Business Spanish Online Course: A 1:1 Plan for Emails, Meetings and Negotiation

Short answer: a good business Spanish online course builds four skills in order: formal register (usted, softeners), professional emails, meetings and calls, and negotiation. In 1:1 lessons each module uses your own documents and situations, so you practise the Spanish you need on Monday, not a generic "office" chapter.

I'm Santiago Garnica, a native Spanish speaker from Bogotá and a lawyer trained at Universidad del Rosario. I teach 1:1 online, with explanations in English (C1) or German (B2). Law taught me to negotiate with words and to write so that nothing can be misread. That is the core of this course plan. If you want to know what a single business lesson looks like, read Business Spanish lessons for real meetings. This page is about the whole course: the modules, the order and the phrases.

How the course is structured

Module	Goal	Typical material
1. Formal register	sound polite, not stiff	your own emails, introductions
2. Emails	write clear requests, follow-ups and replies	real threads from your inbox (anonymised)
3. Meetings and calls	open, interrupt, disagree, summarise	your agenda, recorded mock calls
4. Negotiation	propose, push back, concede, close	an offer or contract you're working on

Each module usually takes a few 50-minute lessons, depending on your level and how much practice you do between lessons. Learners preparing for an interview first can start with Job interview in Spanish.

Module 1: formal register

German directness often sounds blunt in Spanish. Three tools fix most of it:

• usted with clients, senior people and first contacts: ¿Usted tendría un momento?
• conditional and imperfect softeners: Quisiera…, ¿Podría…?, Me gustaría…, Quería consultarle…
• cushion phrases: Si me permite…, Con todo respeto…, Entiendo su punto, pero…

Module 2: emails

Spanish	English
Estimada Sra. Gómez:	Dear Ms Gómez,
Le escribo en relación con…	I'm writing regarding…
Adjunto encontrará…	Please find attached…
Quedo atento/atenta a sus comentarios.	I look forward to your comments.
Cordial saludo,	Kind regards, (very common in Colombia)

A full set of email and meeting phrases with drills is in Spanish email and meeting phrases.

Module 3: meetings and calls

• Si les parece, empezamos. If that's fine with you, let's start.
• Perdón que lo interrumpa… Sorry to interrupt…
• No estoy seguro de entender, ¿se refiere a…? I'm not sure I understand, do you mean…?
• Para resumir, acordamos que… To sum up, we agreed that…

Module 4: negotiation phrases

Spanish	English	Use
Nuestra propuesta es…	Our proposal is…	opening
¿Qué margen tenemos en el precio?	How much room is there on price?	exploring
Eso nos queda difícil.	That's difficult for us.	soft no (very Colombian)
¿Y si lo planteamos de otra forma?	What if we approach it differently?	reframing
Podríamos aceptar…, siempre y cuando…	We could accept…, provided that…	conditional concession
Lo consulto con mi equipo y le confirmo.	I'll check with my team and confirm.	buying time
Entonces quedamos en…	So we've agreed on…	closing

Notice siempre y cuando takes the subjunctive: siempre y cuando el pago sea en 30 días. See Spanish subjunctive.

In Colombia a direct "no" is rare in negotiation. Eso nos queda difícil or lo vamos a revisar often means no. Recognising these signals is part of the course.

Why a lawyer's background helps

Contracts and negotiation are daily work for lawyers. In lessons that shows up as precision: which word commits you (nos comprometemos) and which doesn't (vamos a intentar), how to put conditions clearly, and how to summarise an agreement so nobody remembers it differently. I'm not giving legal advice in lessons; I'm teaching the language professionals use for it.

FAQ

What does a business Spanish online course cover?

Formal register, emails, meetings and calls, and negotiation, practised with your own material in 50-minute 1:1 lessons.

What level do I need?

Around A2 to B1 is a good start for business Spanish. Beginners usually build the basics first.

Is business Spanish different in Latin America and Spain?

The grammar is the same. Register and vocabulary differ: usted is used more in Colombia, and closings like cordial saludo are typical there.

Can I use my own documents?

Yes, and I recommend it. Anonymise sensitive data before sharing.

How much does it cost?

The same as all lessons: from USD 27 (EUR 25) per 50-minute lesson, less with packs. The first trial class is free.

Start with a free class

Bring an email or a meeting agenda to your free 25-minute trial class on garnica.co. We'll check your level and decide which module to start with. Packs are on the home page.

Keep reading: Business Spanish lessons · Email and meeting phrases · Job interview in Spanish