Context-based study:

Passage 1:

Do translation work from Chinese to English, comparing students’ version and the version supplied below.

Small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner as she was entering the harbour. Before she had anchored, the men from the boats had climbed on board and the decks were soon covered with colorful rugs from Persia, silks from India, copper coffee pots, and beautiful handmade silverware. It was difficult not to be tempted. Many of the tourists on board had begun bargaining with the tradesmen, but I decided not to buy anything until I had disembarked.

I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring. I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds, some of which were as big as marbles. The man went to great lengths to prove that the diamonds were real. As we were walking past a shop, he held a diamond firmly against the window and made a deep impression in the glass. It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.

The next man to approach me was selling expensive pens and watches. I examined one of the pens closely. It certainly looked genuine. At the base of the gold cap, the words ‘made in the U. S. A.’ had been neatly inscribed. The man said that the pen was worth £50, but as a special favour, he would let me have it for £30. I shook my head and held up a finger indicating that I was willing to pay £5. Gesticulating wildly, the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous, but he eventually reduced the price to £10. Shrugging my shoulders, I began to walk away when, a moment later, he ran after me and thrust the pen into my hands. Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair, he readily accepted the £5 that I gave him. I felt especially pleased with my wonderful bargain—until I got back to the ship. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink and to this day, it has never written a single word!

Passage 2:

Very few goods sell themselves; most need to be promoted in some way. Personal selling is one of the most common methods of promotion. In making the sale, sales personnel must gear their presentation so that it takes the potential buyer through four phases:

1. The selling begins when the salesperson tries to attract the buyer’s notice. A casual “Hello, can I help you?” is often a good opening of initial conversation with the buyer. A well-constructed sales display or a brochure handed to the potential customer is also helpful. Many times in selling equipment or machinery, the manufacturer provides a short written description of the product’s features and advantages. Similarly, when promoting a washer, dryer, vacuum cleanser, or oven, it is common for the salesperson to provide some kind of short pamphlet, often printed on glossy paper and containing some pictures and a description of the product. All these selling aids help to attract the buyer.

2. An effective salesperson will then try to get customers to tell a little about what they are looking for and what services they want out of the product. As the individual talks, the seller has an opportunity to determine what is available and how it can satisfy the buyer’s needs. The seller can also screen out those who are only “looking” from those who seem really attracted. After all, there is no point in going through an entire sales presentation for people who are obviously not interested. For those who are, reference to sales brochures or comments on the high quality of the product can be helpful.

3. Next the salesperson can go on to illustrate exactly how the company’s product can be of value. At this point, it is often helpful to demonstrate the item. The salesperson can show the customer how to use it, or the seller may urge the individual to “try it on and see how it looks”. To sport goods, some stores try to employ only salespeople who have actually used the products, for they can talk better about the items. In all cases, the seller’s objective is to arouse a strong wish is the buyer.

4. The final step is to get the buyer to purchase the goods. Many sellers fail to close the sale because they never ask for the order. In fact, there are many techniques that can help close the sale. To get round asking directly, one can review the strong points of the product and gear the discussion to the needs of the buyer. When this is done, the individual will often ask the salesperson for the merchandise. If this does not occur, one can ask the person “Shall we send that out to your house or would you like to take it with you?” This may not only avoid embarrassment to the seller but serve as the little push the buyer needs in making the decisions to purchase.

Passage 3:

At the Harvard Negotiation Project, we have been developing a new method of negotiation explicitly designed to produce good results efficiently and amicably. This method, called principled negotiation or negotiation on the merits, can be boiled down to four basic points.

1. The first point recognizes that human beings are not computers. People have strong emotions, often see things very differently, and do not always communicate clearly. In negotiation it often happens that emotions get mixed up with the objective rights and wrongs of the situation. Taking up a fixed position makes this worse because people’s personalities become identified with their positions. So before the actual negotiation begins, we need to distinguish between personal differences and differences over solutions to the problem.

2. The second point distinguishes between what people say they want, their stated positions, and what they really want, their underlying interests. Negotiating positions often hide what you really want. A compromise between two positions is not likely to produce an agreement which satisfies the needs underlying each position.

3. The third point acknowledges the problem of having to find a perfect solution while you’re under pressure. Making up your mind in the presence of your opponent restricts your ideas. Deciding on something very important or trying to find the perfect answer limits creative thought. You can get around these limitations by arranging a set amount of time to think up a wide range of possible solutions which help both sides and creatively bring them together.

4. When both sides find that their interests are directly opposed, one negotiator may try to win simply by being stubborn. However, you can respond to such tactics by insisting that his opinion alone is not enough and that some fair independent standard is needed. This does not mean that you yourself select the independent standard, rather that both of you decide on one, such as market value, expert opinion, or law. By discussing such criteria, neither side needs to give in to the other.