Lesson 27

Leveling up Interpersonal Skills

Lead-in
Negotiation Skills
1. What do you think are the most important skills for successful negotiation?
2. How do you prepare for a negotiation? Do you have any specific strategies or techniques?
3. How do you handle difficult or aggressive negotiators? Do you have any tips for dealing with
them effectively?
4. Do you believe that body language plays a role in negotiation? If so, how can it affect the
outcome?
5. Have you ever encountered cultural differences while negotiating with someone from a
different country? How did you handle it?
Reading: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/negotiation-
skills
Negotiation is a dialogue where two or more sides work together to reach an agreeable solution for all
involved. It might result in a formal agreement, like a contract, or a less formal understanding, like a verbal
agreement. Understanding how negotiations work and what skills are needed may help you receive a solution
beneficial to you.
There are many situations where you may need to be a negotiator. You might be involved in negotiating a job
offer, asking for a raise, rallying for a budget increase, buying or selling property, or closing a sale with a
customer. They all call for negotiating skills if you want to be successful.
Here are several key negotiation skills that may be helpful in your career:
1. Communication
Essential communication skills include identifying nonverbal cues and verbal skills to express yourself
engagingly. Skilled negotiators can change their communication styles to meet the listener’s needs. By
establishing clear communication, you can avoid misunderstandings that could prevent you from reaching a
compromise.
2. Active listening
Active listening skills are also crucial for understanding another person’s opinion in negotiation. Unlike passive
listening, which is hearing a speaker without retaining their message, active listening ensures you engage and
later recall specific details without needing information repeated.
3. Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to control your emotions and recognize others’ feelings. Being
conscious of the emotional dynamics during negotiation can help you stay calm and focused on the core
issues.
4. Patience
Some negotiations can take a long time to complete, occasionally involving renegotiation and
counteroffers. Rather than seeking a quick conclusion, negotiators often practice patience to properly
assess a situation and reach the best decision for their clients.
5. Integrity
Integrity, or having strong ethical and moral principles, is an essential skill for negotiations. Being
thoughtful, respectful, and honest allows the other side to trust what you say.
6. Rapport building
The ability to build rapport lets you establish relationships with others where both sides feel supported
and understood. Building a rapport requires communicating your goals and understanding the other side’s
wants and needs. Rapport helps ease tensions, promotes collaboration, and increases the likelihood of
reaching an agreement.
Vocabulary

Fill in the gaps with the correct option.

