IT and digital products
English for product managers
Your job is to align people who disagree. In English, that means saying no to a stakeholder, asking engineers the right question and keeping a discovery call open.
Your working week
The conversations you have, in English.
- 01
Scope negotiation
What makes it hard: Protect the sprint without blocking the request: offer a trade-off.
- 02
Clarifying architecture
What makes it hard: Ask engineers about risks and costs without pretending to know the details.
- 03
Roadmap pushback
What makes it hard: Explain why a feature waits, with the reason and the next date.
- 04
Customer discovery call
What makes it hard: Ask open questions and follow up, instead of pitching the solution.
Sounds familiar?
You know English. These moments still catch you out.
“In Ukrainian I negotiate well. In English I give in faster, because I can’t find the soft words.”
“On discovery calls I talk too much and the customer stops sharing.”
“Saying no to a VP in English feels rude, so I say maybe.”
Tasks in English
What your role asks you to do in English
- Negotiate sprint scope with stakeholders
- Run discovery interviews with customers
- Explain roadmap decisions to leadership
- Pass product sense interviews
How you practise
From the situation to your own answer
The situation and the technique
What the moment needs, in a few steps, with phrases that work.
Four practice formats
Cards, read and write, listen and write, respond in English.
Your answer, reviewed
The AI coach reviews your written answer and shows a better version.
Progress you keep
Today’s practice and your saved progress, on phone or laptop.
Professional phrase packs for this role are in the app, in the Pro plan. Meetings and discussions are open on every plan.
Articles and terms for this role
- How to say it
How to disagree politely in business meetings
Challenge an idea diplomatically while maintaining strong working relations.
- Terms
1-on-1 (one-on-one)
A regular dedicated meeting between a manager and a direct report to discuss growth, blockers, and feedback.
- Terms
acceptance-criteria
The explicit set of predefined requirements and conditions that a feature must satisfy to be accepted by the product owner.
- Terms
action item
A discrete task or commitment assigned to a specific person during a meeting.
- Terms
action-owner
The single designated individual responsible for executing and reporting back on an agreed action item.
- Terms
agenda
A structured list of topics and discussion points planned to be covered during a meeting.
Other roles in IT and digital products
Product manager
Practise the moments of your role
Professional phrase packs for this role are in the app, in the Pro plan. Meetings and discussions are open on every plan.