The EFL SMARTblog: What's the deal? (The Dragons' Den / Negotiating)

Thursday, 16 August 2012

What's the deal? (The Dragons' Den / Negotiating)

You are going to

watch a video clip from the BBC TV series "The Dragons' Den"
do a gap-fill exercise practising some business vocabulary
look at and practise the language of negotiation

1) Discuss

Do you like puzzles and games?
Have you ever tried to solve the Rubik's Cube?
What about the Bedlam Cube?

Bedlam Cube

Rubik's Cube

Have you ever tried to convince someone that something is a good idea?
Could you convince some investors to invest money in an idea you've had?
How would you "pitch" your idea?

You are going to watch Danny Bamping pitching for his company “Bedlam Puzzles” on the BBC TV series Dragons' Den

Dragons' Den is a TV series in which budding entrepreneurs get three minutes to pitch their business ideas to five multi-millionaires willing to invest up to £100,000 of their own money .

Here are the five multi-millionaires (the "Dragons")

The product idea Danny is trying to sell them is the “Bedlam Cube”
Will he be successful?
Will he get the £100,000 he needs?
Watch and find out.

2) Before you watch / Vocabulary

Check you will understand some of the vocabulary in the clip by matching the words with the definitions in this exercise.

3) Watch the clip

Does Danny reach a deal with the entrepreneurs?
What is the deal?

Watch the clip on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zBQa2XyvWE

4) Fill in the gaps
Now read this summary of the clip. Fill in the gaps with a word from the list. Watch the clip again if you need to.

5) Read
What happened next?
Find out what happened after the program

http://www.lammo.net/dragons-den/267/dragons-den-where-are-they-now-bedlam-cube/

Did Danny continue with the deal he made with the Dragons?
Was the Bedlam Cube a success?

6) Formal language for negotiating

When negotiating or presenting ideas in a business situation it is often best to use polite, tentative and formal language.
Match the expressions on the right to the situations on the left.

Adapted from http://www.sonnerct.com/English_Phrases/7_Negotiations.htm

Printable worksheets here

7) More