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Yes, if… Polite negotiating language for scope and deadlines

Students learn polite language for negotiating scope and deadlines, from What if we…? to Would that work for you?, in this B2 English for IT lesson plan.

Grammar
Proposals, offers with a condition and checks, with the form after each: How about scaling back? We could… if you… I was wondering if we could…
Topic
Cutting scope on a mobile release a week behind, at a fictional payments startup, with words such as a must-have, a deal breaker and scale back.
Activities
A story, a priority list and a team chat, a negotiation call, self-checking drills, a chat and role cards, then a message and a recording proposing a scope change.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: Must, Should, Could

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the negotiation vocabularyVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2The Story: Won't Have This Time

    • Read the story of MoSCoWArticleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer about the storyQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3At Work: A Week Behind

    • Read the MoSCoW list for the next releaseReal-life documentTry it
    • Read Kenji's message in the team chatReal-life documentUnlock
    • True or false? Check the list and the threadTrue or falseUnlock
    • Sort the requests into the correct columns: read each noteSort into columnsUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Listen: Finding the Yes

    • Listen to Kenji and Beatriz negotiate the releaseListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer about the callQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Grammar: What If We…?

    • Study the scheme: negotiating phrasesGrammar schemeTry it
    • Sort the phrases into the correct columns: which move is it?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: rewrite each sentence with the words in bracketsFill in the gapsTry it
    • Choose the best replyQuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Jordan and Beatriz plan the testingDrag and dropUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Speak Up: Yes, If…

    • Choose the right replies: find a yes with FatimaChatTry it
    • Open a box: negotiate the release in rolesOpen the boxUnlock

  7. Chapter 7Homework: Your Offer in Writing

    • Read your phrase bankReal-life documentUnlock
    • Do you remember? Choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Is the sentence correct? True or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Match the beginnings and endingsMatchUnlock
    • Write a message proposing a scope or deadline changeWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record your negotiation openingSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

26 exercises in 7 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • a win-win
  • a concession
  • a counteroffer
  • a deal breaker
  • a deadline extension
  • negotiate
  • push out
  • scale back
  • meet halfway

Grammar: negotiating language for scope and deadlines

A negotiation at work moves in four steps: propose, offer, check, then accept or refuse, and each step has its own fixed phrases. The phrases are short, but the form after them matters: How about takes -ing, and will never comes after if. Past forms such as I was wondering if we could… make a request softer without moving it into the past.

Negotiating: from “no” to “yes, if…”

Propose, make an offer with a condition, check, then accept or refuse: politely, but clearly.

Four moves and their phrases

To propose, use What if we…?, How about…? or Why don't we…?; to offer, We could… if you… or on one condition; to check, Would you be willing to…? or Would that work for you? Answer with That works for us or I'm afraid we can't go that far.

Phrases for every move

What it doesPhraseExample
ProposeWhat if we + present / past…?What if we pushed the release out by a week?
ProposeHow about + -ing…?How about scaling back instead?
ProposeWhy don't we + base form…?Why don't we start with Android?
Offer with a conditionWe could + base form … if you + present / pastWe could keep the date if you moved partial refunds.
Offer with a conditionI / We can agree to that on one condition: …I can agree to that on one condition: it goes first.
CheckWould you be willing to + base form…?Would you be willing to ship a simple version?
CheckWould that work for you?Two weeks later, behind a flag. Would that work for you?
Propose softly (past form, present meaning)I was wondering if we could + base form…I was wondering if we could do a follow-up release.
Say what you want, softly (past form)We were hoping to + base form…We were hoping to give Jordan a full testing week.
AcceptThat works for us. / Deal.Two weeks later? That works for us.
Refuse politelyI'm afraid we can't go that far.Drop them completely? I'm afraid we can't go that far.

A negotiation in four moves

proposeoffer with a conditioncheckaccept or refuse

What if we pushed it out a week? We could keep the date if you moved partial refunds. Would that work for you? That works for us.

The form after each phrase

How about takes -ing (How about cutting the calendar?), Why don't we the base form, and Would you be willing takes to. After if, use the present or the past, never will: What if we move the date? We could keep it if you dropped the calendar.

After…useExample
How about-ingHow about cutting the calendar?
Why don't webase formWhy don't we ship it later?
What if wepresent or past, never willWhat if we move / moved the date?
We could … if youpresent or past, never willWe could keep it if you drop / dropped the calendar.
Would you be willingto + base formWould you be willing to test it?
I was wondering if wecould + base form, not canI was wondering if we could talk.

Past forms with a present meaning

I was wondering if we could… and We were hoping to… are about now: the past form only adds distance, so the request sounds softer. Keep could after I was wondering if we. What if we pushed…? sounds more careful than What if we push…?, and both are correct.

Past forms, present meaning

I was wondering if we could… and We were hoping to… are about now, not the past: the past form only adds distance, so the request sounds softer. What if we pushed…? sounds a little more careful than What if we push…?, and both are correct. After if, don't use will for the future.

One call, from no to yes

The examples follow one call from proposal to deal: What if we pushed the release out by a week?, a counterproposal, an offer with a condition, a check, I can agree to that on one condition and, at the end, That works for us.

