How to Practice a Hard Conversation with a PDF and ChatGPT

I wanted to avoid an embarrassing situation

Recently, I was talking with a person who identified as non-binary. I felt a little uneasy because I wanted to avoid an embarrassing or uncomfortable situation for both of us if I said something wrong. I knew what pronouns to say, but I wished there was a way I could practice until I felt comfortable- specifically, to practice when I wanted to and at my own pace and to fail awkwardly as many times as I needed. Well, I've found a way to do that- and for everyone to do the same for almost any conversation about any topic.

GenAI can give us a head start on a solution

The way I found to make this happen is through generative AI. New and powerful GenAI tools such as ChatGPT4o are drastically changing the landscape of the work that learning professionals do. What was once a solution that was far or near on the horizon is now here.

Shift from learning to practicing and applying

GenAI tools allow us to shift our focus from solutions just for learning to solutions that also incorporate opportunities to practice and apply those communication skills. This is important because the road to skill building doesn't end in learning about a thing, it ends in the successful application in the workplace. That's the true value of this shift that's enabled by GenAI tools.

If ChatGPT4o is a game console, then PDFs are the games to load

Think of ChatGPT4o as an Atari or Sega game console and each of the conversation PDF files as a different game to load. Maybe that's preparing for your next role, or how to talk to your teenager, or how to de-escalate situations (those two might be the same). The possibilities are endless and the power to upskill yourself is in your hands.

Here's my insight: Mackenzie and Company has been saying that 2024 is the year that GenAI shows business value. You can shift your focus from learning into practicing and applying your communication skills.