Salary Negotiation in English — How to Ask Your Manager for a Raise (B1–B2)

Asking your manager for a raise is one of the scariest conversations in working life — especially in English. Most people just wait and hope they'll be noticed. But the raise usually goes to the person who asks. In this episode, Mark and Tina give you calm, professional English to make your case, say the number, handle a “no,” and keep the relationship warm the whole way through. You'll learn how to build your case before you walk in (the scope of my role has grown, quantify your impact, know the market rate, decide your number), how to open and make the ask (could we set up some time to talk about my compensation, based on my results and the market rate I'm looking for…), and the hardest skill of all — say the number, then let the silence sit. Then how to handle pushback (I understand budgets are tight — can we look at when that might change?), how to negotiate more than base pay (a bonus, a title, a training budget, an earlier review), and how to turn a “not yet” into a clear, written path. Two realistic scenes included. International business English for B1–B2 learners. This video helps you practice: • how to ask for a raise in English, politely and clearly • making your case with evidence and the market rate • saying your salary number without flinching • handling “no budget” and “not right now” • negotiating a bonus, title, or earlier review instead • turning a “not yet” into a written plan ⏱ Chapters 0:00 Intro — why the person who asks gets the raise 2:06 How to build your case before you ask 5:18 What the research says: the cost of not asking 7:07 How to open the conversation and make the ask 10:35 What to say when your manager says no 12:49 How to negotiate more than base pay, and lock in a path 15:03 Scene: making the ask with confidence 17:15 Scene: turning a “no” into a path 19:07 Recap & your challenge 📚 Source mentioned in this episode Linda Babcock (economist, Carnegie Mellon University), “Women Don't Ask” — on the career cost of not negotiating your salary: Fast Company: “The One Career Mistake That'll Set You Back $500,000” Key phrases how to ask for a raise, talk about my compensation, I'd like to talk about my pay, the scope of my role has grown, quantify your impact, the market rate, based on my research, decide your number, target and floor, could we set up some time to talk about my compensation, based on my results and the market rate I'm looking for, say the number and let the silence sit, I understand budgets are tight can we look at when that might change, could we agree on a specific time to revisit, what would it take to move up a level, if the base isn't possible could we look at a bonus a title or a training budget, could we bring my next review forward, what specifically would I need to achieve, could you drop me a quick email just so we're both clear, business English, ESL Hashtags #BusinessEnglish #EnglishForWork #LearnEnglish #SalaryNegotiation #AskForARaise #EnglishConversation #EnglishSpeaking #ESL #EnglishVocabulary #SpeakEnglish #EnglishForBusiness #CareerEnglish #ESLlearning #EnglishPhrases