#86- 15 MORE Words for Negotiation & Persuasion

0:00Do you want even more vocabulary that you can use when trying to negotiate with people or persuade someone of something? If so, then this is the episode for you. In this episode, I'll be teaching you 15 more phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang for negotiating, persuading, and convincing. You'll learn vocabulary like stick to your guns. I or now, twist someone's arm and more. Let's get to it. Hey there! Welcome to the Real Life English with Gabby Podcast. I'm your host, Gabby, your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City. My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations. Are you ready to improve your English skills? Let's jump right in. Hey hey hey!

1:01Welcome to episode number 86. This is part two in the series about persuasion and negotiations. How are you doing in your part of the world? Here in New York City, the summer is starting to wind down. As I mentioned in the previous episode, we have about a month for us here, the first day of fall, which we call fall equinox, it's September 22nd. Now the thing is, you know, in the United States, we have very different weather depending on where you are. Here in the Northeast, the reason why people love the Northeast so much is because we have four seasons. If you go to the south, you really just have two seasons, summer and winter. But here in the Northeast, we have four seasons and our summers are very hot, our winters are very cold and spring and fall are typically perfect. And you know, summer is winding down here and you know what?

2:01Even though the first day of fall is September 22nd, Labor Day for us is the unofficial end of summer. So after Labor Day, the beaches close, well not close, but the beaches, they stop having lifeguards so you can't swim. People stop wearing summer clothes a lot of the time, a lot of the free activities that we have in the city, which is a lot. They end. And yeah, it's very interesting how people act at the end of summer, early fall. But you know what? Honestly, as I've mentioned many times, we never know what we're going to get here in New York. We don't know if we're going to have a year where we have what we call an Indian summer, where it's very, very hot in the fall. We don't know if we're going to have a very cold fall. We typically don't know. Although one thing is true, usually by mid-November, it's pretty cold here. But anyways, aside from that, like I said, we're just trying to enjoy the last bits of summer.

3:03The weather's been good, weather's been much better. We have thunderstorms every week, but aside from that, you know, pretty good. So how are you? How are you doing? I know for a lot of you, you're also in the summer seasons, but I know some of you listening who live more south, your winter is ending. And so that's exciting as well. I've actually been below the equator during my summer, your winter. And it's very interesting. Years ago when I was 19, I went to Brazil. And I went in July. And it was so interesting to go from summer in New York to winter in Brazil, although I have to say it was still pretty warm, which was great. So that was my first experience being below the equator. I was in São Paulo, São José dos Campos, Ubatuba, and I really enjoyed it. So high Brazilians, gomo vai voce. I have had students tell me that I need to talk more about the countries that I've visited and so I may start doing that.

4:03I've been on a lot of trips around the world. Actually before I had kids, I do plan on visiting many of your countries in the future years. We're going on vacation in November. Let's see how my daughter flies. If she's a good traveler, then maybe I will make it back abroad in 2027. But anyway, back to today's episode. Welcome to part two. This is part two in the series about persuasion and negotiations. And in this episode, we're going to be continuing to learn valuable high level vocabulary that's going to teach you how to negotiate, how to persuade someone, how to win an argument, how to convince people. And as I mentioned in the last episode, this is such a big topic that it was impossible to fit all of the words into one episode. This episode will be a little bit shorter than the previous one because I've already explained

5:04the value of negotiation skills. But in case it's been a while, since you listened to the previous episode, episode 85, I just want to remind you that negotiation skills are vital in American culture. That means extremely important. It's almost impossible to successfully be a part of our culture without the ability to share your opinion and try to persuade other people to have your opinions as well. Alright, just a reminder before we get started that there's a study guide waiting for you that has all of this vocabulary so that you can study it and really cement it into your brain. Remember that repetition and authentic practice, those are the keys to improving your English. And so using the study guide is a really great way to remember what you hear in the episode.

6:04The study guide has the vocabulary definitions, example sentences, and it also has practice activities. If you want a free copy of the study guide, just click the link in the episode description. If you're already on my email list, you should already have the study guide in your email inbox. Alright, so let's talk about the vocabulary that you'll be learning in this episode. We have a hard sell. Make a strong case. Get through to someone. Meet someone halfway. Stick to your guns. Just someone's arm to sell someone on something, to win someone over. Back down. Throw in something. Iron out. Sweeten the deal. Settle on. Cut a deal. A win-win situation.

