BE 571: Is It a Done Deal? How to Say a Contract Has Been Signed in English

This is the Business English Podcast, episode 571. Is it a done deal? How to say a contract has been signed in English. Welcome to the Business English Podcast from All Ears English.

Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business. For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is Real Business English with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay and Michelle, coming to you from New York City and Colorado, USA.

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I'm doing pretty good today. How's it going for you, Michelle? everything is good. Lindsay, when did you know that buying your house was a done deal? I mean, there was definitely a period where we weren't sure, right?

And that's anxiety provoking. You've put in your offer and then you're just waiting to see if your offer has been accepted. So when the offer was accepted was when we knew that we had the house. Yeah.

Sometimes you don't know until it's really, really a done deal. Exactly. Because you don't know what the other bids are. Yeah. It's kind of blind on the part of the buyer.

Yeah. It's like scary until it really goes through, really all the way up until closing. It's a stressful time. Yeah. It is. It is. So today we are going to talk about this useful expression and how it can help us in business.

And the expression is, it's a done deal. Love it. Love it. Guys, hit the follow button right now, right here in the podcast. If you want to make Allers English business English and our perspective on English, which is how to build relationships at work, if you want to make that a part of your daily, weekly routine, we publish three days a week over here.

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So I actually recently heard this and I knew that would be really useful for our listeners on Business English. Lindsay, do you hear this a lot? Yeah, done deal. I like it.

It sounds clean, sounds cool, sounds smart. Right? I like it. Yeah. So yeah, a done deal. So what it means is that something is final. So maybe there was an agreement, a contract, some confirmation, something was officially decided.

Yes. And sometimes it's refreshing in life when you get to this point, because I feel like in life, buying a house, I don't know, any adulting things, there's a lot of back and forth of not being sure about something and you're deciding. And then finally, boom, a contract's been signed. It's a done deal.

It's refreshing. It's refreshing. Yeah. And the tone of it, when you say it's a done deal, this shows confidence in my opinion. It shows something's final.

It's not going to change. It has some power to it. So I really like it. Yep. I like it too. I like it too. I feel the same way. It is powerful. Let's give some examples of how this would show up in a business context.

So here's one. Guess what? I just spoke to the marketing director and he told me that it's a done deal and we can get working on the project. So maybe the project has been approved.

You've gotten the budget for it. Yep. Or they called her with a job offer and she accepted. It's a done deal. Nice. Okay. And that's also really refreshing, right?

Especially if you're looking for a job for a long time and then finally you get the job, you accept it, all the salary stuff pans out and you've signed. You say, okay, you know your start date, right? Yes.

Or I asked if it was a done deal, but he said they need one more day to decide. Mm hmm. Yep. So back and forth, right? A little bit more back and forth, but just one more day.

So yeah, that's that kind of uneasy time, which can be very uncomfortable. Yes, it can. We have to get better as human beings with uncertainty, right? That is the key.

Happiness I think in life is how to be okay with uncertainty. You don't know how things are going to turn out. that's right yeah how can we still be happy yeah yeah yeah um to me this sounds when you say done deal it sounds a little bit more firm or confident than just saying something like oh and they said yes yeah yes i agree maybe it's the the double d double yeah no really done deal no there's some there is something alliteration really does help powerful yeah yeah So, but when might you hear this, Lindsay?

Did you hear this in a meeting? If someone asks someone for an update on something, right? What about that contract? You know, did you, someone was maybe the sales guy was trying to make a sale.

Oh yeah. It's a done deal. Right. They signed this morning. We're all set moving forward. Right. Or when you're sharing information, you hear from someone in business, like a client, a job prospect, a job applicant, right?

Yeah. And managers would definitely use this because they often get that information first or have the final say in something. So I think it's also really good for managers, but anybody could certainly use it. I think it's just a really good way to show your confidence at work.

But are there certain things you wouldn't use it for? What's the gravity of the situation, Michelle, that we need to be able to say a done deal? I think a done deal is when it's actually a deal, right? It's a big deal.

Right. Maybe there's a back and forth. There is some sort of contract, like we said earlier. I wouldn't necessarily use it about something like ordering food, right?

I mean, you could. We always talk about this. You could play with it and be humorous, but it's a done deal. I want the side salad. It's just a little bit extreme.

Yeah. If you have a sarcastic personality, maybe you do say that, right? There's always an option to add sarcasm. And we know that our listeners are looking for ways to express their personality in English.

