In the Middle | Learn Business English Expressions

Hi, this is Bill.

And in this video, I'm going to show you a term that is perfect for a business situation.

OK, now, maybe you already know the word compromise.

Well, there is a phrase you can use that means the same thing is compromise.

It's just easy to say kind of casual and it's great for sentences.

OK, now that phrase is meat in the middle.

All right.

Now, it's kind of exactly what you think.

All right.

So now you can think about it like this.

There's two men having a business negotiation.

OK.

And now maybe the first man wants the price to be $20.

OK.

And the second man, he wants the price to be $10.

OK.

Well, the first man doesn't want $10, and the second man doesn't want $20.

So they negotiate, and then they decide to meet in the middle.

That means the man who wants $20 comes down,

and the man who wants $10 comes up and they choose $15.

See that?

They both give up a little.

They meet in the middle.

It's a fair way to finish a negotiation,

because if you look at the sentence I've written up here,

it says, "Let's meet in the middle so we can both be happy."

It's kind of like everybody wins if you meet in the middle.

This is good for business when you're talking about contract or prices of things.

You can actually also use this if you're shopping at a market

and maybe you think the person selling something is asking for a price too high.

Maybe you offer a lower price.

And after some talking, maybe you meet in the middle or compromise.

Same meaning.

OK, if you meet in the middle, Both sides win.

All right.

Let's look at some written examples of this being used.

Here are some sentences of how you can use.

Meet in the middle.

We are both far from what we want, but if we meet in the middle we can both be happy.

I want 20 items.

And you think I should get ten?

So let's meet in the middle and make it 15 items.

Why don't we meet in the middle so we can finish this negotiation?

So there you see some easy and practical examples of using the phrase meet in the middle.

Now, it's a good phrase to know for business because it's common.

Everybody uses it at some time when they're negotiating It's a good term to use.

So if you practice it and you use it, I promise you that English speakers know the meaning

and will think it fits perfectly into your conversation.

OK.

So get out there and start talking to people about meeting in the middle

when you're trying to negotiate or decide on something.

OK.

I hope you use it and I'll see you next video.