Translate a Difficult Feedback Conversation You Need to Have Into a Script

Feedback conversations fail at predictable points: the opening that makes the person defensive before you have said anything substantive, the feedback that is about character rather than behaviour, the moment where their pushback causes you to soften the message until it disappears. This structures the conversation at each of those points, gives you specific language for the core message, and tells you how to acknowledge their response without abandoning the feedback.

I need to have a feedback conversation with {RECIPIENT_DESCRIPTION} about {FEEDBACK_TOPIC}.

The context:
- My relationship to them: {RELATIONSHIP}
- What I specifically need them to change: {REQUIRED_CHANGE}
- What I am worried will happen if I say it directly: {MY_WORRY}
- Previous attempts, if any: {PREVIOUS_ATTEMPTS}

Translate this into a conversation script:
1. The opening: how to open the conversation in a way that signals the nature of the conversation without ambushing the person or making them immediately defensive
2. The core message: the feedback itself, stated in one or two sentences that are direct, specific, and about behaviour not character
3. The acknowledgement: how to acknowledge their likely response without abandoning the feedback
4. The ask: the specific change you are requesting, stated clearly enough that both of you would know whether it had happened
5. The close: how to end the conversation in a way that is warm without undermining the message

Note: the script is a guide, not a transcript. It should be adapted in the moment.