Basic Negotiation Language
Negotiation happens in many everyday contexts — discussing a salary, agreeing on a deadline, resolving a service complaint, or deciding on a plan with colleagues. Having the right language makes negotiations clearer and more effective.
Key Negotiation Stages
| Stage | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Opening | Establish rapport and set the agenda |
| Exploring | Understand each party’s needs and priorities |
| Proposing | Make initial offers or suggestions |
| Bargaining | Exchange concessions; find middle ground |
| Closing | Confirm the agreement |
Making Proposals
| Function | Phrases |
|---|---|
| Initial offer | What if we…? / How about…? / I’d like to propose… |
| Suggesting compromise | Would you be willing to…? / What if we met halfway? |
| Conditional offer | If you can [X], then we can [Y]. / As long as…, we’d be happy to… |
| Counter-offer | That’s not quite what I had in mind, but I could consider… instead. |
Expressing Conditions
Conditional language is central to negotiation:
| Condition type | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Strong condition | If + present, will + infinitive | If you can deliver by Friday, we’ll place the order today. |
| Softer condition | If + past, would + infinitive | If you could reduce the price slightly, we would proceed. |
| Concession | As long as… / Provided that… | Provided that the timeline is met, we’re happy to proceed. |
The “if you can X, we can Y” structure is powerful because it makes your conditions explicit and shows you are willing to trade. This avoids vague back-and-forth.
Expressing Positions and Limits
| Function | Phrases |
|---|---|
| Stating your position | Our main concern is… / What’s most important to us is… |
| Signalling a limit | I’m afraid that’s our final offer. / We can’t go below [X]. |
| Buying time | I’d need to check with my team before committing to that. |
| Accepting | That sounds acceptable. / I think we can work with that. |
| Rejecting politely | I’m afraid that doesn’t quite work for us. / That’s a bit outside what we can do. |
Closing the Agreement
Once both parties agree, confirm clearly:
“So, to summarise: we’ll [X] and you’ll [Y]. Is that correct?” “Great — let’s confirm this in writing and move forward.” “I think we’ve found a solution that works for both of us.”
Never agree to terms you do not understand or are unsure about. It is always acceptable to say: “Could we just clarify [X] before we finalise?” or “I’d like to review this before confirming.”