General English · Speaking · B2
Persuading and making a case
Make a practical proposal around the listener's needs, benefits and concerns.
Lesson 8 · About 22 minutes
Learn: your objectives
- Connect a proposal to the audience's priority.
- Address an objection and make a proportionate request.
Warm-up
Think about these questions. Say a short answer aloud.
- What makes a proposal convincing without pressure?
- Why might a small trial be easier to accept than a permanent change?
Useful language
Proposal and response
What I'm proposing is …
State the action clearly.
What I'm proposing is a four-week equipment-sharing trial.
The main benefit for us would be …
Connect the benefit to the audience.
The main benefit for us would be avoiding duplicate purchases.
To address that concern, …
Respond to an objection with a practical measure.
To address that concern, we could keep a simple sign-out list.
Notice: model speaking
Read aloud. Notice how the speakers use the phrases and respond to each other.
Speaker: What I'm proposing is a four-week trial of a shared tool cupboard. Several of us occasionally need the same basic tools, so sharing could avoid buying items we rarely use.
Speaker: I understand the concern about things going missing. To address that, each item could have an owner and a sign-out record. We would start with a few inexpensive items, not valuable equipment.
Speaker: At the end of four weeks, we could review whether it was useful and manageable. I'm asking for permission to test the idea, not a commitment to run it permanently.
Speaking strategy
Make the action, benefit, risk response and request explicit. Persuasion is stronger when the listener can assess a realistic proposal rather than a guaranteed success story.
Pronunciation & fluency focus
Separate the request from the supporting explanation. Pause before the final ask and say it plainly, without rushing into more arguments.
Teaching guidance, not an analysis of your voice.
Use: controlled practice
Choose a useful response for each situation. Check when all questions are answered. These are phrase exercises, not a speaking assessment.
Build your answer
Write a few keywords. Then look away and speak. Notes stay on this page only.
Speak: your challenge
Make a two-minute case for a small shared activity or resource. Explain the benefit, address one objection and ask for a limited trial.
Use no invented financial results. Acknowledge what a trial would still need to establish.
Speak aloud. This page does not record, listen to or assess your speech. There is no automatic speaking score.
Self-check
Open to everyone. Answers, notes and checklists are not saved to an account. These original lessons use level labels to organize learning; completion is not official CEFR certification or proof of a level.