A new manager's first hard conversation is the real one

People get promoted for doing the work well, then handed conversations nobody trained them for. They read the framework, sit through the workshop, and have the conversation for the first time with a real person across the table. Ebbing is new manager training where the difficult conversation gets practiced first.

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A manager wearing earbuds rehearses a difficult conversation at his kitchen table in the evening

Why the workshop does not stick

Knowing the model is not the same as saying the words
Anyone can recite a feedback framework. Saying it to someone who gets defensive, goes quiet or pushes back is a different skill, and it only comes from doing it.
The hard ones are rare
A manager might give seriously difficult feedback a few times a year. That is not enough repetition to get good at anything.
Practice with a colleague is polite
Roleplay in a workshop is two people being kind to each other. Nobody plays the senior colleague who thinks the rules do not apply to him.

Built on how your managers lead

Your rubrics, your personas and your real calls, so the practice matches the job.

Score it on how your organization wants it done
Use shared playbooks for giving difficult feedback and delivering hard news, or write your own standard. The feedback names the moment and says what to try instead.
How it ended
Goal reached
Dana agreed to a second call with her director in the room.
How skillfully you ran it
68, solid
Strong discovery. The close came before she had said what a good outcome looks like.
0:00One good moment, two to work on8:30
Do this on the next rep
Before you propose a next step, ask what would have to be true for her to bring this to her director.
Build the situations your managers really face
Write the roleplay from a real situation, with names changed: what happened, what the person believes, what they will not say unless asked.
Written from a real situation, names changed
Walt Brennan
Senior engineer, eleven years on the team
Friendly until the subject comes up. Then he explains why the rule should not apply to him, and changes the topic.
Keeps to themselves unless asked well: he knows two junior colleagues have complained, and he is worried about how it looks.
Run a cohort and see who is improving
Assign a roleplay to a group of new managers with a date. Follow each person rep by rep and leave a comment on the exact moment in a conversation.
Assigned: Telling a team member their work is not meeting expectations2 of 4 done
- Priya N.Done, 70
- Marcus R.Due Friday
- Jasmine C.Done, 59
- David C.Not started

Conversations managers start with

A persona with a temperament: the team member who did not see it coming, the senior colleague who deflects, the newer hire who agrees with everything and changes nothing.

Telling a team member their work is not meeting expectationsJordan Ellis, medium
Confronting a senior colleague about how he treats junior staffWalt Brennan, hard
Asking a newer team member to fix a small but repeated missNina Patel, easy
These come ready to use. You can change them or build your own.

Questions people ask first

What do people need to use it?: A browser and a microphone. Headphones help. A camera is optional.
How long does a rep take?: About ten minutes for most roleplays, and the review is ready seconds after the call ends.
Can it follow our own method?: Yes. You write the rubric: the skills, what strong and weak look like, and how much each counts. Or start from a shared playbook and change it.
Is it only for sales?: No. The same thing works for managers giving hard feedback, client teams delivering bad news, and service teams with upset customers.
Does it replace coaching from a manager?: No. It gives people the reps so a manager's time goes to the conversations that need a person, with the scores and moments already in front of them.
Can we build a roleplay for a specific account or person?: Yes. Describe them in the editor, or draft them from the transcript of a real call. By default the persona gets an invented name.

What happens to your conversations

Your organization is walled off: People, conversations and library are kept apart from every other organization.
You decide how long things are kept: Set a number of days. Older conversations are removed for good. An admin can delete any single one.
Practice is private to the team: A learner sees their own conversations. Their managers and admins see the team's. Nobody else does.
Real calls are text only, and off by default: No recording is uploaded or stored for a real call, and an admin has to switch the feature on first.

Give your managers the reps before the real conversation

Tell us who you are and which conversations matter most. We will set up your first roleplays with you.

Request early access

Access is by invitation while we bring on our first teams.