Languages Discipline, Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education

Lesson 10: Making and Responding to Offers

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
make and respond to offers in common workplace interactions;
make counter-offers;
use first and second conditionals to make offers; and
use chunking and pausing to communicate ideas more clearly.

Task 1 Warm-up activity [Track 1]

There can be different types of offers which you may make or encounter in the workplace.
Some jobs (e.g. customer service) may involve more frequent offers than others. In meetings,
you may also need to make or respond to offers regarding the items on the agenda.

Match the dialogue with the situations below. Then listen to the conversation and fill in the
blanks.

Two colleagues are talking in the Two colleagues are discussing a

pantry before the meeting. ( 2 ) sponsorship for the expo. ( 4 )
A customer is calling the IT manager. A staff member is offering help to his
(1) colleague. ( 3 )
Rose: Oh, hi, Steve.
Situation 1 Steve: Do you need any help?
Staff: Macrosoft Computers. Good Rose: No, thanks. Im fine.
afternoon. Steve: I could carry your bag if you like.
Customer: Hello. Can I talk to Mr Thompson It looks heavy.
please? Rose: Thats very kind of you, but Im
Staff: Oh, .. Im sorry. Mr Thompson is alright.
in a meeting right now. Can I
take a message?
Customer: Yes. Please ask him to call Mrs
Wong. My number is Situation 2
Denise: Morning, Fred.
Situation 3 Fred: Oh, morning, Denise.
Steve: Hello, Rose.

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Denise: Oh you look exhausted. Would you Manfred: Yes. Its best that we first compile a
like a cup of coffee? Or tea list of potential sponsors and send
perhaps? out our proposals.
Fred: Yes, please. Coffee would be Chloe: Absolutely. How about if I draft
great. the proposal first and let you take a
Denise: Here you go! look at it before we send it out?
Manfred: Thank you. Id really appreciate
Situation 4 it. I think I can draw up a list of
Chloe: If we want to raise enough sponsors by the end of this week.
sponsorship for the IT Expo, well
need to act quickly.

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Task 2 Making and responding to offers

In workplace interactions, it is very common to make offers, and respond to offers positively or
negatively. You may refer to the following table for some common expressions.

Task 2a
Practise saying the following expressions with a partner.
Making offers (How) Can I help you?
Can I do anything (to help (you))?
Id like to offer any help that I can.
I can/could arrange the exhibition venue.
Shall I take the minutes?
Ill print out the agenda for you if you like.
Would you like me to send you the minutes of our last meeting?
How about if I ask the Chairperson to postpone the meeting?

Accepting offers Yes, please.

That would be great/fantastic/lovely/wonderful/terrific!
Thank you. Id be very grateful if you could.
Thank you. Id really appreciate it.

Rejecting offers No, thanks.

Dont worry about it.
Thats very kind/considerate of you, but Ill be fine/that wont be
necessary.

Task 2b
You are having a meeting with your teammates to discuss the details of a project. Make offers
using the right verb(s) and respond to offers according to the instructions given.

brief compile distribute

outsource register review

E.g. Your teammates want to know the progress of your project.

Offer: Shall I brief you on the progress of my project?
Accept the offer: Yes, please.

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1) You have designed a client satisfaction questionnaire and you wonder if your teammates
would like to have a copy.
Offer: Would you like me to distribute a copy of the questionnaire to you?
Reject the offer: No, thanks. Perhaps you could email it to us later on.

2) Your teammates worry that there may not be enough manpower to conduct the client
satisfaction survey.
Offer: How about if I/we outsource the work/task to other companies?
Accept the offer: That would be wonderful!

3) Your teammates are concerned about how to organize the data obtained from the survey.
Offer: I can compile the statistics and review the data (before sending you the information).
Accept the offer: Thank you. Id really appreciate it.

4) You have set up a website for the survey but your teammates cannot log-in.
Offer: Ill register your ID/email address for you if you like.
Reject the offer: Thats very considerate of you, but can you just show us how to log-in so
that we can do it ourselves?

Task 3 Making counter-offers

In workplace meetings, participants may not always agree, especially when it
comes to discussing sensitive details of a project/task like resources allocation,
responsibilities, deadlines, etc. In the previous lessons, you learnt how to
persuade others in a meeting and you know this is how you can influence
others in decision-making. So, when others are trying to persuade you but you
are not totally convinced, you may need to adjust your standpoint and make counter-offers in
order to achieve positive outcomes in a meeting. Adhering to your original standpoint without
any compromise may result in spending time discussing without any decisions being made.

