Why a script? !
A new rental cursor covers one box of my intake form. Our first week. Today’s stand-up goal: “I’m confident without oversharing.” That single statement is why I stopped writing long modules and started designing the script. During the first 90 days, learners do not need textbooks. They need the right words for the next two minutes of the actual day. My assistant, quiet, no code, AI supports, listen to the context, save the person’s voice and provide some lines that you can actually say loudly.
More powerful meetings with the script engine
library
I started with a simple Google Sheet with three tabs, scenarios, friction points, blocks, etc. The scenario is a meeting that we all recognize. Friction points are habits that make people trip: redundancy vs. brevity, decision-making, evidence-in-one booths, time boxes, and kindness directness. Blocks are small, reusable lines tagged by type (opener, question, push, closer) and tone (concise, warm, formal). No code. It’s just structure and language.
Small chart
I hold one small chart inspired by Erin Meyer’s The Culture Map. This is eight dimensions on 1-7 scales stored on the same sheet. For learners, I lightly mark the “home” trend next to the expectations of the context they are in. It’s a compass, not a verdict. For example, gaps about directness and feedback styles, when assistants tweak the script, they seek closer openers for executives, more clearly seeking sensual calls, and warmer frames for sensitive feedback.
intake
Keeps your intake short. role. The scene where they are about to enter. Who is in the room and what are those people value? The outcome they want – decisions, information, or relationships. How long do they really have: 30, 60, 90 seconds? And how do they sound? If they say “I’m confident but not defensive,” I put that phrase on my shoulder while I’m working.
assembly
The engine performs light pattern matching. Client status with executives? It emphasizes brevity, decision-making, and evidence. Peer feedback? Kindness and quick reasons. The assistant builds short scripts from the library. You will never overwrite that person’s voice.
In the room
The engineering manager, who feared oversharing, was planning to explain the entire sprint. Builders love backstory. Viewers need a headline. The script we generated was “High Level: Going smoothly on October 10th. One risk is the beta delay. Currently, A/B test mitigation.” “To hold October 10th, yes/no is required when expanding beta by the end of the day.” If pressed: “Two fixes of tests. Share winners on Thursday.” The ownership passed in close and next steps suddenly unheard. There are no theoretical dumps. The clear path through the scene was quietly notified by that small chart, reminding me to lead in results, not chapters.
After the phone
Every script features micro-experiment and reflections. The experiment is intentionally small. I will first lead the results at two meetings this week. Keep the opener within 35 seconds. Ask the timebound. The reflection takes a minute. What did you cut something no one missed? What tilted the room? These notes will be fed to the library. Over time, the block becomes sharper to phrases that move well across teams.
This lives in a spreadsheet so the repetition is painless. If the line is too formal, rewrite it. If you sing with a client, if you flop with a peer, I’ll let it out. Assistants learn, and I do so too. I edit the distance. Edit how much the learner changes the script. Become a proxy for your confidence. Once it drops we get closer to their authentic sound.
What I’m seeing
I track the signal with a pulse: time until the first confident meeting. Decision Speed (Clear Ask, Owner, Date); Manager Signal for 30/60/90. The scripts used and scripts have been generated. No heavy dashboards are required. I’ll be watching every week to see if the story is moving.
“AI” is a custom chatbot tied to a sheet. Intake flows in a simple form. The draft arrives at a place where people already live, Slack, or in a team, rather than in a buried LMS tab. Privacy is strict: minimal context, no learner editing, no raw transcripts. The assistant suggests. The learners will be disposed of.
There is less time to explain how to communicate and more time to pass on working words. Learning is adaptive. Not because the dashboard says that, but because every scene writes the next one. Makes new lamps faster. Partners will hear clarity faster. The script gets better with every small edit.
The line I hold
The French manager of Boston’s first month wrote after a tricky week: It’s next to “I’m confident without oversharing” in my scrapbook. Personalization is not about changing someone’s voice. It is to give it the shape to carry. Meyer-inspired charts help you find out which levers are important. This script makes those levers available for use in the room.
Start small, get upskill quickly, and get confident!
Five common scenes. A handful of friction points. Dozens of blocks are proud to say loudly. The simplest culture map chart you can draw, add 8 sliders to the sheet and use it as a compass rather than a rulebook. Ships to one team. Look at what they change. Wrap the edit. One morning, I open a spreadsheet and realize that I’m not maintaining my “content.” You are directing a living story. And every time the cursor flashes at 8:57am, you can know exactly how to get the hero through the next scene.
