In the concluding episode of our Business English Podcast series on negotiating in English, we’re going to look at closing the deal.

Success! The hard work of negotiation has paid off. You’ve reached agreement. Now it’s time to close the deal. In this episode, we’ll study skills and language for the final stage of the discussion. In particular, we’ll focus on summarizing details, tying up loose ends, reinforcing the relationship and adopting a positive style. We’ll see that the end of talks presents a great opportunity to build stronger partnerships.

In this show, we will look at two short dialogs that demonstrate different styles of negotiation. In the first, a construction materials supplier, Tony, calls his customer, Paul, to agree to the terms of a deal. In the second, a general manager, Maxine, calls the owner of another company, Peter, to tell him that her board of directors has agreed to buy his company.

Listening Questions

1. In the first dialog, what does the supplier, Tony, want to confirm with his customer, Paul?
2. What kind of positive language do Tony and Paul use at the end of the dialog to reinforce the relationship?
3. In the second dialog, does Maxine say that the board has agreed to Peter’s suggested price?
4. From the conversation, does it sound as though Peter will continue to work at his company through the merger?

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