset.

We usually start with a short mindfulness routine that you can also adopt yourself.

We then talk about the present situation, as this is crucial. Knowing where you stand, or in the case of negotiations, your position helps you express yourself in English clearly and concisely.

It’s normal and you should feel comfortable with the fact that you may be in an inferior position versus the other side before a negotiation. That doesn’t mean you have to surrender or revert to bitter compromises. You still can get the most out of it, to work for both sides.

Finally, mindfulness helps you let go of self-judgement and your inner critic (they can be our worst enemies and our greatest blockages). What’s done is done. Don’t let past trauma determine your future. 

Even if your English failed during a previous negotiation round or the outcome was not the desirable one because you didn’t express yourself the best way possible, you can still nail the next round.

All these are mindfulness elements we work on during our sessions that guide you forever. Once you learn and master them, they will become a part of yourself and how you approach even the most challenging situations, such as business negotiations.

Useful English phrases to use in business negotiations

Preparation is key, so here are some handy English phrases to use during each part of the presentation. 

To make things easier to understand and adopt, I break down the negotiation process into three distinct parts:

1. Stating your position (with honesty and transparency, remember?)
2. Setting boundaries and responding to the other side’s conditions, including how to deal with disagreements (with positivity and empathy)
3. Proposing new ideas to reach an agreement (with creativity)

For each of these stages, I will outline the guiding principle and a handful of phrases and expressions that can come in handy.

General words & phrases for business negotiations

You can use the list below in any situation involving negotiations. They set a positive note and transmit good vibes.

• To reach consensus (= to agree on a matter that initially (at first) you disagreed upon)
• Alternative (= a better choice than the one currently into consideration)
• Counter proposal (= an alternative solution that is better than the previously discussed proposal)
• Bottom line (=the most important factor)
• Come to terms (= gradually reconcile interests and come to an agreement)
• Give and take (= making mutual compromises to move a discussion toward an agreement)

Stage 1: stating your position

At this stage it is crucial to speak English clearly and concisely, without mumbling or trying to impress with fancy words and phrases. Less is more. Use the appropriate words and avoid long sentences. Keep it short and to the point without being aggressive. It’s all about preparation and confidence.

You can use these phrases to start with: 

“I am excited by the opportunity to work together.”

“I’d like to outline our aims and objectives.

“Based on my research…” (stats and figures can help you demonstrate your position but keep it on point)

“I suggest doing X…”

“We are thinking of Y….”

“We’d prefer to do Z at the beginning…”

During this stage, it’s also important to ask questions in order to understand the other side’s position. 

You can ask directly starting with

“What kind of… are we looking at?” or 

“What’s the situation regarding…?”

You can also use open-ended questions like

“What do you have in mind exactly?” or 

even make a question, leaving it unfinished at the end with the word “… or?” like this

“So, you are suggesting monthly payments or…?”

Stage 2: setting conditions and boundaries

What you offer depends on what the other side can do. And vice versa. At this stage, you need to express yourself in English positively and with empathy. 

An excellent way to set conditions without sounding demanding is to use if-sentences, and then the verbs can, will, could, would.

For example:

“If we agreed on monthly payments, would you be willing to offer us an extra discount?” or

“If we commit to the minimum quantity, can you offer greater flexibility with payments?”

You can also use other ways to set conditions, like this:

“Assuming that…”

“Supposing you…”

“As long as…”

In any case, freshening up the grammar rules about conditionals can be of great help!

Handling disagreements is also important and what matters here is to respond directly, like this

“We will not be able to ….”

“We can’t offer X now…”

“We are not willing to …”

“I’ll come right out and say that this is not going to work for us”

“I’m afraid there is no way around this at the moment”

“I’m sorry, but I have to draw a line here”

“We understand your position; however…”

“From our perspective…”

Stage 3: proposing new ideas

If there are sticking points you can’t solve, or you have come to an impasse, then take a short break and when back, be creative and make new suggestions and proposals to make it work constructively.

You can use phrases like these:

“I have a proposal”

“Here is our solution”

“I’ll make another offer…”

“As an alternative, we propose…”

You can also ask the other side for their own ideas or proposals.

“What’s your idea?” or “What would you suggest?”

Closing the negotiation and/or agreement

At the end of the negotiation round, it’s essential to summarise (to avoid misunderstandings) and finish on a positive note with the specific next steps.

“Fantastic! Let’s wrap this up!”

“Have we covered everything?”

“Let’s summarize our discussion to see if we’re on the same page…”

“Let’s go through the main points…”

“We still need to look into this matter…”

“There’s also the matter of…”

“We still need to settle the exact details of…”

“We’ll put all this in writing!”

“We’ll send you a provisional agreement…”

~~~~~~~~~~

I could share many more phrases and tips, but these are the handiest ones you can use in almost any business negotiation.

In any case, even when things go the wrong way and there are confrontations, remember to not take things personally or attack the other side. Keep calm and focus all your positive energy on ideas and how to express them in English the best way possible, and not on people, to achieve the desirable outcome.

Here at ProEnglish, this is my end goal. To empower non-native, highly- skilled professionals like you to claim what they deserve in their career by breaking down the language blockage in a safe, kind and trustful environment.

I am Vera Daskalaki, your Mindful English coach. You, being here and reading this, really means a lot to me. Let me know if anything above hit a nerve, and feel free to send me any questions. 

If you want to talk about your personal goals with speaking English and create a customized plan, just like we did with Marta, book a free discovery call by clicking below.

It’s a free 30-min call, during which we will get to know each other and see if and how I can help you reach your career goals as a non-native English-speaking professional.