Skilled negotiators in English sound noticeably indirect. This is not politeness for its own sake — tentative language leaves room to move without anyone losing face.

Opening

  • "What did you have in mind?"
  • "Where are you on price?"
  • "What's the flexibility here?"

Ask before you offer, where you can. The first number anchors the whole conversation.

Conditional language

The core skill. Never concede without attaching a condition.

  • "If you can commit to two years, we could look at fifteen percent."
  • "That would work, provided delivery is before the tenth."
  • "We'd be able to do that, as long as the scope stays as agreed."
"If… then…" is the whole grammar of negotiation. Unconditional concessions get pocketed and forgotten.

Pushing back

  • "That's higher than we'd budgeted."
  • "I'm not able to go that far."
  • "Can you help me understand how you got to that number?"
  • "That's going to be difficult."

Buying time

  • "Let me take that back to my team."
  • "I'd need to check before I commit."
  • "Can we come back to this tomorrow?"

Closing

  • "So, if I've understood — fifteen percent, two-year term, delivery by the tenth?"
  • "Shall we put that in writing?"
  • "I think we've got a deal."

Salary conversations

  • "Based on my research for this role and market, I was looking at a range of…"
  • "Is there flexibility on the base?"
  • "Could we look at the overall package rather than just salary?"

Give a range rather than a single number, and make the bottom of your range a figure you would genuinely accept.