Rehearse the conversation you’ve been putting off.
The raise, the pitch, the hard talk.

Why rehearse with a face

The hardest part of a difficult conversation is usually the first sentence, and the moment right after it, when the other person reacts. People run these conversations in their heads for weeks, where the other side always says what we expect. Then the real one starts and the words go.

Saying it out loud to someone is different from thinking it, even when that someone is ChatGPT. Facelet puts a lifelike face on the conversation: a person on your Mac who looks at you while you speak and answers in a human voice, in character, with the pushback you asked for. It is enough to make your heart beat a little faster, which is exactly the point. By the third run, the first sentence is easy.

Conversations worth rehearsing

• Asking for a raise or a promotion. Practice the number, the evidence, and the answer to “the budget is tight this year.”
• A pitch. Two minutes to a skeptical investor, then the questions about market size, competition and why you.
• A sales call. A prospect who says it is too expensive, they are happy with what they have, and they need to check with their boss.
• Feedback to someone on your team. Clear, kind, and specific, with the other person getting defensive.
• A hard personal conversation. Telling a friend you cannot be in the wedding. Raising assisted living with a parent. Saying no to family.
• Questions after a talk. Give the talk to the face, then take hard questions from the audience it plays.

A rehearsal, start to finish

1. Describe the person and the situation. Two or three sentences: who they are, what they want, how they tend to react. Leave out details you would not share with ChatGPT.
2. Ask for realism, not kindness. Tell it not to agree too quickly.
3. Run it once, straight through. Do not stop to fix things. Get to the end.
4. Ask what they would have heard. What sounded defensive, vague, or unfair from their side.
5. Run it again with the hardest pushback. The objection you fear most, early.
6. Swap roles. Let it say your words while you answer as the other person. Hearing your own sentences from the other side is where most people find the fix.

Things to say

• “I’m asking my manager for a twelve percent raise. Play my manager: supportive, but under budget pressure. Don’t agree too quickly.”
• “You’re a seed investor who has heard a hundred pitches this month. I’ll pitch for two minutes, then grill me on the market size.”
• “Play a customer who says we’re too expensive and they’re happy with their current tool.”
• “Swap roles. You say what I just said, and I’ll answer as my manager.”
• “What did I say that would make someone defensive?”
• “Give me a better first sentence. Just one.”

How to set it up

• Stand up for pitches and talks. Put Facelet full screen on the biggest display you have and step back, the way you would stand in the room.
• Always listening. Real conversations have interruptions. Let it cut in, and cut in yourself.
• Pick a character that fits the part. Any of the ten can play any role, but it helps when the face feels right to you.

What it won’t do

• It cannot predict the real person. It plays a realistic version of the role you describe, and real people surprise you.
• It is not a therapist, a mediator, or a lawyer. For conflicts with legal or safety stakes, talk to a professional.
• It does not see your slides or your face. Facelet is voice only and never uses your camera.