You know what you want. Now you must say it — in easy, polite English — and stop the hairdresser gently if the cut goes wrong.
You have a big week. Maybe a party, maybe a new job, maybe a first date. So today you go to a new hairdresser near your home. It is your first time here. Nobody knows your hair.
You know what you want: a small, tidy cut. Not too short. You want to keep the length. This is not easy to say! The picture is in your head, but you must put it into simple words.
The hairdresser is friendly and likes to talk. They are fast with the scissors. But sometimes they cut a little too much. When that happens, you must stop them — in a kind, polite way, before it is too late.
You want a small cut. You want to keep the length. You are polite, but you say "stop" nicely when the cut goes wrong.
Friendly and fast. They like to talk. They want you happy — but sometimes they cut too much. Tell them, kindly.
Here are the phrases for this conversation. Read each one and say it out loud once. Choose the ones you like. Keep this page open when you practise.
Draw a card. Say what you would say, out loud. Then look at one answer.
Try a few more rounds with the toolkit covered. When it feels easy, you are ready.
Read it out loud, one person each, then change. Find the phrases from your toolkit. Listen for the polite words.
1. At the start, what two things does the customer want?
2. The hairdresser starts to cut. What does the customer ask them to stop doing?
3. At the end, the customer looks in the mirror. What small problem do they see?
No script this time. You have a real talk with a real person. You have a goal.
Say each sentence out loud. Use your own words in the gaps.
Pick a situation. Your partner plays the other person.
🏆 Leave happy with your hair.
Start the scene. After a minute, draw a card. What it says just happened.
Now you are the other person. Your partner takes your old part.
Draw another twist if you like.
Tick what you did, in either seat.
Do it again. Draw a twist before you start. Try to do it faster this time.
Long ago in Japan, a samurai's hair was very important. He wore his hair in a special knot on the top of his head. It told everyone who he was — his job, his family, his place in the world.
Then the government said: cut the knot off. For the samurai, this was very hard. It was not just a new haircut. It felt like losing who they were. Some men cried.
So a haircut is never only a haircut. When you sit in the chair, you give a stranger your hair — and you hope they give you back the person in your head. That is why it feels big!