Role-play activity
- 2 min reading
- 7 min activity
Time to put everything together. In this role-play you use all five steps in one real conversation at work. Mistakes are allowed here: that is what practice is for. Try, read the coach notes, and try again.
- Apply the five steps in a simulated workplace conversation.
- Stay calm, give facts, say what you want and agree on next steps.
- Reflect on your role-play and plan what you would say in real life.
Before you start
Calm down first. Choose the right moment and place.
Facts, not accusations. And one sentence about what you want.
Listen to the other side's ideas, suggest your own, and agree on one.
Say what you will do next and when you will check back.
Role-play: whose work is it?
Hevi, 23, from Syria, is an intern in a logistics office in Istanbul. In two weeks she built a spreadsheet that tracks all deliveries. In Monday's team meeting, Emre, a permanent colleague, presented it as his work. Nobody mentioned Hevi. She grew up learning never to contradict an older person in public. Now she has asked her team leader, Ms Aydın, for a short talk.
Hevi talks to her team leader
Ms Aydın has ten minutes. Choose what Hevi says. Use the five steps.
After the role-play
Take three minutes to look back, with the reflection questions from the last lesson. Your answers are saved in your account. Other learners cannot see them.
My role-play reflection
Answer in a few words. No names, please.
Practise in a group of three: one person has the problem, one plays the other side, one observes. The observer checks: Did they define the problem clearly? Ask questions? Suggest options? Agree on a next step? Then give feedback: one thing that worked and one thing to try. You can stop and start a scene again at any time. Switch roles and use the cards below.
In your internship you only make copies and coffee. You want to learn the real work. Talk to your mentor.
Your landlord keeps your deposit and says the room was dirty. You have photos from the day you left. Talk to the landlord.
Your teacher gave the whole group a low grade, but two members did almost nothing. Talk to the teacher.
In short
- The five steps also work inside one conversation: calm, facts, wishes, options, next steps.
- You can respect your own values and still learn the local way of raising a problem.
- Practising a hard conversation before it happens makes the real one easier.