BEC商务英语高级考试历年真题（1）TheNegotiatingTableYoucannegotiatevirtuallyanything.Projects,resources,expectationsanddeadlinesarealloutcomesofnegotiation.Somepeoplenegotiatedealsforaliving.DrHerbCohenisoneoftheseprofessionaltalkers,calledinbycompaniestonegotiateontheir??behalf.Heapproachestheartofnegotiationasagamebecause,asheisusuallynegotiatingforsomebodyelse,hesaysthishelpshimdraintheemotionalcontentfromhisconversation.Heisworkinginacompetitivefieldandneedstoavoidbeingtooadversarial.Whetherhesucceedsornot,itisimportanttohimtomakeagoodimpressionsothatpeoplewillrecommendhim.Thestartingpointforanydeal,hebelieves,istoidentifyexactlywhatyouwantfromeachother.Moreoftenthannot,onepartywillbetryingtopersuadetheotherroundtotheirpointofview.Negotiationrequirestwopeopleattheendsaying‘yes”.Thiscanbeaproblembecauseoneofthemusuallybeginsbysaying“no”.However,althoughthiscanmaketalksmoredifficult,thisisoftenjustastartingpointinthenegotiationgame.Topmanagementmaywellrejecttheideainitiallybecauseitisthesaferoptionbuttheywouldnotbethereiftheywerenotinterested.Itisamisconceptionthatskillednegotiatorsaresmoothoperatorsinsmartsuits.DrCohensaysthatoneofhisstrategiesistodressdownsothattheothersidecanrelatetoyou.Pitchyourlooktosuityourcustomer.Youdonotneedtomakethemfeelbetterthanyoubut,Forexample,dressinginastylethatisnotovertlyexpensiveorsuccessfulwillmakeyoumoreapproachable.Peoplewillgenerallyfeelmorecomfortablewithsomebodywhoappearstobelikethemratherthansuperiortothem.Theymaynotlikeyoubuttheywillfeeltheycantrustyou.DrCohensuggeststhatthebestwaytosellyourproposalisbygettingintotheworldoftheotherside.Askquestionsratherthangiveanswersandtakeaninterestinwhattheotherpersonissaying,evenifyouthinkwhattheyaresayingissilly.Youdonotneedtobecometheirbestfriendsbutbeingtoocleverwillalienatethem.Alotofdealsaremadeonimpressions.Donotrushwhatyouaresaying---putafewhesitationsin,donottrytoblindthemwithyourverbaldexterity.Also,youshouldrepeatbacktothemwhattheyhavesaidtoshowyoutakethemseriously.Inevitablysomedealswillnotsucceed.Generallythelongerthenegotiationsgoon,thebetterchancetheyhavebecausepeopledonotwanttothinktheirinvestmentandenergieshavegonetowaste.However,jointventurecanmeanjointriskandsometimes,ifthisbecomestoogreat,neitherpartymaybepreparedtoseethedealthrough.Morecommonisacorporatecultureclashbetweencompanies,whichcanputpaidtoanydeal.Evenhavingagreedadeal,thingsmaynotbetiedupquicklybecausewhenthelawyersgetinvolved,everythinggetssloweddownastheyargueaboutsmalldetails.DeCohenthinksthatchildrenarethemastersofnegotiation.Theirgoalsaretotallyselfish.Theyunderstandthedecision-makingprocesswithinfamiliesperfectly.IfMumrefusestheirrequest,theywilltroopalongtoDadandpressurehim.Ifalelsefails,theywilltrythegrandparents,usingsomeemotionalblackmail.Theycanalsobeverysingle-mindedandhaveaninexhaustiblesupplyofenergyforthecausetheyarepursuing.Sotherearelessontobelearnedfromwatchingandlisteningtochildren.15DrCohentreatsnegotiationasagameinordertoAputpeopleateaseBremaindetachedCbecompetitiveDimpressrivals16Manypeoplesay“no”toasuggestioninthebeginningtoAconvincetheotherpartyoftheirpointofviewBshowtheyarenotreallyinterestedCindicatetheywishtotaketheeasyoptionDprotecttheircompany’ssituation17DrCohensaysthatwhenyouaretryingtonegotiateyoushouldAadaptyourstyletothepeopleyouaretalkingtoBmaketheothersidefeelsuperi...
