Negotiation and Persuasion — The art of agreement in English
In business, it's not enough to be right. You have to communicate with diplomacy and find solutions that work for everyone.
Phases of a Negotiation
1. 📋 Proponer
| Frase | Nivel |
|---|
| "I'd like to suggest..." | Formal |
| "How about if we...?" | Semi-formal |
| "What if we considered...?" | Formal/tentativo |
| "Perhaps we could explore..." | Muy formal |
2. ✅ Aceptar condiciones
| Frase | Nivel |
|---|
| "That works for us." | Neutro |
| "We can agree to that." | Formal |
| "That sounds fair." | Neutro |
| "I think we have a deal." | Semi-formal |
3. ❌ Diplomatically decline
| Frase | Nivel |
|---|
| "I'm afraid that won't work for us." | Diplomatic |
| "That's not quite what we had in mind." | Suave |
| "We'd need to reconsider that." | Formal |
| "I appreciate the offer, but..." | Courteous |
4. 🤝 Buscar compromiso
| Frase | Nivel |
|---|
| "Could we meet halfway?" | Direct but diplomatic |
| "What if we compromised on...?" | Tentativo |
| "Perhaps we could find a middle ground." | Formal |
| "Let's see if there's a solution that works for both of us." | Colaborativo |
5. 📝 Cerrar acuerdo
| Frase | Nivel |
|---|
| "So we've agreed that..." | Resumen |
| "Let me summarize what we've discussed." | Formal |
| "Shall we put this in writing?" | Next step |
Persuasion Techniques
| Technique | As | Ejemplo |
|---|
| Ethos (credibilidad) | Citar experiencia o autoridad | "Based on our 10 years of experience..." |
| Pathos (emotion) | Apelar a sentimientos | "Imagine how this could improve your team's morale..." |
| Logos (logic) | Use data and reason | "The data clearly shows a 30% improvement..." |
Hedging — Suavizar afirmaciones
In negotiations, direct language can come across as aggressive. Use hedging:
| Directo ❌ | Suavizado ✅ |
|---|
| "That's wrong." | "I see it slightly differently." |
| "We can't do that." | "That might be challenging for us." |
| "You need to..." | "It might be worth considering..." |
| "I disagree." | "I appreciate your perspective, however..." |
💡 Tip: In negotiations, diplomacy is not weakness — it is strategy. The goal is to win the agreement, not the argument.