Task 3a
Read aloud, with a partner, the following extract of a meeting between a manager and a staff
representative of a game production company. Pay special attention to how counter-offers are
made when discussing the remuneration and benefits of staff. Match the following language
features with the examples (in bold) shown in the tapescript.

Asking
Asking negative
negative questions
questions (2)
(2) Using
Using question
question tags
tags (3)
(3) Using
Using conditionals
conditionals

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Jess: Vincent, if youre asking for a 15% pay rise, thats completely out of the question. We have
more than 30 workers here and we have not increased our charges for 3 years.
Vincent: Well, the fact is, our salary has been frozen for 4 years. We are constantly working overtime
but we are actually underpaid. Thats not reasonable.
Jess: But you know we cant afford 15%, dont you? [ 2 ] Couldnt you [ 1 ] talk to your members
again and see if theyll accept 10%?
Vincent: Well, I could do that, erbut its not likely that theyll say yes unless [ 3 ]
Jess: Unless what?
Vincent: Unless you agree to deal with the overtime problem seriously.
Jess: Oh, it is not going to be easy, is it? [ 2 ] Because our company is always so busy. Well, maybe I
can talk to the management and see if we can increase our headcount.
Vincent: Great! If thats the case then I suppose I can [ 3 ] try to talk to our members and see if theyll
accept a 10% increase. But how about holidays? Many of us would like to have 5-day week. We
dont mind working longer hours but we do want more days off.
Jess: Ah, well, actually, Im afraid thats not really practical under the present circumstances.
Vincent: Cant you [ 1 ] just work out a different roster for us? Many government units are having 5-day
week now. It can reduce work pressure and improve the quality of work!
Jess: Well, its gonna be difficult to deal with the overtime problem and convert to a new work
pattern at the same time. If I can solve the overtime problem and arrange the 5-day week, will
you consider [ 3 ] a smaller increase in salary? Lets say, 8%?
Teachers note: Encourage Ss to
Vincent: UmI think that sounds acceptable. practise speaking more fluently by
linking words together.
Jess: Great! Thats a deal then.

Language Focus
Asking negative questions
When you use negative questions to make counter-offers with a courteous and sincere tone, it
sounds more persuasive as yes seems to be the expected answer. It also helps you to express
your views in a less definite and more polite way. In this case, contracted form should be used
to make counter-offers.
Eg Couldnt you discuss it with your members? (Could you not discuss it ?)
Wont you consider hiring more staff? (Will you not consider?)
Wouldnt you think its not practical at this moment? (Would you not think ?)

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Using question tags

Question tags are used mainly to ask for agreement. They are the short questions that often
come at the end of a sentence in speech, and sometimes in informal writing. They are used
after affirmative (positive) and negative sentences, but not after questions.
(+) (-)
Eg You know we cant afford 15%, dont you?
(+) (-)
We have considered all possible alternatives, havent we?
(+) (-)
Susan likes the idea, doesnt she?
(If the main sentence has no auxiliary verb, the question tag has do/have (in the correct
tense & form); Negative tags are usually contracted in spoken English.)
(-) (+)
It is not going to be easy, is it?
(If the main sentence has an auxiliary verb (or non-auxiliary be), this is repeated in the
question tag.)

Note: When question tags are used to ask for agreement or checking for
confirmation, the intonation of the tag ending falls ( ). Question tags can also
be used to ask genuine questions. You can turn a checking question into a
real question (Your name is Mabel, isnt it?) by using a rising tone () for the
tag ending.

Task 3b (accept any sensible answers)

Complete the following extracts of dialogues. Use negative questions or question tags to make
suitable counter-offers.
1) Salesman: Can you offer a discount if I take this printer?
You: Wouldnt you also consider buying this pack of ink? (I can offer you a
discount if you are buying the two in one order.)
2) Supplier: For your new office, we can only offer a 3% discount if you order one month in
advance.
You: You can give us a higher discount if we order two months in advance, cant
you?
3) Supplier: Your cantre can have free delivery only if you order 30 tablet PCs.
You: Cant you just provide free delivery for 20 tablet PCs?
4) IT product company: We are only sponsoring 100 flash drives for the IT Expo.
You: You can sponsor some of our prizes as well, cant you?

