Voices of the Curve

Why this exercise

People go through a change in similar stages: shock, denial, resistance, exploration, acceptance. It is not a staircase: people can slip back and get stuck. The manager usually goes through the stages before the team, which is why everything already seems clear to them. The exercise teaches you to hear the stage in an ordinary phrase — "It's just another fad, it'll pass" — and to respond the way the person needs right now.

How to run it

1. Draw the change curve and briefly explain the five stages and what people need at each one.
2. Teams receive 12 cards with phrases from employees of a company that is introducing an AI assistant.
3. 10 minutes: sort the phrases into stages and, for each one, write down one response from the manager — in direct speech.
4. Teams take turns sticking their cards on the common curve and reading out their answers (4 minutes each).
5. Check against the key; discuss any differences.

Debrief questions

• Which phrases were hard to assign to one stage?
• Which manager's response seemed the strongest?
• Where on the curve is your team now? And where are you?