Handbook of Business Communication

Francesco Gardani

5Business negotiations

1.Introduction

2.Some terminological notes

3.The linguistic aspects of business negotiation

4.Training business negotiation

5.Conclusion

1Introduction

Negotiation, according to Bülow (2009: 142), is a process of communicative interaction through which two or more parties aim to solve their conflicting interests in a way that all parties regard as preferable to any alternative. Negotiation has also been described as an “activity of social decision making” (Firth 1995c: 6) or as “collaborative decision making” (Raiffa, Richardson, and Metcalfe 2002: title and passim). It occurs in a variety of contexts ranging from family disputes to conflicts concerning the daily distribution of labor at work, the discussion ...