Speaking Task: Negotiate a Decision Under Conflicting Constraints in Spanish
Speaking Task: Negotiate a Decision Under Conflicting Constraints in Spanish
In this speaking task, you will negotiate a workable decision when time, money, resources, and stakeholder interests conflict. You will propose scenarios, state what you can concede, identify a limit you cannot accept, modify a proposal, and confirm what has been agreed and what remains open.
Scenario
A community center wants to extend evening opening hours.
Constraint 1:
El presupuesto solo permite diez horas adicionales de personal por semana. — The budget only allows ten additional staff hours per week.
Constraint 2:
Los usuarios piden abrir hasta las diez cuatro noches por semana. — Users are asking the center to stay open until ten on four nights per week.
Constraint 3:
El equipo no puede cubrir más de dos noches adicionales sin cambiar otros turnos. — The team cannot cover more than two additional nights without changing other shifts.
Open the negotiation by stating the conflict
Person A: Tenemos que responder a la demanda de los usuarios, pero no podemos superar las diez horas adicionales. — We have to respond to user demand, but we cannot exceed ten additional hours.
Person B: De acuerdo. Además, el equipo solo puede cubrir dos noches sin reorganizar el resto de la semana. — Agreed. In addition, the team can only cover two nights without reorganizing the rest of the week.
Propose a scenario
Person A: Si abriéramos hasta las diez solo los martes y jueves, necesitaríamos ocho horas adicionales. — If we stayed open until ten only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we would need eight additional hours.
Person B: Eso estaría dentro del presupuesto, pero algunos usuarios también piden el miércoles. — That would be within budget, but some users are also asking for Wednesday.
State a possible concession
Person A: Podríamos aceptar abrir el miércoles si cerráramos una hora antes otro día. — We could accept opening Wednesday if we closed one hour earlier on another day.
A concession changes part of your original position to make agreement possible.
State a non-negotiable limit
Person B: Puedo aceptar cambiar un turno, pero no podemos superar las diez horas adicionales de personal. — I can accept changing one shift, but we cannot exceed ten additional staff hours.
This clearly distinguishes a negotiable point from a hard constraint.
Modify the proposal
Person A: Entonces propongo abrir hasta las diez los martes y jueves, y hasta las nueve los miércoles. — Then I propose staying open until ten on Tuesdays and Thursdays and until nine on Wednesdays.
Person B: Esa opción podría funcionar si el total de horas se mantiene dentro del límite. — That option could work if the total number of hours remains within the limit.
Check a factual constraint before agreeing
Person B: ¿Cuántas horas adicionales serían exactamente con ese horario? — Exactly how many additional hours would that schedule require?
Person A: Serían diez en total. — It would be ten in total.
Do not agree to a plan until the decisive constraint has been checked.
Negotiate stakeholder interests
Person A: Los usuarios preferirían cuatro noches, pero podríamos explicar que tres noches son el máximo posible con el presupuesto actual. — Users would prefer four nights, but we could explain that three nights are the maximum possible with the current budget.
Person B: Me parece razonable, siempre que revisemos la demanda después del primer mes. — That seems reasonable to me, provided that we review demand after the first month.
Keep an unresolved point open
Person A: Todavía no sabemos quién cubrirá el miércoles. — We still do not know who will cover Wednesday.
Person B: Entonces no demos ese punto por cerrado. — Then let's not treat that point as settled.
Confirm what is agreed
Person A: Para confirmar, hemos acordado mantener el límite de diez horas y probar tres noches de horario ampliado. — To confirm, we have agreed to keep the ten-hour limit and test three nights of extended opening.
Person B: Sí. — Yes.
Confirm what remains open
Person A: Falta decidir quién cubrirá el miércoles y cómo comunicaremos el cambio a los usuarios. — We still need to decide who will cover Wednesday and how we will communicate the change to users.
Person B: Exacto. — Exactly.
Useful negotiation language
- Podría aceptar eso si... — I could accept that if...
- Mi límite es... — My limit is...
- ¿Qué podríamos cambiar para que funcione? — What could we change to make it work?
- Eso no resolvería el problema de... — That would not solve the problem of...
- ¿Qué parte sigue abierta? — Which part is still open?
Speaking mission
Negotiate a decision for three to five minutes. Include:
- at least two real constraints
- one proposed scenario
- one concession
- one non-negotiable limit
- one modified proposal
- one check of a decisive fact or number
- a final summary of what is agreed
- a separate statement of what remains unresolved
Performance criteria
- Each proposal responds to the actual constraints.
- Hypothetical conditions and consequences remain logically consistent.
- A concession is distinguishable from a non-negotiable limit.
- The speaker modifies a proposal when new information requires it.
- The final summary separates agreement from unresolved points.
From Negotiation to the Past Perfect Subjunctive
You can now negotiate a decision while preserving the limits of the problem. The next lesson teaches the past perfect subjunctive with hubiera or hubiese plus a past participle.