Practice guides
Step-by-step guides for the conversations that matter — interviews, salary talks, speeches, feedback, apologies — each with a scenario you can rehearse out loud with an AI partner.
- Behavioural Interview Practice: What to Say Out LoudMockBase’s senior behavioural interview practice plan helps you rehearse answers that show decision ownership, trade-offs, risk, stakeholder resistance and measurable results. Use a focused 15-minute drill: spend three minutes choosing role-relevant competencies, three selecting examples, three answering aloud, three scoring evidence and delivery separately, then three repairing one weakness. Open with a direct script: “The decision I owned was . The main risk was . I considered and . I chose because .” Keep STAR as a memory frame, not a speech, and replace vague team claims with your…
- What to Say When You Are Made Redundant: A Voice Practice GuideAcas guidance starts with one priority after redundancy news: identify whether your role is at risk, a final decision has been made or the meeting concerns notice. Use a clear opening script, then ask for the business reason, selection pool, criteria, consultation timetable and written payment terms. A 15-minute preparation plan reduces the chance of premature agreement, with five cues to remember: stage, reason, criteria, money and next step. The guide also explains the 20-or-more proposed redundancies within 90 days threshold for collective consultation, plus wording for alternative roles…
- How to Pitch to Angel Investors: A Spoken ScriptAngel investors should hear a clear customer problem, credible evidence, a funding ask and the milestone that money will buy. Keep the opening under 60 seconds, then expand to a two-minute case only when the conversation earns it. Use this structure: “I’m building product for specific customer who faces pain. We have evidence, and we’re raising amount to reach milestone.” Add the business model, narrow first market, two risks and a specific next step. Paid traction leads the proof; a working product, signed pilot or relevant intellectual property follows when revenue is unavailable. State…
- How to Pitch to Venture Capitalists: A Spoken Practice GuideA Series A pitch should win the next diligence step, not force an investment decision in one meeting. Use a recovery-first method: answer the interruption directly, anchor it in evidence, then return to the next proof point. In the final 15 minutes, prepare your customer, urgent problem, proof, three round-defining facts, investor-specific reason and funding-linked milestone. Open with a 30-second statement, expand it into 90 seconds, and keep a three-minute version ready for deeper discussion. Rehearse 25 times, focusing on retention, gross margin, runway, customer concentration, valuation…
- How to Pitch an Idea to Senior Leadership: ScriptSenior leadership responds better to a bounded decision than an oversized pitch. Use a four-part structure: define the problem, compare options, recommend one, and ask for a specific action. In 15 minutes, prepare a one-page proposal with the owner, evidence, risk, success measure, and next decision point. Open within 30 seconds with a script that names the business problem, your recommendation, and the permission, funding, pilot, feedback, or introduction you need. Expect objections about cost, failure, timing, capacity, ownership, and evidence; classify each response as a decision…
- How to Have a Difficult Conversation With a Co-FounderA difficult conversation with a co-founder should produce an operating change, not agreement about the past. Prepare in 15 minutes by separating observable facts from interpretations, naming the business impact, and choosing one behaviour, decision or responsibility to change. Open with: “I want to discuss one issue affecting how we work together. I am not here to attack you. I want us to agree what changes next.” Use one dated example, ask for their account, then settle one change, one owner, one deadline and one follow-up point. The guide provides scripts for missed deadlines, unequal…
- How to Disagree With a Performance Review: Exact ScriptA disputed performance review should produce an accurate record, clear success criteria and one dated next step, not an argument over whether the manager is wrong. Use a three-part script: “I see two places where the evidence and the written review do not match. On date, deliverable produced result. If the B rating cannot change, please correct the factual point, attach my written response and agree the success criteria and check-in date.” Prepare only the strongest evidence, such as dated deliverables, scope changes and documented updates. Keep each disputed point to 60 seconds or less…
- How to take criticism at work: what to say and rehearseCriticism at work becomes easier to handle when you separate observable behaviour from personal labels and slow your first response. Start with, “I want to understand the specific behaviour you mean before I respond,” then paraphrase the point and ask for one example. Accept valid impact without admitting disputed facts, and convert vague claims such as “not strategic” into a situation, behaviour and expected standard. Use a simple decision rule: ask for evidence, correct the record, or set a boundary when the criticism is unsafe or personal. Rehearse three passes aloud: cooperative…
- How to Tell an Employee They Are Being Made RedundantAcas sets the clearest structure for telling an employee their role is redundant: state the business reason, identify whether the role is at risk or selected, and separate redundancy from performance or conduct. Use a direct opening, then explain the next confirmed step and pause for the employee’s response. A 15-minute preparation routine checks the approved facts, writes three key lines, and rehearses the hand-off to Human Resources. The practical rule is simple: never guess about pay, dates, vacancies or appeal rights. Say, “I do not have that answer yet. I will check with Human Resources…
- How to Disagree With Your Boss: Exact Words and RehearsalAmy Gallo’s Harvard Business Review guidance starts with a permission-based, factual line: “I want to raise a concern about decision. I may be missing context, so could I explain what I’m seeing and suggest an alternative?” Prepare in 15 minutes by defining the decision, writing one evidence-backed claim, choosing one alternative and naming the shared priority at stake. Use the sequence “fact, impact, alternative, question” to keep the discussion focused. Match the move to the risk: ask about preferences, challenge deadlines or quality concerns, test strategic options, and escalate safety…
