How a Professional Role Player can help you become an Excellent Communicator.

Remember the last time you moved house? You likely invested a lot of time in planning before the big day. You had to organize packing, wrap up matters from your old home, and set up your new place. Moving requires detailed planning.

The same level of preparation is crucial when having a critical conversation with someone. Surprisingly, very few people take the time or effort to prepare before diving into these important discussions.

Take it from someone who has coached many in difficult conversations: do not just “wing it”!

Don’t convince yourself that you can handle sensitive topics without preparation. For instance, thinking, “I’m a pretty good communicator; I can just tell this person their contract won’t be renewed,” or “I can navigate this conversation with my director about her lack of vision.” And telling a colleague, “You really struggle with meeting deadlines,” definitely won't go over well.

When conversations don’t go as planned, we often reflect on things we should have said. But what if you took the time to consider those points in advance?

Yes, prepare! Practice! Role-play!

At InterACT, we believe that role-playing with a professional actor now will save you from regretting missed opportunities later.

The most important conversations require respect—for one's own wishes and for the feelings of others. Preparing with a professional demonstrates this respect.

Here’s how you can use role-play with an actor to navigate even the toughest conversations:

- The actor can challenge you to keep the conversation focused.
- The actor can provide different responses to your main points.
- You can explore your reactions to various scenarios.
- You can practice responding effectively if you're caught off guard by unexpected information or a surprising reply.
- You can rehearse until you feel confident and prepared.

If you want to have a constructive conversation, one of the best ways to prepare is to role-play and work through different scenarios. This approach helps you develop well-structured, strategic responses and can prevent you from saying or doing something that leads you into an uncomfortable situation.

Of course, life happens. In reality, you may still miss some cues and feel you could have performed better.

But it will never feel like your first conversation.

Practice makes you 60% better!

Be honest: when you have a challenging conversation ahead, how much time do you spend practising it? I mean really practising—sitting down, speaking out loud, positioning your hands as you want them, and using the appropriate tone of voice—as opposed to just thinking about how to approach it. I spent nearly ten years in sales, and I used to rehearse my negotiation skills in my car. While I was mentally preparing, I realized that wasn’t real practice. You truly need to say it out loud and act it out. Take it from someone who has spent a lot of time rehearsing like an actor. There are two forms of long-term memory to consider: 1. **Explicit Memory**: This type stores facts, events, people, places, and objects. 2. **Implicit Memory**: This retains perceptual and motor skills, such as riding a bike or typing on a keyboard. To recall explicit memories—like the script of your message—you need to consciously focus on the process of retrieval, which can be challenging. In contrast, implicit m...

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