Hibiscus Teach · Movies
Learn English with There Will Be Blood
Would You Trust This Sales Pitch?
Distinguish appealing promises from specific commitments, and ask precise negotiating questions.
Created by Denis M., British English teacher.
Practise B2+/C1 English with two scenes from There Will Be Blood. Work on persuasion and negotiation through vocabulary, listening checks and guided speaking.
Before you start: A presenter promises that a new project will benefit everyone. What would you ask before agreeing?
Content note: Manipulative persuasion and references to religion and business power. The selected conversations should exclude the film’s violent confrontations.
The vocabulary helps you understand or discuss the scene; not every target expression is necessarily spoken in the clip. All practice examples, phrases and models are original teaching material, not film dialogue.
The oilman's opening pitch
Daniel introduces his oil business to prospective landowners. He stresses experience, direct supervision, family and readiness to begin.
Watch for: What makes his account sound credible, and which claims would you still ask him to make specific?
Check your understanding · 6 questions
Choose one answer for each question, then check the feedback.
Answer key and explanations
- A. A family-oriented businessman.
He links business with family.
Feedback for each choice
A. He links business with family.
B. His family and community language goes beyond a technical presentation.
C. He presents himself as an incoming businessman, not an established local defender.
- B. A school.
Education is a central promise.
Feedback for each choice
A. A plausible opportunity is not the specific promise made here.
B. Education is a central promise.
C. Listen for the educational promise rather than another possible community benefit.
- C. To connect the project with local priorities.
He makes the proposal locally appealing.
Feedback for each choice
A. An appealing pitch does not establish acceptance.
B. Community promises do not mean there are no commercial costs or conditions.
C. He makes the proposal locally appealing.
- B. Promised benefits from confirmed outcomes.
An offer is not proof of delivery.
Feedback for each choice
A. That can matter, but the central promises still need verification as future outcomes.
B. An offer is not proof of delivery.
C. The public pitch does not settle that kind of payment arrangement.
- A. His business stands to benefit if the community accepts.
He is promoting his own commercial project.
Feedback for each choice
A. He is promoting his own commercial project.
B. His role as the businessman gives him a stake in acceptance.
C. He is actively presenting the proposal, not prohibited from discussing it.
- C. Who will build it, and when will it open?
Responsibility and timing would turn the promise into a checkable commitment.
Feedback for each choice
A. Presentation colour would not establish whether the school will be delivered.
B. Agreement about the idea does not specify delivery.
C. Responsibility and timing would turn the promise into a checkable commitment.
1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1 · Have with objects and ongoing complements
“I have two others drilling and I have 16 producing”
Clip 1, quotation excerpt
Here the wells are the objects of have and the understood subjects of drilling or producing. The -ing complements describe their ongoing status; they do not make have a perfect-tense auxiliary.
Useful English
Original practice, not film quotations.
What exactly are you committing to?
Turn a broad promise into a specific discussion.
What exactly are you committing to: training, equipment or both?
How would that work in practice?
Ask for practical detail without dismissing an idea.
How would that work in practice? Who would organise the sessions?
Keep talking · 3 questions
Alone, say your answer aloud before opening support. With a tutor, discuss your answer and give a reason or example.
What makes a pitch credible? Choose two features and explain how you would check them.
Support and one possible response
Separate presentation style from evidence of delivery.
A clear plan and relevant experience would help me trust a pitch, but I would still check them. I would ask who is responsible for each stage and request an example of a similar project that actually reached completion.
Check yourself: Name two features and a way to verify each.
A company promises to improve a community space. Ask three questions that would make the offer more specific.
Support and one possible response
Ask about responsibility, timing and resources.
Who will manage the work, when would it begin, and what resources are already available? I would also want to know how changes would be communicated. An attractive promise becomes more useful when people can see who will do what.
Check yourself: Ask for concrete details, not a yes/no endorsement.
Role-play: pitch a new study space to a club. Your partner supports the idea but asks for precise commitments.
Support and one possible response
Pitch one benefit; answer two questions; admit what remains uncertain.
The study space would give members a quiet place to work. We can provide the room on two afternoons a week, but we have not yet arranged equipment. I can confirm the room booking by Friday and ask for volunteers to manage it.
Check yourself: Make one clear promise and identify one unresolved detail.
The negotiation behind the offer
Daniel discusses a land deal with the Sunday family.
Watch for: Which participant questions the value and conditions of the offer?
Check your understanding · 6 questions
Choose one answer for each question, then check the feedback.
Answer key and explanations
- A. The oil beneath the land.
The resource gives the deal its value.
Feedback for each choice
A. The resource gives the deal its value.
B. Distinguish the land’s current use from the resource driving Daniel’s interest.
C. The negotiation concerns a resource, not a residential rental.
- B. Eli.
Eli challenges the terms.
Feedback for each choice
A. The challenge comes from a member of the family, not Daniel’s side.
B. Eli challenges the terms.
C. Follow who presses the valuation and conditions, not simply who owns the land.
- C. His church.
He ties the negotiation to the church.