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Using conditionals
Conditionals are used to state conditions for agreement. Type 1 and 2 conditionals are
commonly used when making offers and counter-offers.

You can use Type 1 conditionals to talk about things that are likely to happen, or offer terms
which are very likely to be realized.

Eg If you agree to handle the overtime problem, they may accept a smaller increase in
salary.
If clause: stating the condition; Main clause: stating the expected outcome
if the condition is fulfilled;
If + noun/pronoun + verb (simple noun/pronoun + modal + verb (base
present) form)

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You can also use Type 2 conditionals to talk about things that are less likely to happen,
describe a hypothetical situation or make a very tentative offer.

Eg If we increased the salary by 15%, we would have to raise our product prices.
If + noun/pronoun + verb (simple past) noun/pronoun + would + verb (base
form)

Notes:
The clauses can come in either order:
They may accept a smaller increase in salary if you agree to handle the over-time
problem.

We would have to raise our product prices if we increased the salary by 15%.

You may also use as long as, provided/given that or unless (=except if) to state
the condition in the if clause:

Eg We can adopt a new work pattern, as long as/provided that/given that we

maintain the same number of working hours.

Eg I cant agree to a pay rise unless the percentage of increase is lower than 10%.

(That means, I can agree to the pay rise if the percentage of the increase is lower
than 10%.)

Task 3c

Discuss with a partner:

What is the difference in meaning between these two sentences below?

(1) We will have to raise our product prices if we increase the salary.

(2) We would have to raise our product prices if we increased the salary.

Teachers note: Ask Ss these questions:

For (1): Will they increase the salary? (May be) Will they definitely increase the salary? (No) Is there a

chance that they will increase the salary? (Yes)

For (2): Will they increase the salary? (We dont know but probably not) Is it likely that they will

increase the salary? (No) Will they raise their product prices? (No, probably not) Why not? (Because

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they probably wont increase the salary) Which word tells you that it is unlikely? (increased)

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Task 3d

Fill in the correct number to match each of the following subordinate clauses
with its corresponding main clause.

1. If the warranty is extended for one 2 provided that your donation exceeds
more year, $100.

2. You can enjoy a tax deduction 1 we will take last years stock.

3. We cannot accept this offer 5 we would have to send your case to court.

4. Our company would move into deficit 3 unless you give us a 10% discount.

5. If you ceased your payment, 4 if we did not cut our expenses.

No matter which method you use to make a counter-offer, it is important that

your counter-offer is reasonable and justifiable. You may evaluate your
counter-offer by considering the differences between the original offer and the
counter-offer, and anticipate the other partys reactions when they learn about
your counter-offer. If you are confident that your counter-offer is reasonable,
you can make it more persuasive by explaining why the other party should
accept it. You may refer to Lesson 8 about how to give reasons for your ideas.

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Task 4 Pronunciation Practice

Chunking and Pausing

When speaking, we normally divide words into chunks and use pauses between these
chunks. These pauses are like commas and full stops in writing. You should pause in
logical places, after clauses or word groups, e.g. a new work pattern. There are no strict
rules for these word groups, but you should use chunking and pausing to make your
meaning clear. You will overwhelm others with too much information without chunking and
pausing.

Look at the following extract and put a slash (/) in the space where you think there
should be a pause.
Were going to start upgrading / or renovating / our
multimedia centre / which will cost around $1 million. / It is
estimated that / it will open in January next year. / If
everything goes smoothly / the IT department / can start
using it / before Chinese New Year. [Track 2]

Listen to the extract and check your answer. Practise saying the text using
chunking and pausing.

Task 5Guided practice [Track 3]

Situation

Unique Technology Limited offers a wide range of training workshops

to working adults. This year, the company has decided to join the
internship programme organized by IVE in order to recruit more
instructors for its courses and activities. You are going to conduct a
meeting to discuss the details of this programme.

In groups of 3 or 4, act out the meeting. You should:

demonstrate your meeting skills for opening, managing and closing the meeting;
interact naturally with others by inviting and responding to ideas whenever appropriate;
use the ideas on your role card to make and respond to offers;
make use of what you have learnt from the previous lessons to make suggestions,
express preferences and persuade others;
add your own ideas if necessary.
You may have to compromise in order to reach an agreement.

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The meeting will last 12 minutes for groups of 4 and 9 minutes for groups of 3.

