International Negotiations

Suggested answers

Although these expressions may be unsuitable for the proposal stage, they may be useful 

at later stages, i.e. when the parties are bargaining and trying to reach an agreement. 

Expressions a, b and c are all useful for applying pressure, but the speaker needs to be 

careful not to close off options too soon (see Module 9B). The other six expressions are all 

very generous, and may be useful to rescue a negotiation that would otherwise fail. There 

are two main reasons for using them: either to trade concessions with the other party, or 

simply to encourage the other party to like and trust you, and to feel a moral obligation 

to give something in return. However, if you show too much enthusiasm for making 

concessions, the other party may feel that you were not being serious or honest with your 

initial proposal.