Difficult conversations are a normal part of work and life. Someone might interrupt you in a meeting, a team leader might take credit for your idea, or you might be struggling with a challenging client relationship. Ignoring these issues often leads to unresolved tension, yet many people feel anxious about speaking up. A growing practice known as “dry-chatting”—rehearsing difficult conversations with AI before having them in real life—is helping people prepare and gain confidence.
The Benefits of “Dry-Chatting”
Many employees struggle to express their emotions clearly during tense situations. Whether confronting a manager, discussing an issue with a partner, or addressing a problem with a colleague, people often worry about saying the wrong thing. Dry-chatting provides a way to rehearse these conversations with AI so individuals can organize their thoughts and practice communicating more effectively.
Using AI as a rehearsal partner offers several advantages. It can reduce emotional intensity by giving people a moment to step back and reflect. It encourages them to process their feelings by putting them into words. It also provides a sense of reassurance and allows them to delay a stressful conversation long enough to regain composure.
For example, imagine your manager assigns you extra responsibilities after a coworker is laid off—even though your workload is already overwhelming. Practicing the conversation with AI beforehand can help you decide how to raise the issue calmly and assertively. In this way, AI feedback can provide an external perspective that helps validate your concerns.
At first, the idea of practicing with AI might feel unusual. But people already rehearse important moments in similar ways—by practicing presentations in front of a mirror, preparing for job interviews, or mentally rehearsing what they want to say before a difficult conversation.
According to relationship therapist Jaime Bronstein, people commonly rehearse major life moments such as wedding vows, speeches, or asking for a raise. They also practice how they might apologize after a conflict or resign from a job. However, speaking clearly during emotionally charged moments can be challenging because strong feelings interfere. Dry-chatting offers a private space to rehearse these emotionally loaded conversations beforehand.
How “Dry-Chatting” Works
Artur Kiulian, CEO of an AI scenario-planning platform, describes dry-chatting as a form of personal scenario planning. Organizations use similar simulations to anticipate market reactions or competitor strategies. The same idea can be applied to personal conversations such as salary negotiations or difficult one-on-one discussions.
He highlights three key reasons the approach works:
No judgment – People can repeat the conversation multiple times without embarrassment.
Role-playing the other side – AI can simulate the perspective of a skeptical boss, defensive colleague, or hesitant client.
Rapid iteration – AI can generate many variations of responses quickly, allowing users to test different approaches.
Sample Prompts for Dry-Chatting
People can use prompts like these to practice:
Negotiation: “I’m asking for a 15% raise. Act as my manager who believes the budget is tight. Push back and then tell me what responses worked well.”
Difficult feedback: “I need to give constructive criticism to someone who becomes defensive. Simulate the conversation and suggest three better ways to phrase my feedback.”
Worst-case scenario: “List the five toughest objections leadership might raise about my proposal and help me craft responses.”
Decision tree: “Map this conversation as a branching scenario—if they say X, I say Y. Include supportive, skeptical, and hostile reactions.”
What Research Says
Studies suggest many people find difficult conversations challenging. In one survey of 2,000 adults, 54% said they struggle to express emotions during tense situations, and 72% admitted they often avoid necessary conflict. Meanwhile, 28% reported practicing difficult conversations with an AI companion before addressing them in real life.
Among those who used this approach, 81% said it helped them feel more confident and less anxious. Some reported improvements in communication skills, personal relationships, and even workplace outcomes such as negotiating better terms or receiving raises.
Psychological research also supports related practices. Self-talk, for example, plays an important role in emotional regulation and performance. People with stronger inner dialogue often perform better on tasks involving verbal memory and cognitive control.
Studies show that briefly distracting yourself before a stressful event—through conversation, texting, or messaging—can reduce emotional intensity. This process can lower activity in the brain’s amygdala, the region associated with fear and emotional arousal. Simply describing emotions through writing or conversation has also been shown to reduce stress responses.
Digital communication can serve a similar role. For instance, someone might message a friend before confronting their boss. The friend offers reassurance and helps reinterpret the situation (“You’re just asking for clarity, not causing trouble”). This support can reduce anxiety and help the person enter the conversation more calmly.
A Modern Version of Rehearsal
If the idea of practicing with AI still feels strange, it may help to think of it as an advanced version of rehearsing in front of a mirror. People already run conversations through their heads, test possible responses, and prepare themselves emotionally before difficult moments.
Dry-chatting simply gives that internal rehearsal a place to happen interactively. It allows people to organize their thoughts, experiment with wording, and approach real-life conversations with greater clarity and confidence. Rather than replacing human interaction, it can help people engage in those conversations more effectively.