Know your negotiating terms.

In a negotiation, you have to know your negotiating terms: the limits for the transaction, but also the words you use to get to an agreement.

Every business type (real estate, finance, etc.) and every organization has its own vocabulary. Some might say that industry-specific terms are jargon. In any case, you will have a hard time understanding people in your field if you don't know what their words and terms mean.

In business negotiations, these are some terms that come up frequently:

• consessions
• Assumptions
• deadlock
• Bargaining
• Escalation
• Reciprocity

We have discussed many of these terms here on Negotiation Space, so you are probably familiar with all of them. If not, check out our Negotiation Glossary where you will find over 270 negotiating terms described and defined. Another great resource for learning more about business language is the Business Dictionary at http://www.businessdictionary.com/


For non-English speakers who are looking to do business in the United States, it is especially important to learn the language of negotiation. Teacher Joe, a website dedicated to teaching business English, a list of 20 commonly used negotiation words is provided, along with definitions. Check it out here: http://www.teacherjoe.us

How good is your business negotiation vocabulary? How about taking a quiz? Over at EnglishClub.com there is a 10-question quiz you can take to see how you do. Here is the link:

http://www.englishclub.com/

Let us know your score. (If you have attended one of the Karrass Effective Negotiation Seminars or have been reading this blog regularly you should easily score 10 out of 10!)