Hibiscus Teach · Vids · Better Call Saul

Would You Hire This Man?

Make a persuasive professional case, question unsupported claims and negotiate a workable arrangement.

B2+/C1 · Adults60 minutes with a tutor

Created by Denis M., British English teacher.

Related lessons

C1Ellipsis and Substitution 2: Fluent Longer Exchanges
B2+/C1Sherlock

Content note: Adult drama: forceful language, manipulation and professional conflict. Treat these conversations as material to evaluate, not scripts to imitate uncritically.

Warm-up: What makes a job candidate convincing: and what would you still need to check?

Learn the words, watch, then answer the quiz. Practise the phrases and speaking prompts. On your own, replay only what you need; with a tutor, develop each response together.

Vocabulary helps you discuss the scene; not every entry is spoken in the clip.

The perfect pitch?

Jimmy interviews for a position at a copier business.

First watch: Does a convincing performance make a convincing candidate?

New vocabulary

make a case for: Give reasons in support of something.She made a strong case for promoting an internal candidate.
win someone over: Persuade someone to support you.A confident answer can win people over without proving every claim.
track record: Evidence of how someone has performed in the past.We should check his track record before making an offer.
due diligence: Careful checks before making an important decision.The team carried out due diligence before choosing a supplier.

Original source ↗

Watch and check · 6 questions

Choose one answer per question. The last two questions practise original language.

About the clip: listening1. Where is Jimmy applying for work?

A. At a copier business.B. At Kim’s law firm.C. At a television studio.

About the clip: listening2. What does Jimmy do when the interview seems unlikely to produce an immediate offer?

A. He quietly leaves without saying anything else.B. He makes a much stronger sales pitch for himself.C. He asks the owners to close their business.

About the clip: listening3. How do the employers respond to that pitch?

A. They insist they have already hired someone else.B. They ask him to become their lawyer instead.C. They offer him the job.

About the clip: listening4. Why does Jimmy criticise their decision?

A. They have accepted his performance without checking him carefully.B. They checked too many references before interviewing him.C. They refuse to listen to any of his claims.

Original language practice (not a quote)5. Which sentence makes a claim and offers evidence?

A. I am obviously the best person you will ever meet.B. I improved response times in my last role; I can show you the figures.C. You would be foolish to interview anyone else.

Original language practice (not a quote)6. What is the most relevant due-diligence question for a candidate’s performance claim?

A. Which colour would you paint this room?B. Can you repeat the claim with more confidence?C. Could you explain how that result was measured?

Answer key and explanations

A. At a copier business. The interview concerns a business that sells or deals with copying equipment.
B. He makes a much stronger sales pitch for himself. He changes the momentum by demonstrating forceful persuasion.
C. They offer him the job. His pitch changes their decision in his favour.
A. They have accepted his performance without checking him carefully. His criticism exposes the difference between persuasion and verification.
B. I improved response times in my last role; I can show you the figures. The speaker supports the claim with something that can be checked.
C. Could you explain how that result was measured? This checks the basis of the claim.

1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1 · Do substituting for lexical have

“none of them will have the connection to your machines that I do.”

Clip 1, quotation excerpt

Do recovers have a connection in the relative comparison. It replaces lexical have meaning possess, not a perfect auxiliary. The competitors’ connection is predicted; the speaker claims his own connection now.

Which account preserves what do stands for and the contrasting time viewpoints?

None is predicted to possess the connection that the speaker currently possesses.None has already completed the work that the speaker predicts he will complete.The speaker predicts that neither he nor any competitor will ever have a connection.

Grammar support

C1Ellipsis and Substitution 2: Fluent Longer Exchanges

Useful phrases

Original phrases to practise, not programme quotations.

What I would bring to the role is a proven ability to solve problems.
Make a focused professional claim.

Could you give me an example that supports that claim?
Request evidence without becoming hostile.

Speaking · 3 prompts

Develop your answer with a reason or example. On your own, answer aloud before opening a model.

At which point does Jimmy become more convincing? What changes in his approach?

One possible answer

He becomes more direct and demonstrates the persuasion that the role would require. The performance is persuasive, but it still does not tell the employers everything they need to know about him.
Why might a successful interview still lead to a poor hiring decision? Give two checks an employer should make.

One possible answer

An interview can reward confidence more than reliability. An employer could ask for a concrete work example and check a relevant reference before deciding.
Role-play: a candidate gives a 45-second pitch. The interviewer asks for evidence and tests one weak point. Finish with a next step, not an instant decision.

One possible answer

Candidate: I have improved customer follow-up in a similar role. Interviewer: Could you give me an example that supports that claim? Candidate: I introduced a tracking sheet and missed fewer calls. Interviewer: Please bring the figures to the next interview.

