/01
“Your number arrives wrapped in a sentence about how you know it is a lot.”
Saying the figure
One number or a narrow range, said plainly, with no apology in front of it and no justification behind it. The justification comes if they ask.
Salary negotiation, rehearsed out loud
2
people run this conversation
10 min
The shortest conversation
The number, said once, and then the two seconds of silence that decide what it is worth.
B1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advanced
What actually happens
Five things people say before they start.
One of them is usually the real reason. What sits underneath it is what actually gets scored.
/02
“You name a figure and immediately soften it.”
The silence after
Two seconds. Filling it is the single most expensive habit in this conversation, and everybody does it the first time.
/03
“Your reason is that you have been there three years.”
Evidence, if asked
Market data, a competing offer, the scope of what you are doing. One piece, specific, rather than three general ones.
/04
“You say yes before they have finished the sentence.”
Not closing too early
The first improved number is rarely the last one. Accepting it in the same breath is how a negotiation ends at the second-best outcome.
Not the situation you need?
Bring the real thing: the job description, the date on the letter, the words the school used. Everyone who runs salary negotiation will work from what you actually walked in with.
How a first conversation worksWho you will be talking to
Salary negotiation, with 2 of these 2.
In whichever order helps. The first 5 minutes with a free partner cost nothing, so you can talk to two of them before you choose.
5 min freeHard feedback
5 min freeSalary negotiationWhat it costs
One price a minute, whoever you talk to.
A harder conversation simply runs longer. The shortest way to rehearse salary negotiation is 10 min.
You pay for the seconds you talk, and the minutes come off a balance you already hold. Nothing renews, and you are never sent a bill. Plans and refunds.
B1 · working
9 min
is how long a conversation at this difficulty runs
A shift briefing, a neighbour, a first screen. Sessions run about 9 minutes.
- Minutes of talking in total
- 54
- What that costs here
- $24
- The same minutes with a tutor
- $300
- You do not spend
- −$276
At $50 an hour, rounded up to the 60-minute booking nobody will sell you less than.
Your first 5 minutes
What 5 free minutes are for.
01
Bring your real number
Practising with a made-up figure rehearses the wrong sentence, and the sentence is the hard part.
The terms, in full
- Free
- 5 minutes
- No card asked for
02
Say it once and stop
The transcript will show you exactly how long you lasted before filling the silence.
Paid for out of your free minutes
- Saying the figure
- The silence after
- Evidence, if asked
- Not closing too early
Questions
What people ask before they start.
Nearby
What people open next.
The rest of Work first, then everything else at the same difficulty.
All the situationsHard feedback
B1 · workingB2 · confidentYour manager has a specific example. What you say in the next ten seconds is the whole thing.1 personfrom 10 minConflict with a colleague
B2 · confidentC1 · advancedTwo teams, one deadline, and somebody who thinks this is your fault.1 personfrom 10 minUnhappy client
C1 · advancedNative paceHe rang you, he is already angry, and he will not let you finish a sentence.1 personfrom 10 min
B1 · workingB2 · confidentYour manager has a specific example. What you say in the next ten seconds is the whole thing.1 personfrom 10 minConflict with a colleagueB2 · confidentC1 · advancedTwo teams, one deadline, and somebody who thinks this is your fault.1 personfrom 10 minUnhappy clientC1 · advancedNative paceHe rang you, he is already angry, and he will not let you finish a sentence.1 personfrom 10 min