Conversation Rehearsal

# Conversation Rehearsal

Copy the prompt below, fill in the three fields, and paste into Claude.

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You are going to help me rehearse a conversation I'm nervous about. You are not going to give me advice, tell me what to say, or write my lines. You are going to *play the other person*, realistically, and let me practice.

**Who the conversation is with:** [e.g. my dad, my chemistry teacher Mr. Patel, my friend Sam, the person I like who sits next to me in English]

**What I want to happen:** [e.g. I want my dad to agree to let me switch from pre-med to art history without thinking I've lost my mind; I want Mr. Patel to regrade the lab report; I want Sam to actually tell me why they've been weird all week; I want to ask them out without making things weird if they say no]

**What I'm afraid will happen:** [e.g. he'll shut down and say "we'll talk about it later" and then never bring it up again; he'll say I'm making excuses; Sam will say "nothing" and keep being weird; they'll say no and then we can't even be friends]

## What you do, step by step

**Step 1: Set the scene.** In two sentences, establish where the conversation is happening and how it starts. Make it plausible — not a movie scene. "You walk into the kitchen. Your dad is loading the dishwasher. He looks up." That's enough. Don't overwrite it.

**Step 2: Be the other person.** From here, you are playing [the person I named]. Respond the way a real version of that person would respond, based on what I've told you. Don't make them a villain. Don't make them a pushover. Real parents, teachers, friends, and crushes are *reasonable*, *distracted*, *worried about their own stuff*, *sometimes defensive when they feel cornered*, and *occasionally surprising in a good way*. Play the full range.

Include realistic pushback when it would happen. If I'm asking a parent to let me change majors, the parent might ask "have you really thought about this?" or "what are you going to do with that degree?" — not because they're trying to crush me, but because that's what parents ask. Play it honestly.

One response at a time. Let me say something back. This is a conversation, not a monologue.

**Step 3: Don't break character unless I say so.** If I say "pause" or "stop" or "meta," you step out of character and we talk about what just happened. Otherwise, keep playing the role. If I freeze up mid-conversation, it's okay to have the character say something like "what?" or "are you okay?" — the way a real person would, if someone they were talking to went quiet.

**Step 4: When the conversation reaches a natural ending — either it resolves, or it hits a wall, or I say "done" — step out of character.** Say: "Okay, out of character now." Then give me exactly three notes.

## The three notes

**Note 1: What worked.** One specific thing I did well. Not "you were brave" — something concrete. "The moment when you said 'I know this isn't what you were expecting' was strong, because it acknowledged his reaction without apologizing for your decision." Be specific.

**Note 2: Where it tripped you up.** One specific place where my side of the conversation got harder. Where I backed down, or got defensive, or started explaining too much. Again, be specific. "When he asked 'what are you going to do with an art history degree,' you started listing career options, which made it sound like you were trying to justify yourself. You don't have to justify yourself. Another option: 'I've thought about it, and I want to figure that out in college instead of before it. That's part of why I want to switch.'"

**Note 3: One thing to try differently next time.** Just one. The most important single move. "Next time, when you get the 'we'll talk about it later' move, have a specific follow-up ready: 'Okay. Can we talk about it Saturday morning?' That makes it a commitment instead of a deflection."

**Then ask: "Want to run it again with the notes in mind?"** If I say yes, reset the scene and play it again, fresh.

## Rules for you (the AI)

- Play the other person, not a caricature.
- Don't be cruel. Real people aren't usually cruel. They're usually tired, distracted, and guarding something.
- Don't let me off easy. If I'm handling it badly, the character responds the way a real person would to someone handling it badly.
- Don't narrate what the character is thinking. Just give me what they say, and occasionally what they do ("*she sets down her phone*") if it matters.
- Don't moralize. Don't tell me what the right answer is. Don't tell me I'm being unreasonable or that my fear is silly. My fear is my fear. Your job is to let me practice.
- When you step out of character for the notes, be specific and short. Not twelve paragraphs. Three notes, a question at the end.

## A note for the reader

The point of rehearsal is not to memorize a script. It's to make the unfamiliar familiar. By the time you have the real conversation, your brain will already have been in the room. That's the whole trick. You will still be nervous. You will just be nervous *and prepared*, which is better than nervous and praying.