THE DIRECT ANSWER

Pick one of the eight free scenarios that matches a situation your team really meets, invite a small group, and run a 30-minute session: ground rules, the scenario, a practice round in pairs, then questions about which fact changed a choice. Make it optional, fictional and unscored, and end with one process question to try in real work. Repeat with a different scenario when the group wants to.

Who should I invite, and how many people?

Invite a small group who do the same kind of work and meet the same kind of request, such as one team or the people on both sides of a handoff. The practice runs in pairs, so aim for an even number. For an odd number, the facilitator deck suggests one trio in which the third person listens and notes which fact changed the yes. The deck is written for about 6 to 24 people in pairs, in a room or on a video call, and says participants need no preparation. Two pairs are enough to compare what each pair did.

Make taking part optional. The team practice page says participation and personal disclosure should be optional, and the facilitator deck’s ground rules let anyone pass on a step or only listen. If the group includes a manager and the manager’s reports, say plainly that nothing in the session is used to judge or rank anyone.

How long should the session be?

Plan 30 minutes for a first short session. This 30-minute plan is this guide’s own. It is shorter than the 45-minute outline on the team practice page and than the 60-minute session in the facilitator deck, which also has a 45-minute version. Choose the length your group can keep, and end on time.

  • Minutes 0 to 4: say what this is. It is practice on a fictional case, nothing is scored, anyone can pass, and nothing is written down by name.
  • Minutes 4 to 9: everyone plays the same free scenario on their own screen, about 3 minutes each, and notes one fact that changed their answer.
  • Minutes 9 to 20: pairs practice with one private brief each, either Two Halves, which takes about 10 minutes and uses the Fixed Deadline case, or the pair pages of the facilitator deck, which use the eight-file handoff case. The pair materials cover only those two cases, whichever scenario you chose for minutes 4 to 9. The step-by-step method is in How to run a two-role work conversation practice.
  • Minutes 20 to 27: ask the three questions in the section on what to ask afterwards, and write the facts the group names on a board or in the chat, without names.
  • Minutes 27 to 30: agree one process question to try in real work, then stop on time.

Which free scenario fits which team situation?

The eight free branching scenarios take about 3 minutes each, and every scenario page has an About this practice fold with a For line that says who the scenario is for. Pick the one whose For line matches a situation your team really meets, and keep it a fictional case that does not point at a real dispute in the room. The list of all eight scenarios has them side by side. Here is each one, with its own For line:

  • A date has to be agreed before all the facts are in: the Fixed Deadline case, for “Anyone asked to say yes to a fixed date while half the facts are missing.”
  • New work arrives for hours that are already allocated: the Scope Swap case, for “Anyone asked to add work to a delivery whose hours are already allocated.”
  • Work passes from one person or team to another while some of it still needs a check: the eight-file handoff case, for “Anyone handing over files while some still need a check from someone else.”
  • A deadline is close and the free time comes in short windows: the one-page brief case, for “Anyone asked for a brief by a set time when two short windows are all there is.”
  • A shared document may carry the wrong credit: the Credit Repair case, for “Anyone who thinks the credit on a shared report is wrong and has not yet checked the record.” Choose this one only if it will not point at a live credit question in your team.
  • Someone on the team uses an AI assistant for research: the “It says it’s done” case, for “Anyone whose AI research assistant says the work is done with the deadline an hour away.”
  • A vendor’s chat agent has given a date: the vendor bot case, for “Anyone who hears a date from a vendor’s chat agent that the order record does not show.”
  • A client’s AI tool has tidied a brief: the AI-rewritten brief case, for “Anyone sent a brief an AI assistant tidied that adds work to the agreed hours.”

What do I hand out?

Hand out only what the session needs, and give each person only their own private brief. A scenario needs nothing on paper: it runs in the browser, and what each person chooses is not saved or sent anywhere.

  • The Two Halves print kit: print pages 3 and 4, one role page for each person in a pair. Pages 1, 2 and 5 are for the facilitator, and page 5 is the answer key, so keep it until the debrief. Or send each person only their own role link from the Two Halves page.
  • The two-question pocket cards: a draft with eight cut-out cards, one for each free case, each with the two questions to ask. Page 1 holds the cards and pages 2 and 3 hold the answers, so hand out the cards and keep the answers for the debrief.
  • The facilitator deck, if you plan a longer session: a draft for review whose guide has a blank run sheet, one Asker page and one Client page for each pair, and a handout for each person that nothing collects. Its pair pages use the eight-file handoff case.

