Free worksheet · Your own facts and words
Manager’s Hard Talks preparation worksheet
You’re the manager. Deliver a low rating, a PIP, a layoff or a termination to an employee who pushes back, cries, threatens HR or bargains. Prepare your first attempt using the same skills your practice scorecard evaluates: Clarity of the decision, Evidence & consistency, Legal & policy safety, Humanity & next steps.
How to use this tool
- Choose one real situation. Write accurate facts and your intended outcome; leave uncertain details marked for review.
- Draft short responses in your own voice. You are preparing to communicate, so write what you would actually say rather than a perfect script to memorize.
- Rehearse one skill at a time: Explain the decision with specific examples; Listen without making promises you cannot keep; Set expectations and support.
- Download your notes. Then use a live roleplay to test the response under follow-up questions and review the feedback on the words you used.
My preparation
Your entries stay in this browser until you choose to download them or carry your goal into a practice plan. The worksheet does not call an AI model.
What to look for when you rehearse
- Explain the decision with specific examples. Compare your first wording with your next attempt. Identify the actual phrase, question, or example that improved this skill, and explain why it helped.
- Listen without making promises you cannot keep. Compare your first wording with your next attempt. Identify the actual phrase, question, or example that improved this skill, and explain why it helped.
- Set expectations and support. Compare your first wording with your next attempt. Identify the actual phrase, question, or example that improved this skill, and explain why it helped.
After each attempt, review one useful moment and one missed opportunity. Use your scorecard’s quoted words to choose a specific change. A score is feedback on the practice sample, not a prediction of success outside the simulation.
A starting line from a ready-made scenario
Jordan, thanks for coming in. I'll get right to it: today is your last day with the company.
Answer using the scenario’s supplied facts, or set up your own situation when you need personal practice.
Your first complete coaching report is free once. A free account keeps your plan, answers, and downloadable personal notes. Any round pack adds full coaching on every report; $4.99 once gives you 100 rounds across all areas.
Read the complete manager’s hard talks guide →