International Negotiations

Extension activity

Write the following words on the board and check everyone understands them. 

Trainees work in pairs to predict how the words relate to the quote. They then read the 

commentary on page 69 to check.

keeping the door open

persistent

gender

high-context cultures

aggressive

reluctant

Suggested answers

•  Questions are good for keeping the door open (= creating new opportunities to find 

areas of agreement).

•  How persistent you should be when asking questions (= how long you should keep 

asking, even if the other person doesn’t want to answer) is both a cultural issue and a 

gender one (= it depends on whether you are dealing with men or women).

•  In high-context cultures (= cultures where creating and preserving relationships is 

particularly important), asking too many questions can be seen as aggressive (= hostile).

•  Women are generally more reluctant (= hesitant, unwilling) to ask for what they want in 

case they get a negative response.