Understanding Face Up
Four minutes, and you'll know exactly what you're here to do.
Face Up is for rehearsing the conversations that matter: a difficult piece of feedback, a customer objection, bad news to deliver, an annual review, a handover. You pick a situation, you live it out loud facing a simulated counterpart, and a debrief follows straight after.
Sales, managers, HR, customer service: the situations change, the mechanics stay the same.
What it isn't: not an e-learning module to click through, and not an assessment that goes up to your management. What you do here is yours.
Worth knowing
The conversation happens out loud. Find somewhere you can speak without disturbing anyone — and without being disturbed.
Going further: What is Face Up?
Quick check
3 questions · 30 seconds · no trick answers
What do you actually do during a Face Up simulation?
How many times can you replay the same scenario?
True or false — the debrief lands several days after the simulation.
Section complete.
Keep it open in another tab, we'll be using it.
Five minutes of setup
Everything that can spoil a first simulation gets sorted here, before you start.
It all starts with an invitation by email. You click, you choose a password, and you land in your workspace.
Three places to remember in the menu: the library, where the scenarios live; my sessions, the history of everything you've done; and your debriefs, attached to each session. If your organisation has several workspaces, the switcher sits at the bottom of the menu.
The first time you start, your browser asks for microphone and camera access. Say yes to both, then speak: if the level bar moves, you're ready.
Before you start
If it won't budge
Clicked “Block” out of reflex? Reopen the site permissions in your browser and allow the microphone and camera again. Can't find the invitation: check your spam folder.
Going further: First access: signing in to Face Up · I can't sign in · A quick tour of the interface · Checking your setup before you start · Microphone, camera and conversation quality: what to do when it won't work
Quick check
3 questions · 30 seconds · no trick answers
You clicked “Block” on the microphone request. What now?
What setup is recommended for a good session?
Where do you find your past simulations?
Section complete.
Sixty seconds, and you're clear for the rest.
Running a simulation
By the end of this section, you'll have done one.
Faced with the library, the temptation is to hunt for the perfect scenario. Take a situation you already know instead: the point of the first run is to understand the mechanics, not to put yourself through the wringer.
A scenario sheet tells you three things: the situation and what happened before it, the counterpart you'll be facing and their state of mind, and the goal. Read that one twice — it's exactly what your debrief will be built on.
Then you talk. You can hesitate, backtrack, leave a silence: your counterpart adjusts to your pace. When you end the session, a self-assessment appears, then the debrief arrives.
Our three tips
Set yourself up properly — headset, quiet room, no distracting screen. Commit to it: the more you engage, the more useful the debrief. And relax, it's only practice.
Going further: The Face Up library: ready-to-use scenarios · Choosing a situation · Starting a simulation (allowing microphone and camera) · How the conversation unfolds · How long a session lasts and how to end it · Getting the most out of your simulation
Quick check
4 questions · 30 seconds · no trick answers
On a scenario sheet, what should you read first?
You're fumbling for words mid-simulation. Is that a problem?
What happens right after you end the simulation?
For a first simulation, pick:
Section complete.
Start a simulation →
You know everything you need. There's a bit of video left — but it will mean far more once you've run one. Come straight back here, your progress is saved.
Start a simulationThe debrief and your progress
The debrief is where progress actually happens. You just need to know how to read it.
A debrief always reads in the same order: what worked, what can improve, then the expert's wider view. Every point is anchored in precise moments of your conversation.
The score is a marker, not a verdict. It shows where you stand today so you can measure the distance travelled tomorrow — nobody is ranking you.
The right method fits in one sentence: pick a single area to work on, and replay the same scenario thinking only about that. Count on two or three runs before changing situation. In between, listen back to yourself: the recording and the transcript are on the session detail.
Going further: What is a Face Up debrief? · Reading your debrief · Understanding your score · Reviewing your conversation · Improving from one session to the next · Replaying a simulation to improve · What a good session looks like
Quick check
4 questions · 30 seconds · no trick answers
The score is there to:
After a debrief, the right move is to:
Where do you find the recording of a session?
Each new run of a scenario:
Section complete.
Find one area in it — just one — and restart the scenario.
Creating and sharing your own scenarios
The ready-made scenarios cover a lot of ground. But your own cases, nobody knows them better than you.
When you want a team to work on a situation that's specific to you — one particular customer, an in-house process, something that happened last week — the library isn't enough any more. That's where the Studio comes in.
A scenario rests on four blocks: the situation, the counterpart, your role and the goal. You describe it in your own words, the Studio builds it — you never write the dialogue. A good scenario has a precise situation, a measurable goal and a believable counterpart.
Then you add people, choose their role, and make the scenario available to the group: it appears in their library. Activity tracking shows you who is practising and on what. An outdated scenario can be archived, and archiving can be undone.
The golden rule
Always run your scenario yourself before releasing it. Five minutes of testing spares you awkward feedback.
Going further: Creating a scenario with the Studio · Adding members and assigning a role · Changing a member's role · The three roles: learner, trainer, admin · Making a scenario available to your group · Archiving or restoring a scenario · Removing a member from the group · Overseeing your group's sessions · Following your group's activity · Viewing a learner's session · Your organisation's details and settings
Quick check
4 questions · 30 seconds · no trick answers
To create a scenario, you define:
Before releasing a scenario you've just created:
Where can you see who is practising, and on what?
A scenario that no longer serves a purpose:
Section complete.
Take a situation you lived through this week. It makes the best first scenario.
The Face Up Challenge
Eight questions drawn at random. No timer, no traps — just enough to check everything is in place.
Question 1 of 8
