For Your Information背景介绍
Daily Negotiations
I'm going to the park to play baseball with the guys.
But you promised to play chess with me this afternoon.
Yeah, but that was .....
Negotiations aren't just for business; they lie at the heart of all human interaciton. They make it possible for society to function. Unless you're a hermit living in a cave, you negotiate things every day from the time you get up, until you go to bed. At home, people negotiate the restaurant they go to, the movie they see, the TV program they watch, who showers first, and who goes to the market. At work, we negotiate who uses the copy machine first, and who watches the phone during lunch.
谈判不只是为了做生意，它们根植于所有的人类的沟通活动中，使社会得以运作。除非你是一个住在洞穴里的隐士，否则你每天从早上起床到睡觉为止，都得谈判。在家中，人们会为了要去哪家餐厅、看哪部电影、哪个电视节目、谁先洗澡、该谁去超市买东西而商量、决议。在工作上，我们得讨论谁先用复印机、谁该在午餐时间留下来接电话……
Our day is one continuous negotiation, and it's likely none of them involve money. We're so used to negotiating that we don't even think about it, it's how we live peacefully together. We learn in childhood that things are a value for value trade off.
我们每天的生活就是不断的商议，而这些商议都和金钱无关。我们太习惯和他人商议，所以这样的动机几乎成了我们的反射动作，商议、谈判正是人们得以和平相处的原因。我们在孩童时期就学到了每件事都是有价值的，都可以当作是谈判筹码。
To get what we want, we have to trade what we have, and we take that idea into adulthood. It's great if things stay like that your entire life. If all negotiations were performed with the honesty kids use in the playground, there'd be no need for this book. But , sometimes they don't. Things have been kicked up a few notches, and some negotiators don't play fair.This book will tell you what's going on, and how to handle it.
要得到自己想要的东西，我们就必须拿自己拥有的东西去交换，而我们也把这种思想模式带到了成人阶段。如果事情能够一辈子都是这样该多好。如果谈判时，大家都秉持着孩提时代玩耍时的诚实态度，这本书就没有存在的必要。但是有时候，人们并不会诚实相待。事情改观了，有些谈判人员并不会公平就事论事，而本书将会为你解析情况，并给你一些应对的方法。
There are no set pattern negotiations in English that you follow. It's determined by the local customs and the players involved. I've seen minor points take days of hard talking , and once negotiated a three hundred thousand dollar contract during a two-hour lunch. We spent five minutes on the deal, the rest on other topics.
英语谈判并没有必须遵守的既定模式，全凭当地的规矩和相关人员而定。我曾为一些小事情，费尽唇舌谈判了好几天；但也有一次，只花了两个小时的午餐时间，但谈成了总值三十万美金的合约。真正在谈生意只花了5分钟，其他时间都在谈其他的事。
The following are examples of day-to-day negotiations we perform without thinking. The first shows Jack and Mary as children at play working things out. In the second one, Jack and Mary are a couple planning an evening out. The third shows Jack and Mary as coworkers cooperating to keep things running smoothly.
下面这几个对话，是我们不自觉中就会进行的日常生活谈判。第一个对话是孩提时代的杰克和玛莉，他们正想解决问题。第二个对话中，杰克和玛莉是一对情侣，他们在商量晚上要去哪里。在第三个对话中，杰克和玛莉是同事，他们讨论该如何在工作上配合得尽善尽美。
