Practice session plan for team leads
Mini playbook
Three rules
- One skill per session. "Objections" is a skill; "being better on the phone" is not.
- Everyone speaks out loud. Watching a colleague role-play is not practice for the people watching.
- No grades in the room. People take risks when they are not being ranked, so debrief with questions, not scores.
The 20-minute format
- 0 to 2 minutes, set the skill: name the skill and show one example line. Say why this skill, this week, in one sentence, and point to something real.
- 2 to 4 minutes, warm-up: everyone says the example line aloud twice, in their own words. Go first.
- 4 to 14 minutes, drills in pairs or threes: two rounds of 5 minutes, the caller works from a written brief, swap roles between rounds. Walk round and listen; do not take over a call.
- 14 to 18 minutes, debrief: three questions, round the room. Ask, do not tell, and write the best lines on a board or in the chat.
- 18 to 20 minutes, commit: each person says one line they will use on a real call this week. Write them down, and next week start by asking who used theirs.
- Remote teams: same format, with breakout rooms for the drill block and cameras optional.
The three debrief questions
- "What was the caller really worried about?"
- "Which sentence worked best, word for word?"
- "What will you say differently on your next real call?"
Week 1: opening the call
- Warm-up line (sales): "Hi, it's [name] from [company]. I'm calling about [one problem]. Is that on your list at the moment?"
- Warm-up line (service): "Thanks for calling [company], this is [name]. How can I help today?" Said like you mean it, five times.
- Drill A, ten-second opener: the agent says who they are, why they called and asks one question, within ten seconds. The observer times it.
- Drill B, the interruption: the caller interrupts after five words with "What's this about?" The agent answers in one sentence and goes on.
- Listen for: a reason for the call in the first sentence, one question and not two, and no "how are you today?" on cold calls.
Week 2: questions and listening
- Warm-up line: "So, if I've got this right, [repeat their situation]. Is that it?"
- Drill A, say it back: the caller explains a problem for about 40 seconds. The agent may not offer a fix until they have repeated it back and the caller has said "yes, that's it".
- Drill B, three questions: the agent asks three open questions in a row before saying anything about the product or the solution. The observer counts closed questions.
- Listen for: the customer talking more than the agent, questions that build on the last answer, and summaries in the customer's words.
Week 3: objections or the upset caller (sales teams do objections, service teams do upset callers)
- Warm-up line (sales): "That's fair. Can I ask what's behind that?"
- Warm-up line (service): "I'd be annoyed too. Let me sort out [the problem] first."
- Drill A, ask before you answer: for every objection or complaint, the agent asks one question before responding. The caller uses two objections from the brief.
- Drill B, the ladder: the same objection three times, each time harder. The agent keeps the same calm tone throughout.
- Listen for: a question before the answer, no "calm down" and no "as I said", and no policy until the caller feels heard.
Week 4: closing and next steps
- Warm-up line: "Let's put a time on it: [day] at [time], and I'll send a confirmation. Does that work?"
- Drill A, date, time, who: the call must end with a next step that has a date, a time and an owner. The observer ticks each one.
- Drill B, the vague customer: the caller says "Let's stay in touch" or "I'll think about it". The agent turns it into one specific step without pushing.
- Listen for: a specific ask, a summary of what was agreed, and the customer saying the next step back.
Writing a caller brief in two minutes
- You are: [role, for example office manager at a small accountancy firm].
- You are calling, or being called, because: [one reason].
- What you want: [one outcome].
- One complication: [for example you have already called twice, or you have a meeting in five minutes].
- You get warmer if: [for example the agent repeats your problem back correctly].
- You get colder if: [for example the agent quotes policy before listening]. Rule for callers: be realistic, not impossible. If the agent does the right thing, let it work.
Scripts for the awkward moments
- When nobody wants to go first: "I'll go first and I'll probably fluff it. That's what this is for."
- When someone says "This isn't like real calls": "You're right, it's not the same. What would make the caller more realistic? Let's add it to the brief."
- When a drill falls apart: "Stop there. What was the last sentence that worked? Start again from that line."
- When someone is clearly struggling: do not fix it in front of the group. Afterwards say: "Which bit felt hardest? Want to run that once with me before Friday?"
- When the most experienced person dominates: "Good line. Now let's hear [name] say it their way."
- When someone asks if this counts towards their review: "No. Practice is for practice. I don't keep scores from these sessions."
Observer sheet and session log (print-only sheets)
- Observer sheet, one per three people: write the skill for the week, then for each round note the three listen-for items, the best sentence word for word, and one thing to try next round.
- Session log, for the team lead only: for each week note the skill, who attended, the best line from the room, the lines people committed to, and whether they used them the next week. Where lines were used, the skill is sticking; where they were not, run that week again.
Between sessions
- Twenty minutes a week keeps a skill alive; it rarely builds a new one. People need more repetitions than a weekly slot gives, on their own time. Let your weekly session focus on the moments that still feel hard.