7:05Now I'm going to read you part two to the story that I read to you last week. If you don't remember, there was a company that was getting ready to make some proposals to a businessman named Carter Blake. They were planning and talking about their strategies. And now today, in this episode, we're going to see what actually happens. As I read, try and listen for the vocabulary, listen for the context, and see if you can figure out the meaning by using critical thinking and context clues. Here we go. The next day, the team walked into the meeting, focused, and prepared, knowing it might be a hard sell, due to several factors. Firstly, Carter Blake had a reputation for being difficult. And since agreeing to this meeting, he has pushed back on nearly every detail.

8:08Still though, Michael and his team stayed calm and worked together to make a strong case for their proposal. They clearly explained the value of their offer, hoping to get through to someone who wasn't easily convinced. At first, Carter refused to meet them halfway and showed no signs of being flexible. But the team refused to panic. They chose to stick to their guns, confident in what they were offering. Instead of trying to twist his arm, they focused on building trust and slowly began to sell him on the long-term benefits of their deal. As the meeting went on, the energy in the room began to change. Bit by bit, they started to win him over. Carter didn't completely back down, but he did become more open to discussion.

9:12The team stayed patient and continued to present solutions, working to iron out the smaller issues that had been blocking their progress. Eventually, both sides began to move closer to a deal. Michael's team agreed to throw in additional support services, which really helped Sweden the deal. In return, Carter became more flexible on the price. And after hours of negotiation, they were finally able to settle on terms that worked for everyone. In the end, they managed to cut a deal that satisfied both sides. It wasn't easy, but their preparation and persistence paid off. What started as a tough negotiation turned into a win-win situation. Proving that with the right strategy, even the most difficult opponent can be convinced.

10:13The End. All right. So now, let's talk about the meanings and hear some example sentences. First off, we have a hard sell. In the story, it says that the team was focused and prepared because they knew it was going to be a hard sell. This is an extremely popular idiom that we use in the business world. It describes something that is difficult to convince people to accept. So it basically means that you're selling something that's very difficult to actually sell. So you want to sell a product, but you know that people are going to resist. And so you're going to have to work a little bit harder to sell whatever it is. It can be selling an opinion, or it can be actually selling yourself or your company like in the story. For example, that idea is a hard sell to most investors.

11:16Next up, we have to make a strong case. In the story, it said that Michael and his team worked together to make a strong case for their proposal. To make a strong case means to give clear and convincing reasons for something. So you have a certain opinion and you can back up that opinion with solid evidence. So we say, wow, you're making a really strong case. For example, she made a strong case for increasing the budget. Next up, we have to get through to someone. In the story, they hoped to get through to Carter Blake because it was very difficult to convince him of things. To get through to someone means to successfully communicate in a way that makes someone understand or makes someone listen. Like, hey, can you get through to her because she continues to say no to me?

12:22This can be emotional. This can also be relational. If you're having a problem with a friend or a family member, maybe you have someone who can get through to them, someone who can actually get them to listen or get them to understand. For example, it took a while, but I finally got through to my nephew about his plans for the future. Next up, we say to meet someone halfway. This is probably one of the top five most common negotiation idioms. To meet someone halfway means to compromise with another person. The person is giving half, you're giving half. The literal picture of this is if you want to visit your family in another part of your country, you drive halfway and they drive halfway. And then you all visit there. That's actually a very common thing for people to do in the United States. Instead of one person visiting another, they say, hey, let's go to a new place and we'll

13:23meet halfway. So here, this is more metaphorical because we're talking about opinions or arguments. For example, after each side sacrificed a little bit, they agreed to meet each other halfway on the proposal. Next up, we have to stick to your guns. This is an idiom and this means to refuse to change your position. In the story, it says that Carter refused to meet them halfway. However, they stuck to their guns. They were confident and they didn't try to twist his arm, which we'll talk about next. But stick to your guns is, hey, I am not changing my position. I am staying here. I'm not being flexible. For example, she's a great lawyer because she's always sticks to her guns. And next up, as you heard in the example, I just read, to twist someone's arm. This is to persuade someone but sometimes with pressure.

