Hibiscus Teach · Vids · Movies
Erin Brockovich
Is that a serious offer?
Identify what a negotiator admits, what they deny and how a claim of limited authority changes the negotiation.
Created by Denis M., British English teacher.
Content note: Adults. A fictionalised meeting about illness, contaminated water and compensation.
A little context: The parties sit down to discuss the company’s offer for the family home.
Watch each clip, then try its activities.
Study guidance
Pause after each exchange. Give your own spoken answer before opening a model.
Choose one disagreement about the scene and explain which words support your reading.
The vocabulary and model replies are original teaching examples.
Before you watch
- Can an offer be fair by one measure and unfair by another? Give an example.
- What does saying that you sympathise commit you to?
The price of a home
The parties sit down to discuss the company’s offer for the family home.
First watch: What does each side include in a fair offer?
English scene guide
The company offers $250,000 for the Jensens’ home. Its lawyer defends the figure using land value. The other side raises medical expenses, while the lawyer expresses sympathy but denies corporate fault.
Watch and check · 6 questions
Choose one answer for each question. Check your answers, then read the feedback.
Answer key and explanations
- The Jensens’ home. The figure is offered specifically for their home.
- $250,000. The other side repeats the quarter-million figure.
- Local land value. He explicitly frames fairness in terms of the land.
- Medical expenses. It challenges the scope of the offer.
- Sympathy. His sympathetic wording stops short of accepting responsibility.
- That the company is at fault. His denial separates harm from responsibility for it.
1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1 · Concession without admission
They have my sympathies
New practice inspired by this scene.
Scene connection: The price of a home
Keep the speaker’s intended meaning when choosing a form.
You say: Give a second example and explain how the meaning changes.
Speaking · 3 prompts
Speak before opening the support. Different answers are possible when you explain your reasons.
What would each side need to mean by fair for this meeting to progress?
Support and one possible answer
One clue is …
They need to say whether fairness covers only the land or also harm connected with it.
Follow-up: Which detail makes your reading persuasive?
Ask the lawyer a question that distinguishes sympathy from liability.
Support and one possible answer
I would say …
Which part of the loss does your offer recognise?
Follow-up: How might the other person respond?
How would you challenge a figure without rejecting the whole meeting?
Support and one possible answer
In that situation, …
I understand how you valued the land. What about costs the valuation excludes?
Follow-up: Try again with a different tone.
The limit of the lawyer’s authority
Listen for the difference between a final offer and a representative’s limit.
First watch: What changes when the lawyer calls the offer final?
English scene guide
The lawyer says other factors could cause illness and insists on the offer. Ed says he will present it but doubts acceptance. A warning about the corporation’s size draws an exaggerated response.
Watch and check · 6 questions
Choose one answer for each question. Check your answers, then read the feedback.
Answer key and explanations
- To offer other possible causes. He uses alternatives to resist the link with the company.
- Final and more than fair. His wording closes off negotiation.
- Negotiating. He challenges the mismatch between a negotiation and a fixed offer.
- He is authorised to offer only that amount. A representative’s authority is not the same as the company’s wealth.
- Presenting the offer to his clients. He predicts they are unlikely to accept but leaves the decision with them.
- With exaggerated surprise. The overdone reaction undercuts the attempt at intimidation.
1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1 · Reported authority and time
I’m authorized to offer
New practice inspired by this scene.
Scene connection: The limit of the lawyer’s authority
Keep the speaker’s intended meaning when choosing a form.
You say: Give a second example and explain how the meaning changes.
Speaking · 3 prompts
Speak before opening the support. Different answers are possible when you explain your reasons.
Does the corporation’s size strengthen the offer itself?
Support and one possible answer
One clue is …
It conveys negotiating power, but it does not show that the figure covers the loss.
Follow-up: Which detail makes your reading persuasive?
Respond to a final offer with one useful follow-up.
Support and one possible answer
I would say …
Who could authorise a proposal that includes medical costs?
Follow-up: How might the other person respond?
Would Ed’s sarcasm work in a meeting you chaired?
Support and one possible answer
In that situation, …
It exposes intimidation, but a direct question could produce a clearer next step.
Follow-up: Try again with a different tone.
Listen and repeat
Use these original expressions, then try the You say situation aloud before opening a possible reply.
What does that figure cover?
Clarify scope.
You say: A supplier quotes a single fee.
Possible reply
What does that figure cover? Does it include delivery?
Say the reply once slowly, then at conversational speed.
I can put that to my clients.
Promise consultation.
You say: You lack authority to accept an offer.
Possible reply
I can put that to my clients. I can’t commit them today.
Say the reply once slowly, then at conversational speed.
Who could authorise a change?
Find the decision-maker.
You say: A representative says they have reached their limit.
Possible reply
Who could authorise a change if we supply new information?
Say the reply once slowly, then at conversational speed.
Let’s separate those two points.
Distinguish related issues.
You say: A negotiator treats sympathy as an admission.
Possible reply
Let’s separate those two points. Acknowledging harm is one question; liability is another.
Say the reply once slowly, then at conversational speed.
1–2 minGrammar masteryC2 · What a limit does and does not deny
I doubt they’ll accept
New practice inspired by this scene.
Scene connection: The limit of the lawyer’s authority
Keep the speaker’s intended meaning when choosing a form.
You say: Explain the contrast in your own words.
Put it all together
The replacement offer
How can both parties describe the same offer accurately?
Role A
You represent a supplier offering to replace a broken machine only.
Role B
You represent a customer who also lost working time. Ask what is included.
Optional twist: The representative cannot increase the amount without approval.
- Clarify scope, state the limit and agree a next step.
One possible exchange
A: We can replace the machine at no cost.
B: What does that cover? The lost working day is a separate issue.
A: I can put that to my manager. I can’t authorise it myself.
Try again: Switch roles. Make the second exchange sound different while keeping the same aim.
Which wording had the strongest effect on your partner?
Tutor notes
- Accept different interpretations when learners can point to a line or a gesture in the excerpt.
- Ask learners to perform the final exchange again after changing one relationship or intention.