* The role cards are on pp.10-11.

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USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

1. Making offers
How can I help you?
Would you like me to take the minutes?
Shall I ask the participants to come in now?
2. Accepting offers
Yes, please.
Thank you. Id really appreciate it.
3. Rejecting offers
No, thanks.
Thats very kind of you, but Ill be fine.
4. Making counter-offers
Wouldnt it be a little expensive?
I guess you can offer a lower price, cant you?
If you can offer us a discount, we may order Smart TVs from your store.

USEFUL VOCABULARY

Words Meaning
1 brief to give someone instructions or information
2 com-pile to collect information from different places and arrange it
in a book, report or list
3 com-pro-mise an agreement in an argument in which the people
involved reduce their demands or change their opinion in
order to agree
4 con-sid-er-ate kind and helpful
5 head-count a total number of people, especially the number of
people employed in a particular organization
6 out-source to pay and have part of a companys work done by
another company
7 ter-ri-fic extremely good or wonderful

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Role Cards for Task 5

Role A

You are the Director of Unique Technology Limited. Your company is running more courses and
activities this year and a number of instructors are required to cope with the expansion. You
have decided to organize an internship programme to recruit some IVE interns. You and your
partner are holding a meeting with two Course Coordinators of IVE to discuss the details of the
programme.

Your aim is to try to reach an agreement on the items listed on the agenda. You should use
your notes (in italics) on the agenda below and explain your ideas.

Unique Technology Limited & Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education

Internship Programme Meeting

22 December 201_ at 9:00am in Unique Technology Limited

Agenda

1. Duties of interns(mainly assist class instructors; little or no individual

teaching - lack experience)

2. Working days/hours (Mon-Fri; 11am-8pm)

3. Hourly rate ($29; a little above the minimum wage in HK; lunch hour no
pay)

Role B

You are the Director of Unique Technology Limited. Your company is running more courses and
activities this year and a number of instructors are required to cope with the expansion. You
have decided to organize an internship programme to recruit some IVE interns. You and your
partner are holding a meeting with two Course Coordinators of IVE to discuss the details of the
programme.

Your aim is to try to reach an agreement on the items listed on the agenda. You should use
your notes (in italics) on the agenda below and explain your ideas.

Unique Technology Limited & Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education

Internship Programme Meeting

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22 December 201_ at 9:00am in Unique Technology Limited

Agenda

1. Duties of interns (assist teaching; perform admin duties, e.g. maintain

enrolment & attendance record)

2. Working days/hours (Weekdays and alternate Sat; Sat double pay)

3. Hourly rate (depending on performance in the probation period)

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Role C

You are the Mobile Computing Course Coordinator of IVE. Unique Technology Limited is running
more courses and activities this year and a number of instructors are required to cope with the
expansion. You and your partner are holding a meeting with the Directors of Unique
Technology Limited to discuss the details of an internship programme for IVE students.

Your aim is to try to reach an agreement on the items listed on the agenda. You should use
your notes (in italics) on the agenda below and explain your ideas.

Unique Technology Limited & Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education

Internship Programme Meeting

22 December 201_ at 9:00am in Unique Technology Limited

Agenda

1. Duties of interns (more relevant to mobile apps development)

2. Working hours (4 days from Mon to Fri; 1 weekday for IVE classes)

3. Hourly rate (at least $35, including paid lunch hour)

Role D

You are the Mobile Computing Course Coordinator of IVE. Unique Technology Limited is running
more courses and activities this year and a number of instructors are required to cope with the
expansion. You and your partner are holding a meeting with the Directors of Unique
Technology Limited to discuss the details of an internship programme for IVE students.

Your aim is to try to reach an agreement on the items listed on the agenda. You should use
your notes (in italics) on the agenda below and explain your ideas.

Unique Technology Limited & Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education

Internship Programme Meeting

22 December 201_ at 9:00am in Unique Technology Limited

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Agenda

1. Duties of interns(all sorts of administrative + teaching duties; a variety

needed)

2. Working hours (1 weekday for IVE classes; no work during weekends

revision)

3. Hourly rate (accept $35 or above; lunch time: min. 30 mins paid)

Tapescript
Track 1
Situation 1
Staff: Macrosoft Computers. Good afternoon.
Caller: Hello. Can I talk to Mr Thompson please?
Staff: Oh, .. Im sorry. Mr Thompson is in a meeting right now. Can I take a message?
Caller: Yes. Please ask him to call Mrs Wong. My number is

Situation 2
Denise: Morning Fred.
Fred: (Yawning) Oh, morning Denise.
Denise: Oh you look exhausted. Would you like a cup of coffee? Or tea perhaps?
Fred: Yes, please. Coffee would be great.
Denise: Here you go!

