SeckmoR

English Idioms relating to

NEGOTIATIONS

If business negotiations are described as above

board,
they are open, honest and legal.
Above board
"There are no secret negotiations. Our dealings
have always
been above board."
If you have an ace up your sleeve, it means that
Have an ace up your you have
sleeve. something in reserve with which you can gain an
advantage.
A person or company who holds all the aces is
in a very strong
position because they have more advantages
Hold all the aces than anyone else.
"With low production costs and excellent
transport facilities,
they seem to be holding all the aces."
If you have your back to the wall, you are in
Have your back to the serious difficulty.
wall "With his back to the wall, the supplier had to
accept the deal."
To say that someone is back to square one,
means that they
have not succeeded in what they were trying to
do, and so they
Back to square one
have to start again.
"When they refused the terms of the contract, it
was back to
square one for the negotiators."
This expression means that you should not reject
an offer
Beggars can't be
if it is the only possibility you have. You have no
choosers.
choice.
"Beggars can't be choosers"!
If you bend over backwards, you try very hard
to do something,
especially to please somebody.
Bend over backwards
"The director bent over backwards to try and
persuade them to
accept our proposal."
If you bide your time, you wait for a good
opportunity to do
something.
Bide your time
"He's not hesitating, he's just biding his time.
He's waiting for
the price to drop."
 If you give someone a blank cheque, you
authorize them to do
what they think is best in a difficult situation.
A blank cheque
"Tom was given a blank cheque and told to
negotiate the best
deal possible."
A bone of contention is a matter or subject
about which there
is a lot of disagreement.
Bone of contention
"The salaries have been agreed on, but opening
on Sundays
remains a bone of contention."
If you participate in negotiations and bring
nothing to the table,
you have nothing of interest to offer the other
Bring nothing to the
side.
table
"We'll never reach an agreement if we don't all
bring something to
the table."
In a business relationship, if you clinch a deal,
you reach
Clinch a deal agreement on a proposal or offer.
"Tom's final argument enabled us to clinch the
deal."
A person who drives a hard bargain always
makes sure they
gain advantage in a business deal.
Drive a hard bargain
"Be prepared for tough negotiations with Stuart -
he drives a bard
bargain."
If a person asks you to keep them posted, they
want you to
keep them informed about a situation
Keep someone posted
"Our agent promised to keep us posted on
developments in the
negotiations."
If you leave the door open, you behave in such
a way as to
Leave the door open allow the possibility of further action.
"Both parties left the door open for further
negotiations."
If you try everything possible in order to achieve
something
Leave no stone something, you leave no stone unturned.
unturned "The management left no stone unturned in their
efforts to
reach an agreement."
If you meet someone half way, you accept to
make a
compromise and give them part of what they are
Meet someone half- trying to obtain.
way "We can't agree to all your conditions but we
could perhaps agree
to meet half-way."
When people get down to the nitty-gritty, they
begin to discuss
the most important points or the practical details.
Nitty-gritty
"I was interested in the project, but we didn't get
down to the
nitty-gritty until his partner arrived."
 If someone asks you for something and you reply
"no dice"
No dice!
you mean that it is impossible or it can't be done.
"Can you lend me your car?" "Sorry, no dice."
This means that you do all that is necessary in
Play your cards right. order to
succeed or to obtain what you want.
If you play for time, you try to delay or prevent
something from
happening in order to gain an advantage.
Play for time
"He decided to play for time in the hope that the
price would
decrease."
To prepare the ground means that you try to
make it easier
Prepare the ground
for a future event or action to happen or be
accepted.
If you sign on the dotted line, you formally give
your consent
Sign on the dotted line to something by signing an official document.
"I consulted my lawyer before signing on the
dotted line."
When an agreement, contract or treaty is
signed, sealed
and delivered, all the legal documents have
Signed, sealed and
been signed.
delivered
"It is hoped that the agreement will be signed,
sealed and
delivered before the end of the week."
If you are skating on thin ice, you are doing or
saying
something that could cause disagreement or
Skating on thin ice trouble.
"Don't mention that subject during the
negotiations or you
could be skating on thin ice."
A sticking point is a controversial issue that
causes an
interruption or blocks progress in discussions or
Sticking point negotiations.
"The choice of distributor was a sticking point in
the
negotiations."
If you take stock of a situation, you assess all
the aspects
Take stock of a in order to form an opinion.
situation "He took time to take stock of the situation before
making a
suggestion."
If you turn on/up the heat on a person or
organization,
you put pressure on them in order to obtain what
Turn on/up the heat you want.
"If the goods are not delivered this week, we'll
have to turn on
the heat."