How to ask for a raise (negotiation phrases)

Title separator

Negotiation phrases

negotiation phrases

LESSON OVERVIEW

Here we come with a Business English lesson plan that focuses on teaching negotiation phrases and lets you have 1-to-1 negotiation role-plays in your classroom! With this worksheet, your students will:

  • discover new Business English idioms and practise using them
  • talk about how to ask for a salary increase and listen to tips from an expert
  • learn a variety of business negotiation phrases
  • role play two scenarios to practise negotiating in real-life situations
B2 / Upper Intermediate60 minStandard LessonUnlimited Plan

BUSINESS ENGLISH IDIOMS

The lesson starts with a vocabulary activity in which students need to discover the meaning of 5 Business English idioms. They have sample sentences where such idioms are used and definitions to match. Give students around 5-7 minutes to do this task and let them compare their answers. What follows is a short speaking task, where students need to say what they would do in particular scenarios and use one of the newly learned idioms.

VIDEO AND DISCUSSION (ASKING FOR A RAISE)

Before you watch the video with your students, there is a pre-watching task. There are 4 questions that students need to answer in pairs. While the first one refers to their personal experience, others are more general and, in fact, will be answered in the video. Give your students a few minutes to discuss these questions and encourage them to note down what they think.

Next, watch the Business Insider interview with Barbara Corcoran where she explains how you should ask for a raise. She speaks rather fast in this interview which might be a challenge for some students. We recommend watching the video once and gauging how difficult it’s been for the students to follow or checking which information they’ve managed to get. Then, let your students watch it the second time (you may play it with subtitles). Afterwards, they should compare their ideas with what Barbara Corcoran said and discuss how useful and realistic her advice is.

NEGOTIATION PHRASES AND ROLEPLAYS

The next page consists of groups of common phrases that can be used during negotiation. Students need to go through those phrases and choose the right label for each group. This way they get to know different expressions and when to use them. Give them 5-7 minutes to do this task and help them understand any problematic phrases.

And now comes the most fun and engaging part of the lesson, i.e. the role-play. We prepared for your 2 unique scenarios so that each student can take one of the two roles in the negotiation process. Obviously, one is about asking for a raise 🙂 while the other is a classic buyer-supplier contract negotiation. In both cases, students will have plenty of opportunities to use negotiation phrases from page 2 in practice.

WORKSHEETS

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. paolobusinessenglish

    This is the best ESLBrains lesson I have used! Business students for some reason are very engaged with this topic 🙂 The role plays are great too – more of these would be fantastic.

    1. Justa

      Thanks!

  2. Viktoriya

    Hi,

    Excellent lesson!

    I think there is a typo in #3 ,discussion questions: it says: asking for a RISE but it should be Raise .

    Thanks,

    Viktoriya

    1. Justa

      Thanks!
      In British English, “a (pay) rise” is OK!

  3. Marta

    “You’re a single parent who wants to get back to work after a parental leave [a win-win situation] – what is the possible scenario here? Cannot think of one.

  4. Stan

    Challenge accepted! 😉 Let me try:
    “I could work from home just for a few hours a day at the beginning. This way I can take care of my child and start getting back to my career life. It’s a win-win situation for me and my employer:”

  5. Mariel Frost

    It also says “rise” on slide 12: “How would you ask for a rise?” Also BE?
    Thank you!

    1. Justa

      Yes, it’s British English. In this worksheet, we wanted to show students that both options (raise and rise) are correct.

  6. Lina López

    This is such an interesting topic. Thanks for this great lesson! It’s really engaging.

    1. Justa

      Thanks for the feedback 🙂

  7. Lina Shumlianska

    amasing lesson!

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
talking about work models
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Office, remote or hybrid?

Business

With this up-to-date lesson, students discuss work life after lockdown and practise vocabulary to talk about workplace changes. They also watch a news video about companies changing the way they work and discuss different work models.

B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

As per my last email…

Business

Dive into the intriguing world of emailing and talk about what annoys people the most. With this lesson, students expand their vocabulary, express irritation, and analyze real-life situations.

vocabulary to talk about higher education
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Is a degree worth it?

Business General

Engage your students in a discussion on the ins and outs of higher education. Explore education and career-related vocabulary and work on comprehension skills by watching a news report on the job market.

ESL lesson about work
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

How to stand out at work

Business

Let your students share opinions on getting promoted and being noticed at work. They will discuss hypothetical situations, share experiences and comment on advice from a video.

ESL lesson on branding
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

All about branding

Business

This is a perfect lesson for students who want to discuss brands and the idea of branding. Students learn and practise useful phrases, as well as improve their comprehension skills.

B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Talking about leaders

Business

Students talk about good and bad leadership, watch an explainer video and share their experiences. Let them explain why they’d rather be a good leader or have a good leader.

suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-less’
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Ready to go paperless?

Business Grammar

In this lesson, students learn some vocabulary related to document management, talk about going paperless, watch a video, and work on word building learning suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-less’.

passive income ESL lesson plan
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Passive income

Business

In this passive income ESL lesson plan, students watch a video, learn vocabulary and have speaking practice. 

B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

How to succeed as a freelancer

Business

In this lesson students discuss working as a freelancer. They watch a video, do four role-plays and talk about different freelancing ideas.

Show more lessons

Questions

Title separator

Is there a minimum subscription period if I choose a monthly subscription?

No, there’s no minimum required number of subscription months. You can cancel any time you want. Basically, you can sign up and then cancel your subscription the next day, which will mean you have access for 1 month and won’t be charged again.

What currencies can I pay in for my subscription?

Our default currency is USD (American dollar), but you can also pay in EUR (euro), GBP (British pound sterling) or PLN (Polish zloty). You can change the currency you want to pay in at the Pricing page before selecting a subscription plan.

How can I edit an e-lesson plan?

You can get your own editable copy of an e-lesson plan and make changes to it. To do so, either (1) make a copy of it on your Google Drive (preferable method) or (2) download it in a Powerpoint format (but formatting might be a bit off so we can’t guarantee that it will work well).

Read more FAQ
Title separator

ESL Brains

Forgot password?
or continue with