Feedback for each choice
A. That would be an operational expense, not the institution Eli wants supported.
B. The public pitch discusses education; this negotiation has a different requested beneficiary.
C. He ties the negotiation to the church.
- C. He stresses the costs and uncertainty of extraction.
He uses risk and cost in bargaining.
Feedback for each choice
A. Mentioning costs is not the same as requiring that advance payment.
B. His response makes costs and uncertainty relevant rather than ignoring them.
C. He uses risk and cost in bargaining.
- B. He links payment to finding a productive well.
He ties the contribution to a well that produces.
Feedback for each choice
A. The drilling result is part of the condition he describes.
B. He ties the contribution to a well that produces.
C. He negotiates a conditional contribution rather than refusing every possibility.
- A. What must happen before the church receives the money?
This tests the condition attached to Daniel’s offer.
Feedback for each choice
A. This tests the condition attached to Daniel’s offer.
B. The discussion is about a future, conditional payment.
C. The drilling conditions affect when payment would become due.
1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1 · Reporting an interrogative it-cleft
“What is it that brought you here, sir?”
Clip 2, quotation excerpt
The it-cleft puts focus on the cause of the visit. In a later report, what it was keeps embedded order; had brought places the arrival before the past enquiry.
Useful English
Original practice, not film quotations.
We could agree, provided that…
Make agreement depend on a clear condition.
We could agree, provided that the timetable is confirmed in writing.
Can we put that in writing?
Ask for a record of an agreement.
Can we put that in writing so that everyone has the same understanding?
Keep talking · 3 questions
Alone, say your answer aloud before opening support. With a tutor, discuss your answer and give a reason or example.
Can a negotiation be friendly and still need written conditions? Explain with a fictional example.
Support and one possible response
Use “Trust helps, but…”.
Trust helps, but people can remember the same conversation differently. Two clubs sharing a room should record the dates, equipment rules and cancellation arrangements. The written conditions can protect the relationship by reducing avoidable misunderstandings.
Check yourself: Explain a practical reason for clear conditions.
A venue offers your group a lower price in exchange for flexible dates. What would you clarify before accepting?
Support and one possible response
Ask about notice, limits and what happens if dates change.
I would ask how much notice we would receive and how often the dates could change. I would also check whether we could decline an unsuitable date. A lower price may be useful, but the group still needs a workable schedule.
Check yourself: Recognise the benefit and test its conditions.
Negotiate a fictional room-sharing agreement. One side needs reliable access; the other needs flexibility. Agree one concession and one firm condition. Repeat in the final retry.
Support and one possible response
State priorities → offer a concession → confirm the agreement.
We could accept a different room occasionally, provided that we receive notice two days beforehand. In return, we can finish ten minutes earlier. We still need a room large enough for the whole group. Can we put that in writing?
Check yourself: Give and receive something; distinguish a concession from a firm condition.
Listen and repeat
American-English practice. The historical setting and performed delivery are not a model for all contemporary business conversations.
Study on your own
Watch once for the situation, replay for detail and complete each quiz before opening feedback. Choose one speaking prompt per clip and answer aloud. Use the optional models after your own attempt.
Tutor guide · 60 minutes
This is language and critical reading of persuasion, not advice on contracts, land law or investing. Treat the religious references descriptively. Ask students to test commitments rather than declare every persuasive speaker dishonest.
- 0–4 minutes: Opening and goal
Use the warm-up. Keep the goal visible; no plot lecture.
- 4–9 minutes: Clip A vocabulary and audio
Preview four terms. Play selected vocabulary cues; students make one quick original example.
- 9–14 minutes: Clip A viewing
Watch the configured 157-second scene once. The five-minute stage leaves 143 seconds for a targeted replay and brief discussion.
- 14–20 minutes: Clip A quiz
Complete six questions. Discuss the most useful distinction in the feedback rather than reading every option aloud.
- 20–28 minutes: Clip A phrases and speaking
Listen to the two phrases. Use A1 and A2 briefly, then give most time to A3.
- 28–33 minutes: Clip B vocabulary and audio
Preview the next four terms and connect them to the shared lesson goal.
- 33–38 minutes: Clip B viewing
Watch the configured 206-second scene once. The five-minute stage leaves 94 seconds for a targeted replay and brief discussion.
- 38–44 minutes: Clip B quiz
Answer six questions about the scene and check one key misunderstanding. The two application questions are original teaching material, not quotations.
- 44–55 minutes: Clip B phrases and speaking
Practise two phrases. Discuss B1 and B2, then use B3 as the main interaction.
- 55–60 minutes: Retry and feedback
Repeat B3 with less visible support. Give one specific success and one useful correction. No extra task or quiz.
About this lesson
Do I need to watch the whole film first?
No. Each clip has a short introduction. The activities focus on the selected conversations, although the scenes may reveal important plot developments.
Who is this lesson for?
It is designed for B2+/C1 learners and a 60-minute tutor lesson, with a shorter self-study option. Read the content note before viewing; this collection is not automatically suitable for ages 13+.
1–2 minGrammar masteryC1 · Nested questions and hedging
“What would you say would be a fair price for this lot?”
Clip 2, quotation excerpt
The second would be belongs to an embedded proposition; would you say invites an opinion and softens the enquiry.