10.3 Negotiations for a Service Contract
1. Pre-listening: Common Expressions for Negotiations
Read the following expressions, then choose the expressions you think are about negotiations.
Now match the Khmer expressions to the English ones.
2. Listening
ខ្ញុំគិតថា… “I think that…”
ខ្ញុំគិត means “I think,” and ថា is “that.” Unlike in English, the word ថា must be used at all times in this structure. Other verbs such as មានអារម្មណ៍ “feel,” ជឿ “believe,” and ច្បាស់ “be sure” can also used with this structure.
Examples
- ខ្ញុំគិតថាយើងអាចពិភាក្សាគ្នាថ្ងៃស្អែក។ “I think we can discuss tomorrow.”
To know other people’s opinion or feedback, the question “យ៉ាងម៉េចដែរ?” is placed after the word គិត “think.”
Examples
- អ្នកគិតយ៉ាងម៉េចដែរ? “What do you think?”
Sophea and Vanna are having a meeting today. Listen to the conversation and answer the following questions. Transcript of the conversation.
A Service Contract © Vathanak Sok, 2025, CC BY-NC 4.0
Now place the key expression from the conversation in the correct category.
3. Post-listening
Instructions: Imagine you are negotiating a service contract for your company.
Scenario: A service provider offers a 5% discount for a one-year contract. The following responses can be the logical arguments and persuasive language to negotiate for a better terms. Read and place the response into the correct category, then explain which of the responses you will consider throughout the negotiation.