Together, but separate

Kim responds to the possibility of working alongside Jimmy.

First watch: What would they share, and what would remain separate?

New vocabulary

counteroffer: A different proposal made in response to an offer.Their counteroffer keeps the budget but changes the deadline.
go into business together: Start or run a business jointly.They discussed whether to go into business together.
retain control: Keep the power to make decisions.Each designer would retain control over their own clients.
common ground: An area on which people agree.They found common ground on sharing the office costs.

Original source ↗

Watch and check · 6 questions

Choose one answer per question. The last two questions practise original language.

About the clip: listening1. Which arrangement does Kim propose?

A. One firm in which Jimmy makes every decision.B. Separate practices using shared office space.C. Completely separate offices with no connection.

About the clip: listening2. What remains separate under this arrangement?

A. Every practical resource in the office.B. Their ability to speak to each other.C. Their professional practices.

About the clip: listening3. What part of working together does the proposal preserve?

A. Working alongside each other.B. A guarantee that they must accept the same clients.C. A requirement to make every professional choice jointly.

About the clip: interpretation4. Which interpretation of the counteroffer is best supported?

A. Kim agrees that all boundaries are unnecessary.B. Kim wants some collaboration without merging professional control.C. Kim is refusing any possible contact with Jimmy.

Original language practice (not a quote)5. Which sentence introduces a constructive counteroffer?

A. Your idea is useless, so there is nothing to discuss.B. I accept everything, although I have no intention of doing it.C. What about sharing the space while keeping separate accounts?

Original language practice (not a quote)6. “We have found common ground” means…

A. we have identified something we can agree on.B. we have solved every possible disagreement.C. we have decided that only one view matters.

Answer key and explanations

B. Separate practices using shared office space. She separates professional ownership from sharing practical resources.
C. Their professional practices. They can work near each other without becoming one firm.
A. Working alongside each other. The compromise keeps proximity and shared space.
B. Kim wants some collaboration without merging professional control. The proposal combines closeness with a boundary around the work.
C. What about sharing the space while keeping separate accounts? It proposes a specific alternative that preserves part of the original idea.
A. we have identified something we can agree on. Common ground is shared agreement, even when other differences remain.

1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1 · Each of whom with two independent practitioners

“Separate firms under one roof.”

Clip 2, quotation excerpt

Each of whom takes a singular verb inside a non-defining relative clause. Whom refers to the two people; the main plural subject can still take plan. Keep separate practices and shared premises distinct.

New practice based on the quote: Combine Kim and Jimmy’s proposal in a new sentence. Which version preserves both relationships and the two clauses’ agreement?

Kim and Jimmy, each of which will run a separate practice, plans to share an office.Kim and Jimmy, each of whom will run their shared practice, plan to use separate offices.Kim and Jimmy, each of whom will run a separate practice, plan to share an office.

Grammar support

C1Relative Clauses 3: Some of Whom, Several of Which

Useful phrases

Original phrases to practise, not programme quotations.

I like the idea of working together, provided we keep clear boundaries.
Accept a principle while stating a condition.

What about sharing the costs while keeping separate responsibilities?
Offer a practical compromise.

Speaking · 3 prompts

Develop your answer with a reason or example. On your own, answer aloud before opening a model.

What does Kim accept, and what does she protect?

One possible answer

She accepts the idea of working alongside Jimmy, but she protects the independence of her practice. The arrangement allows cooperation without requiring identical professional decisions.
What should two independent professionals agree before sharing an office? Choose three priorities.

One possible answer

They should agree on costs, use of shared resources and responsibility for clients. Clear arrangements could protect the relationship as well as the work.
Role-play: two freelance professionals negotiate a shared office. One wants a joint business; the other wants independence. Agree on a workable counteroffer.

One possible answer

A: A joint business could make us more visible. B: I like working together, provided we keep separate clients. A: What about sharing the costs and a reception area? B: That works, with separate accounts and responsibilities.

1–2 minGrammar masteryC1 · An inverted concessive condition

“I could be a serial killer.”

From this lesson’s clip, quotation excerpt

Even were you to makes a formal hypothetical concession. A following embedded question retains normal subject–verb order.

New practice: combine possible hiring with uncertainty about identity, using a formal present/future concession.

Even were you to hire me, you could not be certain what kind of person I was.Even were to hire me you, you could not be certain what kind of person I was.Even had you hired me, you could not have been certain what kind of person I was.

Grammar support

C1–C2Inversion in English Grammar

More practice

Try another lesson with film or television clips.

B2Rome 3
B2+/C1Homeland

Finish by improving your response to speaking prompt 3 in Clip B. Use one phrase from the lesson.

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