Most employees never negotiate a raise, not because they do not deserve one, but because they do not know what to say.

A good raise conversation has a simple structure: your contributions, the market rate for your role, a specific request, and a pause for the answer.

Research salary data for your role, location and experience before the meeting, and bring three concrete results, such as revenue saved, projects delivered, or customers retained.

Practise the script out loud twice, schedule the meeting for a calm week rather than a crisis week, and never threaten to quit unless you genuinely have another offer.