Point at evidence, not time served, and ask for the conversation directly instead of hoping it comes up.
Entitled is “I've been here two years, I deserve this.” Not entitled is “here's the scope I've already been carrying, here's the evidence, and I want to talk about making the title match the work.” The difference isn't tone, it's whether you're pointing at time served or at actual output. Time served sounds entitled because it is, it's asking to be rewarded for showing up, not for doing something.
Before you bring it up, write down the specific things, not the general sense that you've been doing more. Dates, projects, outcomes. “I ran the Q3 migration with no help” lands. “I've really stepped up this year” doesn't, because your manager has to do the work of figuring out what you mean, and most won't bother.
Ask for the conversation directly instead of hoping it comes up: “I want to talk about what it would take for me to get to [title]. Can we grab 30 minutes?” That's it, you don't need to build the case in the request, just name what you want to discuss.
In the actual conversation, ask more than you assert. “Here's what I think I've been doing at the next level, what's your read on that?” invites your manager to agree with you instead of feeling like they're being sold to. If they push back, don't argue the point in the room, ask what's specifically missing and come back with it.
The one thing that will actually make you sound entitled: comparing yourself to a specific coworker. Keep it about your own scope and your own evidence. The moment you say “but so-and-so got promoted and does less,” you've turned a case for yourself into a complaint about someone else, and it stops being about you.
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