The easiest way to sound bad in a negotiation is to copy the dramatic part: the stare, the threat, the “take it or leave it” energy. The useful English is quieter. Good negotiators open a possibility, test the terms, push back on the proposal, trade something deliberately, and either close the deal or pause without creating unnecessary conflict.
This guide turns Suits negotiation language into a five-step Negotiation Ladder you can actually use at work: OPEN → TEST → PUSH BACK → TRADE → CLOSE / PAUSE.
The Negotiation Ladder
Open the negotiation without committing yourself too early.
You want to settle?
That line is very direct. In everyday work English, you will often want a little more room:
Writer-original: Would you be open to settling this today?
Writer-original: Would you be open to a revised delivery date if we keep the price unchanged?
The key phrase is would you be open to…? It creates a negotiating space without pretending agreement already exists.
Do not jump from “we are talking” to “we have a deal.” Test whether the proposal actually clears your threshold.
an acceptable offer.
Acceptable is useful because it evaluates the offer, not the person. Compare:
That offer is ridiculous. → That offer doesn’t work for us as written.
Your price is crazy. → We’d need the price to come down before this becomes workable.
This is one of the biggest upgrades a learner can make: push back on the term, not on the person.
Good pushback tells the other side exactly where the problem is.
I'm not against settling.
This is excellent language because it separates openness from agreement. You can support the goal while rejecting the current version.
Writer-original: I’m not against extending the contract. I’m against extending it at the current rate.
Writer-original: I’m open to the timeline, but not with that scope.
A negotiation usually moves when each side can trade something it values less for something it values more.
Leveraging that
for a settlement?
In normal business English, leverage can simply mean using an advantage, option, fact or resource to improve your negotiating position. You do not need to make it sound sinister.
Writer-original trade: If you can move on price, we can move on timing.
Writer-original trade: I can agree to the two-year term, but I’d need the cancellation clause changed.
Writer-original trade: If you include support, we can sign this week.
A negotiation needs a clear ending. That ending may be agreement, rejection, or a deliberate pause.
taking the deal.
take this thing to trial,
The useful pattern is not the legal setting. It is option A versus alternative B. Every negotiation becomes clearer when the alternative is explicit.
Writer-original: We can accept the revised price today, or pause and revisit the scope next week.
And once agreement is real, say so clearly:
we have settled.
Three ways to push back without sounding hostile
Reject one term, not the whole relationship
I can agree to the volume, but not the delivery date.
The structure works for me. The payment schedule doesn’t.
This keeps the conversation alive because the other person knows exactly what can still be saved.
Replace “no” with a condition
That doesn’t work for us unless the support period is extended.
I can’t approve 90 days. I can approve 60.
A condition gives the other side something to respond to.
Name the limit you actually control
That’s the best term I can approve today.
I don’t have authority to approve that discount. I can take it back to finance.
Do not bluff authority. “I can approve this” and “I can ask for approval” are not the same sentence.
The Concession Ledger
Before you negotiate, write down four things. Otherwise it is very easy to “win” one point and accidentally give away three more.
| Question | Example |
|---|---|
| What do they want? | Lower price |
| What do we want? | Longer contract |
| What can we trade? | Onboarding, timing, payment schedule |
| What is non-negotiable? | Minimum margin |
Then trade deliberately:
Writer-original: If we reduce the price by 5%, would you be willing to extend the contract to 24 months?
Notice the shape: IF we give X → WOULD you give Y? That is much safer than giving X first and hoping Y appears later.
Know when you are open—and when you have agreed
These are different stages:
- Open: “I’m willing to discuss it.”
- Interested: “That could work.”
- Conditional: “I can agree if…”
- Agreed: “We have a deal.”
- Closed: terms confirmed and next steps assigned.
The episode also shows a decision stage before closure:
those in favor of settling?
That is still a vote, not yet a universal rule for how every negotiation closes. The useful lesson is to distinguish discussing, deciding, and finalizing.
What not to bluff
In real negotiations, do not fake:
- Authority: “I can approve it” when you cannot.
- Deadlines: imaginary urgency designed only to scare the other side.
- Alternatives: claiming another buyer, supplier or job offer exists when it does not.
- Approvals: saying “management signed off” before they did.
- Walk-away points: threatening to leave when you are not prepared to leave.
Confidence is strongest when the other side can trust your “yes,” your “no,” and your “I need to check.”
Practice: turn drama into negotiation English
Writer-original dramatic line: “This offer is insulting. Fix it.”
Show one professional version
The current offer doesn’t work for us. We’d need the price closer to €40,000 to keep moving.
Writer-original dramatic line: “Take my terms now or the deal is dead.”
Show one professional version
These are the terms I can approve today. If they don’t work for you, let’s pause here and revisit the numbers.
Writer-original dramatic line: “You need us more than we need you.”
Show one professional version
We do have another option, so timing matters for us. If we can close the remaining gap today, I’d prefer to move forward with you.
A 30-second negotiation drill
When you watch a negotiation scene, pause before the reply and ask five questions: Are they opening, testing, pushing back, trading, or closing? Predict the least-aggressive sentence that would still do the job. Then reveal the subtitle and compare.
With FunFluen, hide the subtitle, predict your reply, reveal the scene line, then shadow your own professional rewrite. The goal is not to sound like a TV lawyer. It is to keep the useful negotiation move while removing unnecessary heat.
The rule worth keeping: good pushback makes the problem clearer. Bad pushback makes the relationship worse.
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