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Meinung sagen“, Seite 84). Will man sein Argument betonen, setzt man im Englischen oft das Hilfsverb „do“ vor das Hauptverb: I do think we should try to compromise (Ich denke wirklich, wir sollten versuchen, einen Kompromiss zu finden).
    Example
    A: Delivery will be in 6 weeks with a discount of 2 % if you place your order this month.
    B: That sounds like a good offer but we need the goods in 2 weeks. Couldn't you shorten the delivery period?
    A: Sure, but then we would have to raise the price.
    B: I see what you mean, but we do need these products this month. Could I make a suggestion?
    If you deliver in 3 weeks, we could discuss another order for the coming season.
    A: Fine, if you could confirm this in writing. I'll talk to our legal department and ask them to set up the contract.
Useful phrases
    Making offers / Angebote machen
We were thinking of … / suggest …
The best offer we can make you is …
We could offer you a discount of 2 %.
We grant a price reduction of 2 %.
We can deliver the goods in 6 weeks.
Our deal includes maintenance.
    Rejecting the offer / Angebot abweisen
I'm afraid we cannot accept that.
There's no question of our being able to accept.
We feel that the price is rather high.
We cannot agree to what you propose.
That is not negotiable.
We had much better offers from other companies.
You'll have to do better than that.
    Conditions / Bedingungen
If you shorten delivery, we could …
We may be able to … but only if you …
Provided you … we might …
We accept, on the condition that …
Unless you … we will not be able to …
    Winning time / Zeit gewinnen
That sounds fine but I'll have to confer with my boss first.
I should like to think this over.
Could you keep that offer open for 2 more weeks?
I'm afraid I don't have the authority to decide.
I would like to discuss this proposal with my partner.
I'm afraid I need some more information.
    Reaching agreements / Übereinstimmung erzielen
I'm pleased to say we agree.
I think we've finally come to terms.
This seems a very reasonable offer.
We're in complete agreement with each other.
We can sign the contract.
    Making complaints / Sich beschweren
I'm afraid that you didn't respect the date of delivery.
The goods you delivered were damaged.
We're sorry to say that we're dissatisfied with the consignment.
I'm afraid you've overcharged us again.
I have to tell you that you didn't keep to the terms / the conditions were not met.
According to our agreement …
    Apologizing / Sich entschuldigen
Please accept our apologies.
I'm very sorry to hear that.
I really must apologize.
I quite understand how you feel.
We'll look into the matter immediately.
I'll see to it personally.
I assure you that it won't happen again.
The mistake will be rectified as soon as possible.
    Presentations / Präsentationen
    Bei Präsentationen kommt es darauf an, die Aufmerksamkeit der Zuhörer zu wecken und aufrecht zu erhalten. Dazu stehen Ihnen zahlreiche Hilfsmittel zur Verfügung (siehe auch „Vorbereitung der Räumlichkeiten“, S. 44). Der größte Teil Ihres Erfolgs hängt freilich davon ab, wie Sie Ihre Information oder Botschaft formulieren. Gestehen Sie gleich am Anfang, dassIhr Englisch nicht perfekt ist: I'm afraid my English is not perfect, und laden Sie dazu ein, Fragen zu stellen, wenn etwas nicht klar war: So, please do not hesitate to ask me if anything was unclear. Vermeiden Sie Sätze mit komplizierten Nebensatzkonstruktionen. Formulieren Sie lieber kurz und deutlich: I'll try to be brief and clear!
    Die Einleitung
    Zuerst stellen Sie sich und Ihre Kollegen vor: Let me briefly introduce myself. I'm … and this is my colleague … (siehe auch „Useful phrases: Vorstellen“, S. 36). Sie bedanken sich für die Einladung: I'd like to thank you for inviting me here today und kündigen das Thema der Präsentation an: I'm going to talk to you about … Danach folgt ein kurzer Überblick über die Gliederung Ihrer Präsentation (a short overview of the