Business Meetings & Negotiations Vocabulary

Part 1: Business Meetings & Negotiations Collocations

Collocations are words that naturally go together. These phrases are common when talking about business meetings & negotiations.

Collocation	Example	Meaning
reach a consensus	"After hours of discussion, they reached a consensus."	Agree as a group
table a proposal	"She tabled a proposal for the new marketing plan."	Formally suggest something for discussion
set the agenda	"It's my job to set the agenda for tomorrow's meeting."	Decide the topics to discuss
reach a deadlock	"The negotiations reached a deadlock over pricing."	Get stuck with no progress
strike a deal	"They finally struck a deal after weeks of talks."	Agree on terms
common ground	"Both sides found common ground on the budget issue."	Shared points of agreement

Collocation	Example
binding agreement	"The contract is a legally binding agreement."
opening offer	"Their opening offer was too low."
closed-door meeting	"The board held a closed-door meeting."
action points	"We need to note down the action points."
key stakeholders	"All key stakeholders were present at the meeting."

1. After hours of discussion, they reached a __________.

2. She __________ a proposal for the new marketing plan.

3. It's my job to set the __________ for tomorrow's meeting.

4. The negotiations reached a __________.

5. They finally __________ a deal after weeks of talks.

Idioms add colour and natural expression to your English when talking about business meetings & negotiations.

get the ball rolling – start something "Let's get the ball rolling with introductions."
on the same page – in agreement or understanding the same thing "Before we continue, let's make sure we're on the same page."
play hardball – negotiate aggressively "The union decided to play hardball over pay."
a win-win situation – an outcome good for everyone "The merger was a win-win situation for both companies."
back to the drawing board – start planning again after failure "The client rejected our pitch, so it's back to the drawing board."
cut to the chase – get to the point quickly "Let's cut to the chase and talk numbers."

1. Let's get the __________ rolling with introductions.

2. Before we continue, let's make sure we're on the same __________.

3. The union decided to __________ hardball over pay.

4. The merger was a __________-win situation for both companies.

5. The client rejected our pitch, so it's back to the drawing __________.

These phrasal verbs are commonly used when talking about business meetings & negotiations.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
follow up	contact again after a first meeting	"I'll follow up with an email tomorrow."
run something by someone	ask for someone's opinion first	"Let me run this by my manager."
iron out	resolve small problems	"We need to iron out a few details before signing."
draw up	prepare a formal document	"Our lawyer will draw up the contract."
sign off on	give formal approval	"The director needs to sign off on the budget."

Run something by someone is informal and common in meetings before a decision.

Iron out is specifically for resolving minor issues, not major conflicts.

Draw up is used for formal documents like contracts or plans.

1. I'll __________ up with an email tomorrow.

2. Let me __________ this by my manager.

3. We need to __________ out a few details before signing.

4. Our lawyer will __________ up the contract.

5. The director needs to __________ off on the budget.

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