14:26Think about someone twisting your arm behind you and you say, agree, agree. And you're like, okay, okay, just stop hurting me. That's what we mean by twisting someone's arm. For example, I had to twist my brother's arm to get him to agree. Next up, we have to sell someone on something. This means to convince someone to accept an idea. So it's like someone selling a house like a real estate agent. You are selling people on that home. You have to convince them to say yes. And so in this context, it can be sell someone on a product, sell someone on an idea. We can use it for a variety of different things, but basically they are accepting what you are offering. For example, she finally sold the team on her proposal after a two hour meeting. Next up, we have the phrasal verb to win over or to win someone over. This means to gain someone's support or gain someone's approval.

15:32In the story, it says that they slowly started to win him over bit by bit, little by little. And so slowly, he went over to their side with support. For example, they eventually won over their client after adding some bonuses to the contract. Next up, we have the phrasal verb back down. This means to withdraw your position or admit that you were wrong. Sometimes we use this in a negative context like she didn't back down. Oh, she never backs down, similar to sticking to your guns. In the story, it says that Carter didn't completely back down, but he was becoming more open to discussion. For example, he refused to back down during the meeting because he didn't want to lose money. Next up, we have to throw in something. This means to add something extra to an offer.

16:34So you know, sometimes you go to buy a car and the car dealer will say, you know what, if you buy this car today, I'm going to throw in leather seats or I'm going to throw in free satellite radio. This means some kind of bonus or extra that makes a deal even better. For example, they threw in free shipping to close out the deal. Next up, we have phrasal verb iron out. This is a really good one because it's not one that you typically see in textbooks, but it's one that you hear all the time, especially in the business or professional world. To iron something out means to resolve small problems or details. Think about when you buy a shirt, you take it out of your closet or you take it out of the laundry. It's very wrinkled. You have to use your iron to straighten out the wrinkles.

17:36That's essentially what you're doing when you iron something out. You're resolving small problems, paying attention to those small details. In the story, it says, the team stayed patient and continued to present solutions, working hard to iron out the issues that were blocking progress. You know what, let's iron out this deal. Let's focus on the small problems, fix those, and then everything will be good. For example, we just need to iron out a few final details before they sign the contract. Next up, we have one of my favorite expressions to sweeten the deal. This means to make and offer more attractive. If you think about this literally, maybe you are serving someone lemonade and it's not sweet enough. So you add more sugar and then that makes people like it more.

18:38You're sweetening it. This is what it means in a business negotiation context. Let's sweeten the deal. Let's make this offer sweeter or more attractive. The client finally signed the contract after they've sweetened the deal with a bonus. Next up, we have the phrasal verb, settle on. To settle on something means to make a final decision. So we might say, hey, what did you guys settle on? What did you decide? For example, they settled on a price after long discussions in the meeting. And next up, we have to cut a deal. This is really popular. It means to reach an agreement. In the story, they say, you know what? In the end, they managed to cut a deal that satisfied both sides. For example, both sides were happy to cut a deal after three weeks of negotiations.

19:39And lastly, we have a very popular expression that we've talked about before on the podcast and that is a win-win situation. A win-win situation, as I'm sure you probably guessed, is a result where everyone benefits. For example, the final agreement was a win-win situation for both companies. Everybody wins. And as you can guess, the opposite of this is a lose-lose situation where everybody loses. And we use this all the time. Maybe I'm talking to my friend about a compromise that we made or something that happened and I say, but you know what? It was a win-win or it was a win-win situation. Or, yeah, I was really unfortunate. It was a lose-lose or a lose-lose situation. Well, guess what? You just learned 15 more awesome phrasal verbs, idioms and phrasal verbs for negotiating, persuading and convincing.

20:41That means if you also listened to episode 85, you got 30 brand-new vocabulary words and expressions in two weeks' time. But now, I'm going to challenge you to take an extra step. If you've got a really busy life and all you can do for today is listen to the podcast, say, that's good enough. You just heard over 20 minutes of English in your ear. But later this week, if you have time, challenge yourself by trying to use at least 5 to 7 of these words in a real-life context. Of course, go download the study guide if you haven't already. But aside from that, use these in any way that you can. You can text a friend. You can teach a friend. You can say them out loud by recording yourself in an audio message. Or, you can write someone a note using some of the vocabulary from the episode. However, you decide to do it.

21:42Just make sure that you find some way to practice so that you can really remember all of the things that you heard in this episode. Thanks so much for tuning in.