A practical writing exercise

Write dialogue with competing goals

Write a twelve-turn exchange with competing goals, two visible strategy changes, and a brief intention map showing what each line tries to make the other person do.

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Your starting material

Use this complete original material for the demonstration. You can copy or download it before working through the steps.

Original practice material: Siblings Sila and Tom close their late mother's repair shop. Sila wants both signatures on a key-transfer agreement tonight so the buyer will pay the overdue rent. Tom wants a delay until tomorrow noon. He holds a note showing that a neighbor owes their mother a small loan, due tomorrow; repayment could cover part, not all, of the rent. He has not told Sila because he fears she will dismiss the possibility. Sila knows the buyer may withdraw after tonight but has not shown Tom that clause. Both know their mother died, both know the rent is unpaid, and both recognize the old shop key. The buyer is not present. Neither sale nor repayment is guaranteed.

Deliberately flawed example

Deliberately flawed example: Sila: 'As you know, our mother died and left us this repair shop.' Tom: 'Yes, my sister, and as you know we have unpaid rent.' Sila: 'We are siblings with a complicated relationship.' Tom: 'I am sad.'

One possible revision

One possible revision — twelve speaking turns:
1. Sila: 'Sign beside mine. He collects the key at eight.' She pushed the agreement across the bare counter.
2. Tom: 'Leave it here. I want one more morning.'
3. Sila: 'The landlord wants money, not mornings.'
4. Tom: 'There may be money tomorrow.'
5. Sila: 'May be from where?'
6. Tom laid down the folded note. 'Mrs Vale. Mum lent her some. It's due at noon.'
7. Sila: 'That's half the arrears.'
8. Tom: 'Then ask him to hold the other half. Show him this.'
9. Sila turned the agreement over. 'The buyer can walk away after tonight. I should have shown you that.'
10. Tom: 'And I should have shown you the note. Ask him for noon. Not a week.'
11. Sila took out her phone. 'One call. If he refuses, we sign before eight. Can you agree to that?'
12. Tom slid the pen back between them. 'Call while I'm still able to say yes.'
Intention map: 1 secure signature; 2 delay; 3 pressure with consequence; 4 introduce possibility; 5 demand evidence; 6 reveal evidence; 7 limit its power; 8 redirect toward negotiation; 9 disclose time risk; 10 propose bounded delay; 11 offer conditional process; 12 accept process without pretending grief is settled.
Strategy changes: Tom moves from an emotional time request (2) to documentary leverage (6). Sila moves from demand (1/3) to transparent risk and a conditional call (9/11). Exit: they agree on one call and a fallback; sale remains unconfirmed.

What changed and why

• Removed background both siblings already know and let shared grief affect the handling of the key and pen instead.
• Made each information reveal alter the bargain, and ended on a conditional agreement rather than a vague exchange of feelings.

A choice worth keeping

Keep the direct question in turn 5. Not every useful line needs subtext; a clear demand for evidence helps the reader follow the change in tactics.

Try it with fresh material

Original transfer material: Roommates Pia and Kes have one van-booking deposit to recover. Pia wants to cancel by five for a partial refund; Kes wants to keep the van for a weekend move. Kes has an email saying the new apartment key may be ready tomorrow but is not guaranteed. Pia has a cancellation clause showing no refund after five and has not shown it. Both already know who is moving and what the deposit cost. Neither can afford a second booking.

Write ten to fourteen speaking turns, label both immediate goals and information boundaries, and mark two tactic changes. Add a one-line intention for every turn. End with a changed decision or agreement, even if it is a refusal.

Feedback for your attempt

• Do the speakers try to obtain different outcomes, or merely repeat shared background?
• Does revealing the email or clause change a tactic without magically guaranteeing the apartment?
• Can you identify the speaker and intention of each turn without requiring identical tag patterns?

Check before moving on

• Replace 'what does this explain?' with 'what does this line try to make happen?'
• Let evidence have limits so disclosure does not become an instant solution.
• Check that the final exchange changes the negotiation's state.

Original shop material, twelve-turn dialogue, and intention map authored by an AI agent. Designed demonstration, not captured production dialogue output or human response testing. An independent AI agent completed the transfer exercise and archived its artifacts; no human reader testing is claimed. Material version: 2026-10-18.