1. The negotiation/disagreement process was long and tiring, but we finally reached a mutual
agreement.
2. Finding a solution/difference to this problem will require a team effort.
3. Having good communication skills is crucial/insignificant in the business world.
4. Effective communication/misunderstanding is key to building successful partnerships.
5. As professionals, we must maintain our integrity/dishonesty at all times.
6. Building a strong disagreement/rapport with clients is essential for maintaining long-term
business relationships.
Video
Watch the video and answer the questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BegeGTBWMgE&ab_channel=HBS
Online
1.What are some examples of negotiation mentioned in the video?
2.How can effective communication help in negotiation?
3.Why is it important to articulate your position and actively listen to others' ideas and needs in negotiation?
4.What role does unclear communication play in negotiation?
5.Why is emotional intelligence important in negotiation?
Key Phrases
Setting the negotiation agenda
"Before we begin, shall we have a look at the main points on the agenda?“
"Should we have a look at the main points for today's discussion?"
"To start with, I think we should establish the overall procedure"
"I'd like to outline our aims and objectives."
Asking if the other party is in agreement
"How do our objectives compare to yours?"
"Is it acceptable to you?"
"Is there anything you'd like to add?"
Compromising
"We might be able to work on... if you could..."
"We are ready to accept your offer; however, there would be one condition." "Would you be willing to accept a compromise?"
"In return for this, would you be willing to...?" "Could you meet us halfway?"
Accepting the proposal
"This agreement is acceptable to us."
"I think we have reached an agreement here."
"That sounds reasonable."
"I think we have a deal."
"I believe we have an agreement."
Speaking Practice
Taking turns with your partner, try to reach an agreement in the following
situations:
• Your boss has to agree to let you have a more flexible work schedule today.
• Your co-worker wants to change the project strategy you already agreed upon.
• Your desk neighbor keeps eating crunch chips, which are so distracting.
• Your friend wants to go for a walk during lunch, but you just want to get a sandwich.
• Your manager is reluctant to give you a pay rise.
Grammar Reference
Past Perfect
The past perfect (had done) is used when we are already talking about the past and want to refer to an
earlier action, event or state.
When I got to the station, I realized I'd left my briefcase at the exhibition.
Past Perfect Continuous
The past perfect continuous (also known as the past perfect progressive) is a verb tense that shows that
an action that started in the past continued up until another time in the past.
The formula for the past perfect continuous tense is had been + present participle.
I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion.
Grammar Practice
Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.
1. Peter was Sally's best friend. She had known/had been knowing him all her life.
2. The children were wet because they had been playing/had played football in the rain.
3. We were very hungry because we hadn't eaten/hadn’t been eating.
4. I was delighted when I found my keys. I had been looking/had been looking for them for hours.
5. She was exhausted because she had worked/had been working since eight o'clock that
morning.
6. Everything was white because it had snowed/had been snowing.
Speaking Practice
Let’s play! Open the box and answer a question using the Past Perfect or Past
Perfect Continuous:
https://wordwall.net/uk/resource/65946191/past-perfect-past-perfect-continuous-
questions
Hometask
Past perfect simple or continuous? Complete the sentences with the correct tense.
1. I had to take a short break at three o'clock. I had driven/had been driving for more than three
hours.
2. Before we parked our car in the parking lot we had collected/had been collecting the ticket from
the ticket machine.
3. All the roads in the town were blocked in the morning because it had snowed/had been snowing
all night.
4. They were disappointed because they got to the beach after they had been walking/had walked
for an hour.
5.Mrs. Johnson called the police when she had seen/had been seeing the light in the entrance hall.
6. Manuel's spoken English was perfect. He had been learning/had learnt it since he started school.
Fill in the gaps with the word from the hint.
Hint: long-term, skills, application, freelancer, ability, negotiation, outspoken.
Whether you are a freelancer, business owner, or career professional, you have engaged in negotiation
at one time or another. Negotiation skills are important in business, career, and personal life. In the
workplace, negotiation helps you to get the best out of deals and achieve long-term success. In your
personal life, your negotiation skills can boost your creativity and decision-making ability. It can help
you learn better strategies and improve your reasoning ability.
Contrary to popular opinion, negotiation skills are not natural. Even the most outspoken person needs
to learn when and how to apply this ability in negotiation. As such, negotiation skills can be developed
with consistent learning and application.
Optional Materials
Check your vocabulary. Complete the sentences with the words from the box. Use each word ONLY
ONCE.
branch - CEO - chain - diversifying - entrepreneur - industry - launched - manufactured - setting up -
staff
Clothes have been my passion ever since I was a child, so it came as no surprise to my family when I
decided on a career in the fashion industry. While I was studying fashion design at university, I
worked nights in a factory that manufactured toothbrushes. This certainly wasn't my dream job, so
when a friend told me that a popular clothing chain was opening a new branch in our town. I
immediately stopped by to ask if they were looking for additional staff. Luckily, they were, and I got
a job as a sales assistant. I enjoyed working there so much that I decided to stay on even after I
graduated. Last year, the CEO of the company visited my store, and we started chatting. He told me
he was interested in diversifying the business and introducing a line of footwear. When I told him I
had a degree in fashion design, he asked me if I'd be interested in designing women's shoes for the
company. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity, and I've been working in the head office as
chief footwear designer ever since. My hard work has paid off, and when we launched our first line
of heels last month, it was a great success.
I still dream of becoming a young entrepreneur and setting up my own clothing company one day,
but for now. I'm very happy designing great shoes and learning more about the industry.
Read the text and check your understanding: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-important-
negotiation-skills-business-career-success-kominiti/
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.
Negotiation can be used to resolve conflict or strike a business deal. The goal of this process is to reach
an agreement that benefits all the parties involved.
Here are seven important negotiation skills to build your negotiating ability.
Active Listening Ability: Successful negotiators have one skill in common. It is the ability to actively
listen and understand the other party’s points. This is beyond listening to hear. Active listening ensures
you understand and even recall suggestions from the speakers.
Planning: Effective negotiators must have the skill to analyze a problem while considering the interest
of each party involved. With this, you can plan and prepare your points ahead of the negotiation time
while also considering all the possible outcomes. This is key to finding common ground and solutions.
Persuasion: The ability to influence others is an important negotiation skill. A good negotiator must be
bold and vast. In negotiation, define why and how your proposed solution can benefit all parties. While
adaptability is essential, you should be assertive when needed.
Effective Communication: Effective communication involves both verbal and nonverbal communication.
Beyond your speech, your body language also communicates. Skilled communicators know how to
adjust their communication style to meet the listeners’ needs without creating or aggravating issues.
Emotional Intelligence: In every negotiation, one thing is sure, there will be disagreement. When
your suggestion is strongly frowned upon, this can hurt your emotions or lead to uncontrolled
outbursts. However, if you have emotional intelligence, you are calm and focused on the major
issue.
Integrity: This is more of an ethical quality. Notwithstanding, your integrity can play a crucial role in
negotiation. Strong ethical and morally principled individuals are seen as honest and thoughtful as
against unethical people. This demonstrates your trustworthiness and also influences the other
party’s decision. People of integrity are often respectful, honest, and committed. Integrity is key to
standing out as a good negotiator.
Decision Making: making good decisions can enhance your negotiation ability. If you have an
excellent decision-making track record, agreeing to your preferred solution or suggestion during the
decision-making process won’t be difficult. As a negotiator, your decision can have a lasting effect
on yourself or your company.
This is not to say that in negotiation, you shouldn’t give room for compromise; even if your
suggestions are not later accepted, ensure they are carefully thought out.
1. According to the text, what is the goal of negotiation?
A To reach a compromise between parties
B To establish dominance over the other party
С To persuade the other party to accept your proposal
d To benefit all the parties involved
2 According to the text, why is effective communication important in negotiation?
a It helps to establish dominance over the other party.
b It allows you to manipulate the other party's emotions.
c It helps to build rapport and find common ground.
d It ensures that you always get what you want.
3.What is an important skill of successful negotiators mentioned in the text?
a Assertiveness
b Aggressiveness
C Dominance
d Submissiveness
4 What role does emotional intelligence play in negotiation?
a It helps you control your emotions and stay focused.
bIt allows you to manipulate the other party's emotions.
c It helps you win every negotiation.
d It ensures that you always get what you want.
5 Why is integrity considered an important quality in negotiation?
a It helps you manipulate the other party.
B It demonstrates trustworthiness and influences the other party's decision.
C It allows you to disregard ethical principles.
D It helps you establish dominance over the other party.

6 According to the text, how does decision-making affect negotiation?

A It allows you to make quick decisions without considering the other party.
B It enhances your negotiation ability and influences the outcome.
С It hinders the negotiation process and leads to conflicts.
D It ensures that you always get what you want.
Quizlet link - https://quizlet.com/866579108/upper-intermediate-
lesson-27-flash-cards/?new