The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word negotiate as try to reach agreement or compromise by discussion with others . The word originates in the 17th century and derives from the Latin word negotiat meaning done in the course of business . So negotiation has a flavour of trying , which means that failure must be contemplated as well as success. It talks of agreement or compromise . In modern business negotiations the difference between agreeing and compromising is significant. An agreement implies a settlement where each side has an acceptable deal that may have been based upon bargaining, in which one parameter is traded for another. Compromise means, for example, splitting the difference on a single parameter such as price, the desire being to get to a quick agreement without too much of a fuss ^[2]. Negotiation also involves discussion, which means oral dialogue no-one ever negotiated in writing, although written exchanges can be a useful device in the overall negotiation process. And the context is business.