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04.09.2024, 21:57 Ready for C2 Proficiency Student's Book Classroom Presentation

MEETING IN THE MIDDLE
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H o w t o g o a b o u t i t
• Part 6 tests your understanding of text structure, cohesion, coherence and global
meaning.
• Carefully read the main text, focusing on how it develops. Consider the progression of
events, ideas or arguments.

In order to achieve these two objectives, communication and listening skills are
A
required. Non-judgemental open-ended questions and statements that ascertain the
state of mind of the other person can be the best friend of this kind of interaction.
Statements like ‘Tell me how that happened’ are far more effective than anything
more direct and confrontational which can enflame the ire of the other party.
This indicates that a positive attitudinal outlook may well be more effective in
B
achieving an expected outcome than treating other participants in a more cold,
robotic manner. The emotionally intelligent may even have the upper hand over the
intellectually intelligent in terms of these kinds of scenarios, as they have the ability to
sit back, identify their and others’ emotions, how it affects thinking and how this can
be managed.
C Coping with any kind of confrontation in general can be quite a difficult scenario.
Be it a criminal in negotiation with the police, or a businessman negotiating a deal,
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often there can be mixed feelings of vulnerability and fear of being tricked or taken
advantage of. Perhaps this is why initial impressions can count for so much, to allay
these worries.
Only after all of these strategies have been deployed effectively can any influence
D
be exerted over the decision-making. This part of negotiation is usually what most
people jump to first, ignoring all the effort to get the other party on side, yet initiating
solutions and agreements is far easier to do, and more successful, when it’s
negotiated between two collaborators rather than adversaries.
E This is simply because people are usually far too concerned with putting their own
opinion across, and showing they are right, to really negotiate effectively with their
counterpart. This not only puts the back up of the other party, but it also fails to https://english0905.com/private/
identify common ground or a third or middle way, which then can ultimately lead to a
better solution for all.
F Naturally, the kinds of individuals who negotiate these sorts of transactions need to
have a very particular skill set. Usually former police and military, they must have the
ability to remain completely unnerved during highly stressful circumstances, and to
understand and identify with what many people might consider the unidentifiable.
But this wasn’t always the case. Until recently, emotion was viewed as something that
G
impedes negotiation, with business experts advising people to leave their feelings at
the door and focus on the problem rather than the personalities in the room. Yet there
is increasing evidence of the flaws in this thinking as more emotionally based insights
are coming to the fore.
H The lesson here may seem obvious; that when confronted with a dilemma that seems
unsolvable, rather than go in all guns blazing arguing for your position, it’s better to
step back and look at it from all perspectives to try and find the way forward. While
this might be something the average person on the street may struggle with, in many
settings this is the first step to tip the scales of success in negotiations.
3 S P E A K In pairs, discuss the questions below.
How do you feel when you go into a situation that requires negotiation? Do you use
1
any of the skills in the article?
2 What advice would you give somebody who had to negotiate the following:
• getting money off the price of a product with a slight imperfection
asking for a deadline extension on an essay at university
•
• requesting a pay increase at work

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