Conversation Prep

Before the Hard Conversation

A 15-Minute Prep for Saying the Difficult Thing

This prep turns avoidance into prepared honesty in 15 minutes.

This is for:

For anyone about to say the thing they have been avoiding.

You'll produce:your Your Preparation Guide

The Name It First Experience

The hard conversation does not get easier the longer you wait — this prep gets you ready in 15 minutes. Before the Hard Conversation walks you through what you are actually trying to say, what outcome you want, and what you are afraid will happen if you say it — so you walk in prepared instead of braced. It is for anyone about to say the thing they have been sitting on, who needs to be ready in less time than they think. You finish with a clear, honest opening and the confidence to begin.

You can opt into 30-, 60-, and 90-day check-ins from your account. We recommend you do — the point is to see what changed.

Sample questions

  1. What are you trying to say — and what are you afraid will happen if you say it?
  2. What do you need the other person to understand that a shorter version of this conversation keeps missing?
  3. What is the best outcome you are hoping for — and what do you do if it does not happen?

Research basis

Grounded in Gottman (1999) on soft startup and conversation preparation / Stone, Patton & Heen (1999) Difficult Conversations from the Harvard Negotiation Project / emotional regulation research on pre-conversation preparation.

Choose your format.

Every format asks the same questions and produces the same document.

Print Paperbackpersonalize

A real book and a pen. Write in the margins. The most permanent version of you on a page.

Not available

eBook + journal

The full guide on any screen, with a companion journal to write your answers by hand.

Not available

Audiobook

We read every question and every scenario aloud. For the commute, the walk, the dishes.

Not available

Hardcoverpersonalize

The keepsake edition — sewn, ribboned, made to sit on a shelf and be returned to.

Not available

Digital Fill + membership+membership

Answer on screen. Your responses save as you go and assemble into your finished document.

$2.99

Hands-Free Interactive + membership+membership

Listen to each question and speak your answer. We capture it. You never touch a keyboard.

Not available

Everything packages

The Paperback Everything Package

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Not available

The Hardcover Everything Package

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The Premium Hardcover Everything Package

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Not available

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Choose your pace.

The Essential path takes you to your finished document by the questions that matter most. The Full-depth path walks every question, every scenario, every angle. Both produce the same signed document — one just goes deeper on the way there.

Essential path

Shorter sessions. The questions that go directly to the document.

Full depth

Every question. Every scenario, every angle.

Partner Pair

Built for two. You each work your own copy, on your own time — then you bring them together and compare, one answer at a time.

The comparison is the conversation.

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Volume pricing for organizations, classrooms, and institutions.

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