Тексты для самостоятельной работы Текст 1

NEGOTIATING

Many people stumble at the opening of their negotiation. This can set the stage for a less than optimum outcome. Here are just a few points that might be helpful to keep in mind when you start a negotiation.

Don't set your initial offer near your final objective. Give yourself room to negotiate. It doesn't matter what you are negotiating – hours on a project, scope-of-work, specifications, price, who's going to do what, etc. When you start any negotiation you must assume the other party will always put their maximum positions on the table first. Equally important is the fact that they probably will not disclose to you the minimum they are willing to accept. Don't be shy about asking for everything you might want and more during a negotiation.

Give yourself enough time to negotiate. Before you start make sure you have allowed a realistic amount of time for the negotiation process to take place. Hours, weeks or months—it will frequently take longer than you expect. Rushing through the negotiation almost always works against you.

Don't assume you know what the other party wants. It is far more prudent to assume that you do not know and then proceed to discover the realities of the situation by patient testing and questioning. If you proceed to negotiate a deal on the basis of your own untested estimate, you are making a serious mistake.

Do not assume that your aspiration level is high enough. It is possible that your demands are too modest, or too easy to achieve. The other party may not know what they want or may have a set of values quite different from your own.

Finally, never accept the first offer. Many people do if the offer is as good as they expected or hoped to get. There are two good reasons not to accept. First, the other party is probably willing to make some concessions. Second, if you take the first offer, the other party is often left with the feeling that they were foolish for starting too low. In any case, the negotiator who takes the first offer too fast makes a mistake

Текст 2

ON THE PHONE

The phone is a very useful business tool for immediate communication. But making a phone call isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t know the person on the other end of the line very well. Most business people, unless they feel very confident, prepare for an important phone call in a foreign language by making notes in advance. And during the call they make notes while they're talking to help them to remember what was said. Make sure that you have with you all the documents you’ll need before you dial the number. When telephoning, it’s very important to get certain facts right, for example, the name, address, and telephone number. Try to speak slowly and clearly as the other person may not understand you easily, and be brief. Don’t rely on your memory; make notes during a call and rewrite these notes immediately afterwards as a record of the call. It's a good idea to repeat any important information (especially numbers and names) back to the other person to make sure you've got it right. Always make sure you know the name of the person you're talking to. If necessary, ask them to spell it out to you, so that you can make sure you've got it right - and try to use their name during the call. And make sure they know your name too. It's important to sound interested, helpful and alert when answering the phone. The person you talk to is getting an impression of your firm, so make sure that you sound efficient – your firm’s image may be at stake even if you’re just taking a message. The other person can’t see your reactions, so always confirm that you have (or have not) understood each point that’s been made. Don’t pretend you have understood when you haven’t. Your partner does not know what a nice person you are, so make sure you sound polite and agreeable. If you smile while you’re talking on the phone, your listener can ‘hear’ your smile. But it is better to try not to be funny or make jokes over the phone – your listener may think you are being sarcastic, or may not share your sense of humour.