Your uncertain list
Read out what you flagged from Lesson 5. For each: what exactly felt wrong?
The five patterns
Collected across Lessons 1–5
| Pattern | What appears | What it should be | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| would in the if-clause | if we would phase the wall | if we phased the wall | Marks the whole sentence as informal, mid a formal negotiation |
| Closed 3rd for an open option | if we had phased the wall, we would have saved money (option still live) | if we phased the wall, we would save money | Falsely tells the client the option no longer exists |
| Flat contour on a reservation | That could be tricky. ↘ | That could be — tricky. ↘↗ | Reads as a closed door in English, though not in Portuguese |
| Disagreement with no concession | No, we need the wall. | While I take the point about the budget, the wall isn’t optional. | Skips the acknowledge move Lesson 2 identified as the whole difference |
| Explanation with no proposal | Stops after stating the requirement | …what I can do is phase the cost, not the design. | Leaves the client with nothing to actually decide |
Reading your own intonation back
Self-check before you speak
| Ask yourself | If flat/falling | If fall-rise |
|---|---|---|
| Is this genuinely still open for discussion? | You are signalling closed — make sure that is true | You are signalling open — good, if it is |
| Do I want them to push back? | They probably won’t | They probably will — which is the point |
| Is my next sentence a proposal? | If not, add one | The rise already invites one — deliver it |
The check is not "sound polite." It is "does my tune match what I actually mean." A genuinely closed decision said with a flat contour is accurate and fine — you are not required to fall-rise everything. The error is a flat contour on something you actually intend as open, because that mismatch is what reads as rude without you meaning it to.
Fix them
Each sentence has one conditional error from Phase 02. Rewrite it.
1. If we would phase the wall, we would keep this year’s number under budget.
2. If we had priced the spa separately, you would not have been surprised by this number now.
Rewrite each blunt line as something you could actually say to a client. Use the word given. Two of these are grammatically fine already — they still fail the meeting, not the sentence.
No, that will not work. POINT
You cannot change the wall height. SET
We are not lowering the price. MOVE
The spa costs more because of the wall engineering. SURCHARGE
Rework Lesson 5
Task card
The five cost responses from Lesson 5
Say them again, fixing every instance of the five patterns you can hear.
- Say them aloud, not silently — intonation errors are much easier to hear than to see.
- For any that were held, make sure the reason is stated, not just the refusal.
- For any that were offered, make sure the alternative is concrete, not vague.
Grammar, tune, or nerve?
Of everything you just fixed, how much was grammar, how much was intonation, and how much was simply confidence? Only the first two are language. Be honest about the third.
Before the next lesson
Homework. Prepare the full presentation for one of your own projects — what, why, how much — as if for a first meeting with a new client. Next lesson it gets interrupted.