Pre-listening activities

1. Brainstorming:
In which common situations bargaining skills are important?

2. Listening Prediction:
What kind of phrases or expressions you might hear in this podcast?

While listening activities

1. Listen carefully and fill in the gaps.
Bargaining is the process of negotiating the terms of an agreement typically focused on the 1… delivery or 2… of a product or service. It’s a delicate balance between getting what you want and maintaining what a 3… relationship with the other party. Whether you’re 4… at a market or negotiating a multinational corporate deal the 5… of bargaining remain largely the same. It’s all about knowing what you want, understanding what the other party wants and finding a way to reach an 6… that satisfies both parties. In order for bargaining to be successful effective 7…  is absolutely essential. In any language the phrases and words you use during a negotiation can significantly influence the 8… . The right words can encourage an open 9… , build trust and pave the way for agreement, while the wrong ones can shut down 10…  and create misunderstandings.

2. Listen carefully and write down the common phrases used for bargaining.  
1. …
2. …
3. …
4. …
5. …
6. …

3. Listen carefully and answer the questions from the fragment about a real world business situation.
1. What are they discussing with a supplier?
2. What does the supplier propose?
3. What phrases did they use for bargaining?

Post-listening activities

1. Discussion questions:
a) What are some important factors to consider when bargaining?
b) Can you think of any real-life situations where bargaining skills would be useful?

2. Role-playing:
Divide students into pairs and assign each pair a scenario similar to the one in the listening passage, such as negotiating a contract with a supplier. One student plays the role of the buyer and the other plays the role of the supplier. They use the common bargaining phrases from the listening passage to negotiate terms of the contract.

3. Writing task:
Ask students to write a dialogue between two people negotiating a deal, incorporating the common bargaining phrases from the listening passage. They can then share their dialogues with the class and discuss the effectiveness of the phrases used.