- How to Give Difficult Feedback to an Employee: ScriptGallup recommends concise, future-focused feedback that gives the employee room to explain, while the manager keeps one observable behaviour and one clear expectation in view. Use this script: “I observed behaviour in specific situation, and the impact was work consequence. How did you experience that?” Listen without arguing, then state the next standard: “In the next task or meeting, please specific action. What support do you need?” Aim for the employee to speak about 70% of the time and the manager 30%. If the issue involves a missed deadline, blocked dependency or serious conduct…
- How to Tell Your Boss You Are Resigning: Script and RehearsalResigning from a job starts with a clear decision, not a request for permission. Use the first minute to say, “I’ve decided to resign from my role. My proposed last working day is date, subject to my notice period.” Prepare in 15 minutes by checking your contract, choosing one brief reason, mapping projects and setting boundaries around pay, your next employer and counteroffers. Two weeks is a common benchmark, but your contract and local rules decide the notice period. When your boss pushes back, acknowledge the reaction, repeat that your decision is final and return to the date or…
- How to Ask Your Boss to Work From Home: Exact Words to SayYour boss is more likely to approve a remote-work request when you present a defined trial, not a vague preference. In the first 30 seconds, propose specific days, normal working hours, measurable deliverables and a review date: “Could we test working from home on Tuesdays for four weeks, with a review on 15 May? I’ll stay available during normal hours and measure the arrangement through deliverables, response time, customer coverage and team feedback.” Spend 15 minutes checking policy, approval routes, equipment, security and backup plans before the conversation. Prepare a primary schedule…
- How to Ask for a Promotion: Scripts and RehearsalPromotion conversations work best when you leave with a decision, a named gap list, or a dated route to approval. Use a 15-minute preparation sprint to define the target role, select three evidence points, and write questions about missing criteria and timing. In the meeting, state the role you want, connect your current scope to measurable results, and ask who makes the final decision. If your manager says “not yet,” request the specific gap, evidence required, and a three-to-six-month review window. If extra work replaces a promotion decision, ask who will assess it and when. Rehearse the…
- First Job Interview Tips: What to Say and RehearseFirst job interviews test how clearly you turn limited experience into evidence of learning, action and improvement. Use a 60–90-second opening that connects one role requirement to a project, course, club, caring responsibility or volunteer example. Prepare in 15 minutes: choose three requirements, build one STAR answer, rehearse four short responses, then reduce your notes to keywords. Keep the Action section focused on what you personally decided and did, and state the result without inventing figures. When you lack paid experience, name a similar responsibility and explain the outcome…
- Panel Interview Tips: What to Say and Rehearse Out LoudPanel interviews reward clear evidence, not equal approval from every evaluator. Use a simple rule: make one claim, give one concrete example, and state one result, then stop when the result is clear. A 15-minute preparation sprint helps you map each panelist’s concern, choose four or five examples, and rehearse your opening and one complete answer aloud. Use STAR for behavioural questions, a decision rule for situational cases, and assumptions plus criteria for technical tasks. You will also get practical lines for interruptions, vague questions, missing experience, and pressure, including…
- Technical Leadership Interview Questions: What to SayTechnical leadership interview questions test more than technical knowledge: they reveal how you make decisions, align people and keep delivery moving without formal authority. Prepare in 15 minutes by choosing evidence for leadership, architecture, delivery, technical debt, mentorship and disagreement, then compress each example into the situation, decision, result and lesson. Strong answers name the constraint, explain the options, state what you personally chose and show what changed. Use practical scripts for trade-offs, failed delivery, code review and missing experience without…
- How to Negotiate a Job Offer: What to Say Out LoudJob-offer negotiation works best with one ranked request, one fallback and a clear deadline. Open with: “Thank you for the offer. I’m genuinely interested in the role. I’d like time to review the full package, then discuss two points before I decide.” Anchor your counteroffer to role scope, relevant results and reliable market evidence, then pause. If salary is fixed, trade for one priority such as a signing bonus, review timing, flexibility or professional development instead of listing every preference. Check total compensation carefully: benefits can add 25–40% to salary value, while a…
- How to Practise a Panel Interview Alone: Three-Seat RehearsalA three-person panel interview becomes easier to practise alone when you assign each seat a distinct test: HR checks motivation and communication, the hiring manager checks ownership and business impact, and a peer challenges technical choices and trade-offs. Rehearse each seat separately before combining them with interruptions and competing priorities. Keep one evidence card per story, with the situation, responsibility, actions, result, observation and limitation, while changing only the emphasis. Use the STAR structure, record two or three attempts per question, and stop each round only…
- How to Practise a Eulogy Without Crying on the DayEulogyCraft’s aloud-practice guidance supports a gradual plan for rehearsing a eulogy without treating tears as failure. Start with one low-emotion paragraph, then advance only when you can breathe normally, see the page, find the next line and continue. Mark two or three trigger sentences, shorten wording when the meaning survives, and practise a difficult word up to 10 times only if recovery remains easy. Build from silent reading to a paragraph, separate sections and one standing run; three to five full read-throughs are an optional ceiling, not a quota. At the lectern, stop, take four…