First and Second Conditional Negotiating Practice

First and second conditional in negotiations games

Work in groups of two or three. One person chooses one of the proposals below. Think about how you could complete that proposal with a request for your partner to do something for you in return. Think very carefully about which tense is needed for that proposal:

• First conditional for real, possible or likely proposals
• Second conditional for imaginary, impossible or unlikely proposals

Which tense you need might depend on you, the person who you are speaking to, and your relationship, so bear in mind that this is a real communication between the two of you, not a roleplay.

When you have decided on a yes/ no question proposing an exchange (in the right tense), try to guess what your partner’s reaction will be to that proposal. If you think that your partner will accept your proposal, secretly put a tick in the “Yes” column next to that proposal. If you think that they will reject what you offer and ask for, secretly write a cross (X) in the “No” column. If you think they won’t give a clear yes or no answer, put a question mark (?) in the “Maybe/ It depends” column. Ask the question that you made, listen to your partner’s reaction, then show them which response you predicted. Then switch roles and do the same.

Useful phrases for saying it depends/ maybe “I might be able to accept that if/ as long as/ providing…”      “I can accept that unless…”

Ask about any phrases below which you don’t understand or can’t make a sentence out of, discussing which tense would be most suitable between you and your partner each time.

Play the same game, but this time continuing your discussion until you get the response that you predicted, e.g. trying to persuade your partner if you expected a positive answer but got a negative answer.

Do the same thing the other way round. Think of a proposal (“If I…” etc) that could go together with the requests on the bottom sheet below, secretly write down what you think your partner’s response will be, ask the question, then compare their answer to what you predicted.

What function does this third conditional response have in a negotiation?

“I would have been able to if you had told me earlier”

Use as many conditional forms as you can while you roleplay a whole negotiation. You get one point for each time that you say “if”, “providing”, “unless” or “as long as”.

 

Making requests and predicting responses version

Proposal	+ request/ desire/ what your partner could do in response	Predicted reaction by your partner
		Yes	No	Maybe/ It depends
bring you some lunch next week
cook some traditional food for you
double your budget
give you a free gift with my company’s name on it
give you a free… worth 10 dollars
give you a lift (= a ride) to the supermarket
give you a million pounds
give you a promotion
give you a superpower
give you a very good evaluation
give you extra paid leave next year
give you some good investment advice
give you two weeks to finish (…)
lend you a book written in my language
lend you my car
let you finish early today
pay for your coffee
pay for your petrol and parking
promise you a 5% ROI (= return on investment)
recommend a good baker’s to you
recommend a good place to go on holiday
say it can save your company millions of dollars
threaten to sue your company

 

Making proposals and predicting responses version

If…	Request/ Desire	Predicted reaction
		Yes	No	?
	allow me to employ ten (more) people
	arrange three English classes a week
	cancel next week’s lesson(s)
	come in to work at 7 a.m. on Monday
	do extra preparation before the next lesson
	give me a budget of $7 million for my project
	give me a full refund
	give me a pay rise of ten times the rate of inflation
	give me a perfect evaluation
	give me a permanent job
	give me one year’s unpaid leave (= a sabbatical)
	give me ten weeks’ paid holiday next year
	give me two more weeks to finish (…)
	invest in my start-up
	join me in a new business venture
	lend me five dollars
	let me use your credit card
	let me use your house
	let me work from home (= telecommute)
	move abroad (= move overseas)
	move departments
	move this lesson to Saturdays
	offer a discount of 40%
	pay for me to take some training
	pay for me to travel to…
	proofread a report for me
	put me in charge of a large(r) project
	put me in charge of your personal finances
	relocate to Siberia
	share an office
	sign a five-year contract for English lessons
	take charge of relocating the call centre to India
	tell me every detail of your company’s next product
	tell me some famous jokes from your country