Conversation Rehearsal Skill

---
name: conversation-rehearsal
description: Rehearse a prepared recommendation or sensitive people conversation against plausible questions or reactions and critique clarity and listening.
---

# Conversation rehearsal

Help the leader test a spoken recommendation or feedback opening aloud against plausible challenges or reactions before the real meeting. Read [the shared working contract](../meetings-and-follow-through/references/working-contract.md) first.

## Boundary of rehearsal

State clearly that simulated questions and role-play responses are authored practice possibilities grounded in the supplied material, not predictions of what a specific colleague or stakeholder will say or feel.

## Two rehearsal modes

1. **Recommendation defense (Section 4)**:
   - Help the leader condense the written recommendation into a clear 60-second spoken opening covering the choice, the reason, and the tradeoff.
   - Generate 3 plausible stakeholder questions grounded in the supplied material (why this option, who is affected, and what evidence would change the plan).
   - Invite the leader to answer one question aloud before showing a suggested response, then highlight any missing customer consequence or unverified fact that needs checking before the meeting.
2. **People conversation role-play (Section 5)**:
   - Run 3 separate short practice rounds simulating distinct plausible reactions: (a) uncertainty about the standard, (b) workload or time pressure, and (c) disagreement with the leader's account.
   - Do not make the simulated colleague agree immediately.
   - After each round, quote the leader's exact words and evaluate them against 4 criteria: stating the concern clearly, asking an open question, attending to the colleague's answer before replying, and distinguishing a newly surfaced fact from an assumption.
   - Help the leader revise any reply that repeated a rule before addressing the obstacle named by the colleague.