What should I ask the group afterwards?

Ask about facts and moves, not about people. Write what the group names on a board or in the chat without names, and record counts, such as how many pairs needed to find out who could approve a change, never a score or a label for a named person. Three questions are enough for a short session, at about a minute each:

  • Which fact changed a choice today, and who held it?
  • Which question got you that fact?
  • Does the plan you ended with name an owner and a time, and who decides?

How do we repeat it?

Change the scenario and keep the format. Pick another of the eight free scenarios, keep the same 30 minutes and the same three questions, and start by asking whether anyone tried the process question from last time. Inside a session, the two-role guide suggests a chance to retry one sentence, which fits at the end of the pairs round.

Repeat when the group wants to: this guide sets no schedule. The team practice page says no organizational improvement is established until the team actually observes the change in use, so treat each session as practice and let the group choose what to try next.

Where can I find the materials?

Everything below is on this site. Read the two-role guide yourself before the session: it shows both private briefs and the solution, so do not give it to participants first.

AUTHORED FICTIONAL EXAMPLE

A conversation you can rehearse

Authored fictional example, the eight-file handoff case. A team lead wants the team to practice handoffs together and picks the eight-file handoff scenario, whose About this practice fold says it is for “Anyone handing over files while some still need a check from someone else.” Six people work in pairs, and the team has 30 minutes.

A first reaction

“Team meeting on Thursday: communication workshop, everyone attends. I will note how people handle the exercises.”

A more specific response

“I would like us to try a 30-minute practice on a fictional handoff. We will play the eight-file handoff scenario, which is for ‘Anyone handing over files while some still need a check from someone else.’ You play it on your own screen, we practice in pairs, and then we talk about which fact changed a choice. It is fictional and optional, you can pass on any step, nothing is scored, and I will not write down what anyone says by name. Tell me by Wednesday if you would like to join. I will send only the scenario link beforehand, and hand out each person’s page in the room.”

The first reaction makes it compulsory, ties it to no situation, and says someone is watching and noting. The second names the situation in the scenario’s own words, says how long it takes and what happens, makes it optional, and says nothing is scored or written down by name. It stays practice on a fictional case, and it claims no result.

Before you act

  • Pick one free scenario whose For line matches a situation your team meets.
  • Invite a small group who do similar work, make it optional, and say nothing is scored.
  • Read the two-role guide yourself first, because it shows both private briefs.
  • Print only what you need, and give each person only their own page.
  • Ask about facts: which fact changed a choice, and who decides.
  • End on time with one process question to try, and write down counts, not names.

Common questions

Do I need to be an expert to run it?

The facilitator deck says participants need no preparation and no experience with AI tools. For the person running it, play one scenario first, since it takes about 3 minutes, and read the two-role guide, which shows both private briefs. The facilitator deck page gives Say, Do and Watch for lines for each slide of a longer session.

What if the group works remotely?

Run it on a video call. The facilitator deck suggests breakout rooms of two for the pairs round and sending each person only their own page as a separate file. The Two Halves page has a separate link for each role that you send to each person; it does not connect devices or send messages. Each scenario runs in the person’s own browser, and what they choose is not saved or sent.

What if someone does not want to take part?

Let them pass or only listen. The deck’s ground rules let anyone pass on any step, and the team practice page says a participant can pass or discuss the fictional record only. The deck also advises not to press a quiet pair to speak.

Can we use a real disagreement from our team?

Keep to the fictional cases. The facilitator deck says not to swap in a real colleague, client or incident, and the team practice page says to stop if the discussion turns into speculation about a real person’s motives. After the session, take one question into a real, low-stakes conversation, which is how the practice page frames the next step.

What this does not claim: the cases and the example are fictional and authored, and no measured outcome is claimed, including that a group practice changes how a team talks at work. It is not a certification, an assessment of anyone or a booked workshop, and the 30-minute plan is this guide’s own, not a tested format.

Source basis: an original scenario-based practice framework. The example is fictional, and no external research finding or measured effectiveness is claimed. Read the editorial method.