International Negotiations

International Negotiations Trainer’s Notes © Cambridge University Press 2012

www.cambridge.org/elt/internationalnegotiations

PhotocoPiable

9

1A Preparing to negotiate

---

Suggested answers

1  Examples include international trade negotiations such as the GATT (General 

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) or environmental negotiations such as the Kyoto 

Protocol on climate change.

2  Interests are what each party wants. Interests may be conflicting (e.g. party A wants 

a low price, while party B wants a high price) or common (e.g. both parties want to 

minimise the amount of money they will have to pay to a third party, such as the 

government in taxes). The purpose of the negotiation is the reason the negotiation 

is taking place. In most situations, the shared purpose is to reach an agreement. 

However, sometimes one or both parties may have a different purpose (e.g. party A 

is negotiating with party B, but really wants a deal with party C instead. For A, the 

purpose of the negotiation with B may simply to allow A to negotiate from a stronger 

position with party C).

3  It is good for both sides.

4  No part of the agreement is too bad for either side.

5  Both sides are able to fulfil their promises.

3 

Trainees work alone to complete the flowchart. Make sure they know to complete the middle 

column first, as these define the stages themselves. The outer columns give examples of the 

activities that happen during those stages. They check their answers in pairs before feeding 

back to the class.

Language notes

•  If you build rapport 

/ræˈpɔː(r)/

 with somebody, you get to know and develop a good 

relationship with him/her.

•  There is an important distinction between positions and interests. Interests define 

what you really want and why you want it (e.g. we really want to enter this market, so 

we are prepared to accept a low price if necessary), while positions are what you say 

you want or will accept, in order to get a better deal. A key skill in a negotiation is to 

identify the other party’s interests. Some negotiators believe it is better to be open and 

honest about your interests, while others believe they are in a stronger position if they 

keep their true interests secret. The issue of positions and interests is explored fully in 

Module 6A.

•  If you probe, you ask questions to get very specific information or a deeper 

understanding of a situation.

•  The verb to clarify has two meanings: to provide clarification or to ask for clarification. 

In the flowchart, clarify has this second meaning.

•  A concession is something you give to the other side in a negotiation, e.g. you accept 

their demand for a 5-year guarantee. An important principle in negotiations is that 

you should always trade concessions (e.g. we can provide that guarantee in exchange 

for a more flexible delivery schedule), and never simply make concessions in isolation. 

See Module 7A for more on trading concessions.

•  A time-out is a break from a negotiation, when the parties can discuss an idea 

among themselves or simply calm down if the negotiation is getting too emotional. 

See Module 9B for more on the importance of time-outs.