It's just that this is really for bigger things. Contract signing, deals people are trying to push through. Not so much what you're going to order for lunch, right? Not so much the fact that you have ordered lunch and the DoorDash is on the way, right?

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All right. So would we ever say something isn't a done deal, Michelle? Can we go the opposite direction? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. This is important too. I mean, you want to stall or you need to delay or say, hold on, we're not, you know, it's not, it's not official yet.

So like, wait, it isn't a done deal yet. Maybe we can negotiate a little further. Yes. Yes. Or you could say, I'm cautiously optimistic, but it isn't a done deal yet.

So let's wait and follow up tomorrow. Yes. Yeah. So you could certainly say that. But what are some other ways that you could describe something that's a done deal?

All right. So you could say official, right? So something becomes official when often there's contracts being signed or a handshake, right, has happened. So we could say it's official.

We're moving our headquarters to the building down the street. They just signed the papers today. Mm-hmm. Or final, our offer is final, we can't increase it anymore.

So it's interesting, because this is also more could be in a just a negotiation part, right? Like, we're still on the other end, right? So it might not be a done deal, you might just saying our offer is a done deal, basically, we're not negotiating more. But you could also just say, OK, everything is final.

We all agreed. Right. Exactly. Or you could use the word settled. Right. This has been decided. Essentially, I spoke to Regina and she said it's settled.

Our plane tickets are booked for the conference in Spain. Yeah. So, yeah, these are all really important. I mean, they sound strong. They make things real.

People know when you use these that you're serious and something cannot or will not be changed. Right. Yeah. Another good example would be yesterday we had a team meeting, right, for Allers English.

And there is a contract that we're thinking of signing with a company, just a service provider, but it's not signed yet. But we were talking about it as if it will be happening. But I did, I don't think I used the phrase, it's not a done deal yet, but I think I used similar phrases. Yes, you definitely did.

I remember that, right? Saying, You may have said it's not official, right? Right. Something like that. So just all very useful in the business world.

So let's do a role play. Here we are event planners and we're booking a party for a client. Nice. All right. Let's do it. That sounds fun. Okay. Yeah.

Okay. We signed the contract with the Hilton down the street. It's a done deal. Great. Finally, have we started booking vendors? Yes. So they liked the second flower place.

So once we signed the contract this afternoon, it will be official. Great. And I know we decided on invitation. So that's final. Yes. So now that those things are settled, we can move on to the entertainment.

Perfect. Yeah. And the mind loves this. The mind, the human mind loves when kind of a decision has been made and you can sort of move on to the next, especially when you're planning a big event, right?

Yeah. A wedding, if you're an event planner. Feels good to check things off. Yeah. Yeah. Really does. Yeah, definitely. So love it. So I said, we have signed the contract with the Hilton down the street.

It's a done deal. So I'm just emphasizing that it's over. We did it. We did it. We did it. And then... You asked if we started booking vendors and we move on to the next thing.

Imagine organizing like a conference. It would be so much work, right? That's a lot. Yep. They like the second flower place. So once we sign the contract this afternoon, it will be official.

So we're signing a lot of contracts here. Yes. And you said, great. And I know we decided on invitations. So that's final. So we're just kind of going down the checklist, right?

Yes. And then you said, yes. So now that those things are settled, we can move on to entertainment. Yes. There's always something else to do, right? But I think people that are event planners, they're good at this kind of thing, right?

They probably do a great job keeping track of things, managing all these spinning plates, plates spinning in the air, right? Yes. Yes. Yeah, it's true.

It's important to be able to... I mean, not everybody has that attention to detail, that capacity to have that many things up in the air. So it's a really good skill.

For sure, Michelle. Guys, go check out 566 here in the Business English Podcast, New Colleague, How to Welcome Them to the Team. Very important skill. You want to start things off on the right foot with a new person in the office.

Definitely. Yeah. So takeaways for today. These are, I mean, I like Lindsay, what you said about the human mind loves this, right? Loves it. Loves being able to check things off, close chapters.

So these are just, yeah, right. Exactly. So these are all going to be really useful for you in the office and out of the office and give them a try today. You'll be able to use them, you know, very soon, as soon as the next done deal comes about.

Yeah. And also just the ability to be clear with colleagues. Like what is the status of a project, right? If it is a done deal, it means a contract is signed.

It's decided. You're not going back and forth anymore. Maybe it's not quite yet a done deal and that can be clear just using the right words. So people need to know the status of things, right?

Yes, exactly. So very helpful there. All right, Lindsay, thanks so much for talking about this with me today and I'll see you next time. All right. Talk soon, Michelle.

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