I. The following thoughts passed through the minds of two negotiators during a negotiation. Use the words and phrases in brackets to reproduce what they actually said.

1. That’s impossible.

(unfortunately/would not/possible) _______________________________________________

1. We can’t go higher than 7%.

(would find/quite difficult) _____________________

1. We won’t accept less than $5 a unit.

(afraid / not in the position / this stage)_________

1. You’ll have to pay more if you want that.

(may / lightly)_____________________________

1. We should spend more time looking for a compromise here.

(shouldn’t / little?) _________________________

1. It would be a good idea to agree on a price before we go any further.

(wouldn’t / be better?)______________________

1. We hoped you’d pay a deposit today.

(were hoping / able)________________________

1. It will be difficult to get my boss to agree to this.

(might not / very easy)______________________

1. That’s as far as we can go.

(think / about / the moment)__________________

II. What do the negotiators do to make their statements sound more diplomatically? Do you prefer the direct or diplomatic versions?

III. The following expressions are all useful in negotiations, but some letters are missing from the words. When you have completed them, the letters in the box spell out some good advise for a negotiator.