  • What if we pushed the release out by a week?Kenji: a proposal
  • How about scaling back instead?Beatriz: a counterproposal
  • We could keep the date if you moved partial refunds to Won't have this time.Kenji: an offer with a condition
  • Would you be willing to ship a simple version?Beatriz: checking
  • I can agree to that on one condition: partial refunds go at the top of the next sprint.Beatriz: a yes with a condition
  • That works for us.Beatriz: accepting

Typical mistakes

  • How about to cut the calendar?

    How about cutting the calendar?

    How about + -ing

  • What if we will move the date?

    What if we move / moved the date?

    no will after if

  • I was wondering if we can talk.

    I was wondering if we could talk.

    keep the past form: could

  • Would you be willing cutting the calendar?

    Would you be willing to cut the calendar?

    willing + to + base form

Try the negotiating language exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 13 auto-checked exercises
  • 2 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 3 real-life documents
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 1 audio clip
  • 1 picture
  • 1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • propose a change politely: What if we pushed the release out by a week? How about scaling back instead?
  • make an offer with a condition: We could keep the date if you moved partial refunds. I can agree to that on one condition.
  • soften a request and check: I was wondering if we could do a follow-up release. Would that work for you?
  • negotiate a scope or deadline change with a product owner, then accept or refuse: That works for us. I'm afraid we can't go that far.

Lesson 18 closes Stakeholders and scope, unit 6 of English for IT B2 · Beyond the Code, where learners practice saying no and finding a yes with people outside the team. It brings back lesson 16's diplomatic language and lesson 17's offers with as long as and unless, and it carries the unit's work task: negotiating a scope or deadline change with a product owner.

A wheel about cuts and deadlines opens the lesson, and twelve word cards with pictures and audio add a deal breaker, a deadline extension, push out and scale back. The story chapter explains MoSCoW and why “Won't have this time” is easier to accept than a flat no. Students read the MoSCoW list and a team chat about a week's delay, sort requests into the four groups and hear Kenji and Beatriz turn a no into a deal in an AI-voiced call. After the scheme, four self-checking drills run from sorting phrases by the move they make to a testing plan with words to drag in. Students then find a yes with Fatima in a chat and negotiate a release from role cards that give each player a goal and a limit.

Homework starts with a phrase bank and three exercises that check themselves, among them a quiz that also brings back lessons 16 and 17. Students then write a message proposing a scope or deadline change and record the opening of a negotiation, two tasks the teacher reviews.

Grammar:
negotiating language · What if / How about + -ing / I was wondering if we could
Topic:
prioritization · negotiation · scope and deadlines

Teaching tips

  • Before the reading, sort a real backlog: give pairs eight requests from their own work, or a packing list, and four columns: Must, Should, Could and Won't this time. Arguing about what counts as a Must is the warm-up.
  • Let pairs swap role cards after each deal, so that everyone has to ask for something and to refuse something politely. Give the product owner's card, with a date that can't move, to a confident student first.
  • Play the call twice and listen for the moves: the second time, students raise a card for each proposal, offer with a condition, check and answer they hear.
  • One-to-one, rehearse a negotiation from the learner's week: they bring a real deadline or request, you play the stakeholder, and you swap roles once they have reached a deal.

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The whole course: English for IT B2 · Beyond the Code

24 lessons at B2 for software teams, in American English. A year on at Kestrel Cloud, a fictional payments startup, Iryna and her team estimate work, write docs and postmortems, argue trade-offs, give demos and negotiate scope. Each lesson starts from a real case, from the Apollo 11 alarms to Conway's law.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Planning and estimates

    estimates and deadlines: approximating numbers, the future continuous and perfect, likelihood

    1. Lesson 1It always takes longerApproximating numbers in estimates
    2. Lesson 2By New Year's Eve, we'll have fixed itFuture continuous and future perfect
    3. Lesson 3Let's play planning pokerLikelihood with bound to, likely to and may well

  2. Unit 2 Docs people read

    specs and design docs: modals for requirements, participle clauses, plain English

    1. Lesson 4MUST, SHOULD or MAY?Modal verbs for requirements in specs
    2. Lesson 5Four kinds of docsParticiple clauses in documentation
    3. Lesson 6Just a request for commentsPlain English for design docs

  3. Unit 3 Incidents and postmortems

    telling an incident without blame: narrative tenses, the passive, the third conditional

    1. Lesson 7The 1202 alarmNarrative tenses for incident stories
    2. Lesson 8Blameless by designActive vs passive voice in a postmortem
    3. Lesson 9If we had had an alert…The third conditional: a different past

  4. Unit 4 Architecture and trade-offs

    comparing options and recording decisions: contrast linkers, modals of deduction, mixed conditionals

    1. Lesson 10Your system copies your org chartContrast linkers for comparing options
    2. Lesson 11It's always DNSModals of deduction for troubleshooting
    3. Lesson 12Write down the whyMixed conditionals for looking back on decisions

