Business Deal

📈 “Negotiating Across Borders” – A Business Deal Simulation for EFL Learners

👥 Audience:

Upper-intermediate to advanced EFL learners, especially those studying international business, marketing, or entrepreneurship

🎯 Learning Objectives:

By the end of the unit, students will:

  • Understand business deal structures and negotiation phases

  • Use business-specific vocabulary and polite negotiation strategies

  • Compare cultural negotiation styles (e.g., direct vs. indirect communication)

  • Simulate an international business negotiation, including pitch, proposal, and counteroffer

  • Reflect critically on deal dynamics and power imbalances

📅 Project Schedule (4–5 sessions)

Day 1 – Framing the World of Business Deals

1. Warm-Up Discussion (15 min)
Prompt: “What makes a business deal successful across cultures?”
Introduce key terms: win-win, stakeholder, leverage, due diligence, dealbreaker, memorandum of understanding (MoU)

2. Cultural Comparison (20 min)

  • Use short case vignettes comparing business negotiations in the U.S., South Korea, Germany, and Brazil

  • Students identify communication styles: high-context vs. low-context, hierarchy, time orientation

3. Team Roles Assigned (30 min)
Students form into international business teams (3–4 per team). Each team is either:

  • A local start-up (product/service creators, seeking expansion, funding, or global partnership)

  • A foreign investor/distributor (from a different cultural background with its own values, constraints, and business ethics)

Homework:
Each team drafts a 1-page Company Profile including:

  • Vision/Mission

  • Product or service

  • Current market position

  • Key values and deal goals

Day 2 – Proposal & Strategy Development

1. Business Culture Brief (10 min)
Mini-lecture or short video on negotiation etiquette in different countries (greetings, pace, hierarchy, trust-building)

2. Proposal Writing (45 min)
Each team prepares:

  • A written business proposal (including pricing, market data, strategic advantage)

  • A short pitch (2–3 min, visuals optional)

3. Negotiation Prep (30 min)

  • Define roles (e.g., Lead Negotiator, Financial Analyst, Cultural Liaison)

  • Develop a BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement)

  • Plan cultural accommodation strategies

Day 3 – Deal Simulation: Negotiation Roundtable

Format: Rotating Negotiation Tables

  • Each investor team meets with 2–3 start-up teams

  • 20 minutes per negotiation:

    • Start-up presents pitch

    • Investors ask questions

    • Negotiation begins: terms, concessions, counteroffers

    • Note-taking required

Debrief (10 min)
What cultural or linguistic challenges came up?

Day 4 – Deal Closure & Debrief

1. Final Deal Presentations (30–40 min)
Each investor-startup pair presents:

  • Final deal terms

  • Cultural or strategic compromises

  • Reflections on negotiation dynamics

2. Peer Evaluation (15 min)
Rubric: Business realism, negotiation language, strategy, intercultural awareness

3. Teacher-Led Debrief (10–15 min)

  • Real-world connections: how deals collapse or succeed

  • How language, status, or time affects cross-border collaboration

📂 Materials You Can Provide:

  • Handout: “Business Deal Vocabulary & Phrases”

  • Cultural Profiles (customized briefings per team)

  • Business Proposal Template

  • Evaluation Rubric

🌍 Cultural Awareness Layer (Options):

  • Assign national profiles using Hofstede’s dimensions or Erin Meyer’s Culture Map

  • Integrate intercultural misunderstandings into scenario cards (e.g., silence, formality, punctuality, emotional tone)

  • Provide examples from real-world deals (e.g., failed Walmart entry into Germany or Uber in South Korea)

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