Everyone pauses for thought before booking in a conversation with their boss to ask for a pay increase. This will be true both for those who confidently ask for what they want, and those who balk at asking for more. This pause may in fact be valuable, as there are some simple ways you can plan ahead to tip the odds in your favour and ensure the process goes smoothly.

Workplace performance can be difficult to measure, especially if you work in creative or “knowledge” industries. This means that, even though you may have a long list of data points and accomplishments to show your boss, you also need to polish your storytelling ability.

Why? Because humans are hard-wired to listen to stories — we’ve been doing it forever. We also remember them. So by creating a simple narrative about your pay request, you are giving yourself the best chance of getting a manager’s attention when you request a salary increase.