Situation 3
Steve: Hello Rose.
Rose: Oh, hi Steve.
Steve: Do you need any help?
Rose: No, thanks. Im fine.
Steve: I could carry your bag if you like. It looks heavy.
Rose: Thats very kind of you, but Im alright.

Situation 4
Chloe: If we want to raise enough sponsorship for the IT Expo, well need to act quickly.
Manfred: Yes. Its best that we first compile a list of potential sponsors and send out our
proposals.

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Chloe: Absolutely. How about if I draft the proposal first and let you take a look at it before
we send it out?
Manfred: Thank you. Id really appreciate it. I think I can draw up a list of sponsors by the end
of this week.

Track 2
Were going to start upgrading / or renovating / our multimedia centre / which will cost around
$1 million. / It is estimated that / it will be opening in January next year. / If everything goes
smoothly / the IT department / can start using it / before Chinese New Year.

/=pause

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Track 3
A: Good morning, everyone. First of all, Id like to welcome [names of C & D]. Thanks for
coming to this meeting to discuss the internship programme. Well, there are three items
we need to discuss today, the duties of the student helpers, their working hours and
hourly rate. Actually, I believe its clear that the major responsibility of the interns will be
to provide assistance to the workshop instructors, right? In the workshop, well need help
in assisting the students, as you know, our students are mostly IT workers and they need
more attention from us.
B: And besides assisting in the workshop, I trust that the interns can also perform some
administrative duties like maintaining enrollment and attendance records, cant they?
C: No problem, Im confident that our interns are well-trained in classroom management and
administration. But I wonder if they can also teach a few classes. They can have the
chance to practise what they have learnt at IVE.
D: Absolutely. Itll be a valuable experience for them if they are taking up a variety of duties
relevant to both teaching and administration.
A: I understand your concern. But Im not very sure about that because they lack practical
teaching experience. It may be a better idea for them to just observe first.
C: I know what youre worrying about. Rest assured, all the interns have received a full-
years training in developing popular mobile apps and theyve been carefully selected to
make sure that theyre qualified for teaching at your centre. Well, what if our interns
submit their lesson plans to you beforehand, can you at least let them teach two to three
lessons in a course?
B: Well, that would be possible as long as their lesson plans look fine.
A: Yes, that sounds like a nice way to go. Okay, I think we can work this out. Now, how
about working days and hours? I suppose the interns can work from Monday to Friday
from 11am to 8pm, cant they?
C: Oh, Im afraid not. I believe well have to figure something out because our interns need
one weekday for their IVE classes.
A: Umwe can make certain arrangements provided that there are at least two to three
interns available for work each weekday. Frankly speaking, we cant afford having all the
interns gone on the same weekday.
D: Thats possible. The interns do have different class schedules. I can send you a copy of
them if you like.
A: Yes please. That would be great!
D: And one more thing, the interns will need time for revision so I hope you wont arrange
any extra work for them during the weekends.

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B: How about if we offer double-pay during the weekends? They may work on alternate
Saturdays because some classes are scheduled on Saturday.
C: Wow, thats quite an attractive offer! Well, I think working alternate Saturdays is fine.
A: Wonderful! Now we only have one more thing to sort out, the hourly rate. We can offer
$29 per hour.
C: Umthats a little low for the job, isnt it? Wouldnt you consider offering a higher
rate, with paid lunch hour? Actually, some of our interns need to travel a long way to your
centre and this may pose a financial burden on them.
A: But $29 is already slightly higher than the statutory minimum wage.
B: Well yes, umwe may think about increasing the hourly rate after the probation period.
D: How long exactly would it be?
B: Were thinkingone month.
D: Okay, and I think after the probation, if the interns performance is satisfactory, the salary
should be at least $35 per hour, including paid lunch time.
A: We dont normally have paid lunch time, but for interns, I guess we can afford a half an
hour lunch.
B: Yeah, that wont be a big problem. So, weve pretty much covered everything then. Let
me run through what weve agreed on so far (fade)

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