  5. Unit 5 Demos and tech talks

    a clear structure on stage: signposting, cleft sentences, describing trends

    1. Lesson 13The mother of all demosSignposting language for demos
    2. Lesson 1420 slides, 15 secondsCleft sentences for emphasis
    3. Lesson 15Numbers that tell a storyDescribing graphs and trends

  6. Unit 6 Stakeholders and scope

    saying no and finding yes: diplomatic language, as long as and unless, negotiating

    1. Lesson 16Pay down the debtDiplomatic language for hard messages
    2. Lesson 17Why meetings argue about the bike shedAs long as, provided, unless and otherwise
    3. Lesson 18 · you're hereYes, if…Negotiating language for scope and deadlines

  7. Unit 7 AI, security and ethics

    AI tools, passwords and team rules: be used to and get used to, past modals of deduction, purpose linkers

    1. Lesson 19Your new pair programmerUsed to, be used to and get used to
    2. Lesson 20Change your password? Maybe notPast modals of deduction
    3. Lesson 21Rules for AI at workPurpose linkers for rules with a reason

  8. Unit 8 Growing your career

    feedback, retros and goals: phrasal verbs, reporting verbs, wish and if only

    1. Lesson 22Your next levelCareer phrasal verbs and goal frames
    2. Lesson 23Feedback that helpsReporting verbs and their patterns
    3. Lesson 24Start, stop, continueWish and if only for wishes and regrets

Questions about this lesson

How do you use "I was wondering if" in a request?
I was wondering if we could… makes a request softer: I was wondering if we could move partial refunds to the next release. The past form is about now, not the past; it only adds distance, so the request sounds less direct than Can we…? The standard form keeps could after it: I was wondering if we could talk, rather than if we can talk. We were hoping to… softens a wish the same way.
How do you negotiate a deadline or scope politely in English?
To negotiate politely, replace a flat no with a yes and a condition. Propose: What if we pushed the release out by a week? Offer with a condition: We could keep the date if you moved partial refunds. Check: Would that work for you? Answer: That works for us or I'm afraid we can't go that far. The B2 lesson Yes, if… on edio.ai builds a whole call on these four moves.
How do you make an offer with a condition in a negotiation?
Pair We could… with if you…: first what you can do, then what you need in return. We could keep the date if you moved partial refunds to the next release. After if, use the present or the past, never will. For a firmer yes, name one condition: I can agree to that on one condition: partial refunds go at the top of the next sprint. Then check: Would that work for you?
Is it "How about cutting" or "How about to cut"?
It's How about cutting, because how about takes -ing or a noun: How about scaling back instead? How about Thursday? Two neighbors take other forms: Why don't we takes the base form (Why don't we start with Android?), and Would you be willing takes to (Would you be willing to test it?). The gap-fill in Yes, if…, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, opens with How about dropping the payout calendar?
Is it "What if we push" or "What if we pushed"?
Both are correct, and both are about the future: What if we push the release out? What if we pushed it out by a week? The past form sounds a little more careful, but it doesn't move the idea into the past. What you can't use after if is will: What if we move the date?, not What if we will move the date?
What is the MoSCoW method of prioritization?
MoSCoW sorts requests into Must, Should, Could and Won't have, and teams use its words to talk about scope. A Must have is something the delivery fails without; a Should have is important, but the product still works without it; a Could have comes only if there's time; Won't have this time means not now, rather than never. In meetings: Which of these is a real Must? What moves from Should to Won't this time?
What's the difference between a must-have and a nice-to-have?
A must-have is essential; a nice-to-have can wait. A must-have is something a release can't go out without: Two-step sign-in is a must-have: no launch without it. A nice-to-have is useful, but you can live without it: The new empty-state pictures are a nice-to-have. Both work as adjectives before a noun, too: a must-have feature. In Yes, if…, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, students sort such requests into four columns.
What do push out and scale back mean?
To push out a date is to move it later; to scale back a plan is to make it smaller. Both answer a deadline that's slipping: What if we pushed the release out by a week? How about scaling back instead? A noun can go before or after out and back (push the release out, push out the release), but a pronoun goes in the middle: push it out.
How do you practice negotiating in English with an in-company group?
Use role-plays where each side has a goal and a limit, around a release that can't hold everything: a developer who needs a Should moved, a product owner whose date can't move, a tester who needs five days. Limits push people toward We could… if you… and I'm afraid we can't go that far instead of giving in. The role cards in Yes, if…, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, work this way.
What's good homework for practicing negotiating language?
A written proposal for a scope or deadline change works well, because it needs every move: what changed, two options, an offer with a condition, one concession and a soft check such as Would that work for you? In the B2 lesson Yes, if… on edio.ai, a quiz, a correct-or-not drill and a matching task check themselves, and the teacher reviews the message and a recorded negotiation opening.
Are there interactive exercises for negotiating language?
Yes: chats and gap-fills with instant feedback let students try each phrase. This page plays four parts of Yes, if…, a B2 English for IT lesson on edio.ai, with no account needed: the MoSCoW list for the next release, a call in which Kenji and Beatriz negotiate the release, a gap-fill that rewrites requests with the words in brackets, and a chat in which students find a yes with Fatima. The other exercises are locked.
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