that way nations can promote economic development. In international business negotiations, we should treat equally no matter customers are big or not as long as he is sincere, we should not impose on others and we can also refuse unreasonable requests. When negotiating with people from some less developed country, we should treat them equally and insist the principle of equality and mutual benefit. 2.3 The complexity of International business negotiations
As negotiators stand for the benefit of different nations and areas in international business negotiations, they share different social and political backgrounds. Their values, ways of thinking and languages and customs are different somehow. These factors make negotiations more complicated and difficult. In the actual business negotiations opponents are weird and changing from time to time. Some are warm-hearted, some are silent, some are decisive, some are doubtful, some are easy to cooperate with, some are bad-tempered, some are gentle, and some are arrogant and ambitious. These are in some extent due to social, cultural and political differences. So, negotiators need to acquire a great deal of knowledge and excellent negotiating skills. 2.4 The standard of international commercial law
As the international business negotiation will lead assets to be transferred multi-nationally, it has to involve a series of problems which are related to international trade, international settlement, international insurance and
international shipment. So negotiators need to negotiate in the standard international commercial law as well as on the basis of international conventions. So negotiators need to have a good knowledge of international conventions, law items of that country which the other party lives in. Negotiators should also be familiar with various rules and international laws. These problems can not be reflected in domestic negotiations. We should lay more emphasis on them.
3.The relations between English and international business negotiation “With the development of economic globalization in our modern world, multinational corporations start to boom in big cities. With the development of international investment and international business, fierce competitions among corporations have occurred. Nowadays, lots of countries are struggling to push the economic development of their nations and devote themselves to international economy no matter whether they are developing countries or developed countries. However, an international business negotiation is an indispensable way of interchange in business activities. It is also an important part. English is an official language of many countries, and many business negotiations are proceeded with the help of English. In the process of international business negotiations, negotiators should use different language strategies according to certain situations. In international business negotiations, English plays an very important role.”
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4.The importance of a good command of English in international business negotiations
As English is one of the most widely used language in the world, it is necessary to for negotiators to master English in order to achieve success in international business negotiations. In Britain, Ireland, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, people speak English as their official language. In the world, about 80% of documents and contracts are written in English.
4.1The importance of oral English in international business negotiations Good oral English is a key point in international business negotiation. Most people from non-English speaking countries, especially people from China, usually neglect the importance of oral English. That may make it difficult for them to make themselves understood. Consequently, they fail in negotiations or trades. For instance, in an international business negotiation, A wants to express that the price is too high for him to accept the quotation. However, A is poor in oral English, he says to B: “I appreciate your products, but I do not accept (except) your quotation. B may fail to grasp its meaning and misunderstand A.
4.2The importance of English listening and understanding in international business negotiations
English listening and understanding are even more significant in the international business negotiation. It is hard to imagine that if negotiation
can go well if a person who can not understand English will negotiate well with people from English speaking countries. English listening is an indispensible part in international business negotiations. Once negotiators get the wrong meaning, the result will be inconceivable. Some negotiators from non-English speaking countries, especially people from China may think the other party speaks too fast. As business negotiators need to negotiate with people from all over the world, this means they have to adapt themselves to different accents. This indicates that they have to practice English listening everyday and listening materials should not only be limited in standard English. Negotiators can practice their listening by listening authentic recordings of international business negotiations. Only in this way can they be adapted to different accents and this can as well make them less nervous when they negotiate with people from non-English speaking countries.
5. The use and importance of language strategies in international business negotiations
“With the development of this era, euphemism is more and more frequently and widely used. Euphemism reflects the feature of vague expressions. In the specific context of English business negotiations, the use of vagueness will not cause ambiguity or social hardship. However, it enlarges the range of taboos. Using euphemism can achieve the purpose of relieving emotional problems”.
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5.1 The use of passive in international business negotiations
“As listeners may not care who is responsible for the affairs, negotiators can avoid mentioning action carriers by using passive voice. It might be the listener himself, or the boss of the speaker or the other people. Therefore, passive voice is commonly used in business negotiations, especially when the speaker thinks the opposing side has a lack of something. Although the speaker is aimed at the opposing side, from the point of mentality, passive voice will make people more polite and comfortable.”
5.2 The use of vagueness in international business negotiations
In international business negotiations, people are not willing to convey meanings for some reasons. In some situations people do not want to answer the questions but can not avoid them. At that time they will use vagueness to express themselves in euphemistic way, which makes allowance for the other party in business negotiations. Vagueness is divided into two parts. One is for changing the degrees or levels of truth such as: sort of, kind of, somewhat, really, almost, quite a little etc. The other one is used for estimates such as: “I’m afraid” , “we would say”, “it seems to me”, “we would suggest”, “according to one’s estimate” etc. Let’s compare following three examples: 1) a. We can not accept that. b. I’m afraid we can not accept that
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