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User Guide

Welcome to Resolver – your AI-powered negotiation and conflict resolution training platform. This guide will help you get the most out of your practice sessions.

🚀 Getting Started

What is Resolver?

Resolver is an AI-powered platform for practicing negotiation and conflict resolution skills. You'll engage in realistic roleplay scenarios with an AI counterpart that adapts to your responses, providing immediate feedback and performance tracking.

System Requirements

  • Browser: Chrome, Edge, or Safari (latest versions)
  • Microphone: Required for Avatar Simulation. Text Practice needs none.
  • Camera: Only if you turn on the optional emotion reflection. Nothing else uses it.
  • Internet: Stable connection for AI responses

🎭 Choosing Your Practice Mode

🎥

Avatar Simulation

A visible AI counterpart speaks to you and listens to your spoken reply. The closest thing to a real negotiation. Recommended.

Best for: Verbal delivery, thinking on your feet, presentation skills

💬

Text Practice

Type your responses and read the counterpart's replies. Same scenarios, same coaching, no microphone needed.

Best for: Beginners, quiet environments, considered responses

⚔️

Challenge Practice

Forty high-stakes scenarios with time pressure, adversarial tactics, cross-cultural dynamics, and mid-negotiation twists. Choose Hard, Expert, or Master.

Best for: Testing skills under pressure

🎥 Optional: emotion reflection. In the simulator you can switch on emotion reflection, which uses your camera to show you your own expressions after the session — how much you read as engaged, concerned, tense, or neutral. Everything is processed on your device: no video is recorded or uploaded, and it never affects your feedback or score. It is entirely optional, and the simulation works exactly the same with it off. If you decline camera access or the models fail to load, the simulation carries on and simply tells you reflection is unavailable.

📝 Starting a Roleplay Session

  1. Choose a Scenario – Pick a practice situation; a brief describes your role and the counterpart's
  2. Pick a Mode – Avatar Simulation or Text Practice
  3. Click "Begin Simulation" – The counterpart opens the conversation
  4. Respond Naturally – Speak your reply, or type it in Text Practice
  5. Continue the Dialogue – Build toward a resolution or agreement
  6. End & Get Feedback – Receive a coaching analysis of the session
💡 Pro Tip: Start with Text Practice to familiarize yourself with the scenarios, move to Avatar Simulation once you want to practice speaking under pressure, then take on Challenge Practice.

⏱️ Session Length

A practice session runs up to about five minutes. The simulator tells you when you are approaching that limit so you can bring the conversation to a close.

💡 Pro Tip: Do not rush to beat the clock. A short, well-reasoned exchange is worth more than a long one. End the session yourself when you have reached a natural stopping point — you get the same coaching either way.

🔄 Practicing the Same Scenario Again

Repetition is where negotiation skill actually forms.

How to Use

  1. Finish a session and read your feedback
  2. Click Try Same Scenario Again to reset and run it fresh
  3. Or return to setup and pick a different scenario

The counterpart is generated each time, so the same scenario will not play out identically twice.

💡 Pro Tip: Run a scenario once to see where it goes, then again with a specific goal — open with a question, or refuse to name a number first. Changing one variable at a time is what makes the feedback legible.

📝 Session Feedback

When you end a session, Resolver analyzes the whole conversation and returns written coaching.

What You Get

  • Overall summary — how the negotiation went
  • Tactics used — the techniques it recognized in your responses
  • Strengths — what worked
  • Missed opportunities — openings you did not take
  • Suggested next phrase — concrete wording to try
  • Recommended next run — where to go from here

You can also Export Transcript to download the full exchange as a text file.

💡 Pro Tip: Read the missed opportunities first. They are usually more instructive than the strengths, and they are the easiest thing to act on in your next run.

📊 Performance Dashboard

Track your progress over time under My Progress in the top navigation.

Dashboard Features

  • Total Sessions – How many roleplays you've completed
  • Practice Time – Cumulative time spent practicing
  • Average Score – Your overall performance trend
  • Best Score – Your highest achievement
  • Skill Progress – Visual bars for different competencies
  • Recent Sessions – Your last 10 sessions with scores

Saving Your Progress

⚠️ Sign in to keep your work: If you are not signed in, a session stays in your browser only. Sign in and your sessions, feedback and saved worksheets are kept to your account and follow you across devices.

⚔️ Challenge Mode

For advanced practice, try Challenge Mode with high-stakes scenarios.

Challenge Categories

Category Description
🚨 Crisis Scenarios Takeovers, recalls, walkouts, and other emergencies
👥 Multi-Party Multiple stakeholders with competing interests
🦈 Adversarial Aggressive counterparts using hardball tactics
⚖️ Ethical Dilemmas Morally complex situations
⏰ Time Pressure Counterparts who use deadlines as leverage
🌍 Cross-Cultural Different negotiation norms and expectations
💣 Twists and Reveals Unexpected revelations mid-conversation
🤝 Coalition Building Building consensus among multiple parties

Choosing a Difficulty

Every challenge runs at a level you pick before you start.

Level Counterpart behavior
⚡ Hard Holds position firmly, pushes back on weak arguments
⚡⚡ Expert Highly assertive, uses advanced tactics, introduces complications
⚡⚡⚡ Master Relentless, exploits every inconsistency, concedes only to skilled negotiation

Tips for Challenge Mode

  1. Stay calm – Pressure is designed to test your composure
  2. Listen actively – Important information may be hidden in dialogue
  3. Adapt quickly – Be ready to change strategies
  4. Start at Hard – Move up once you can reach agreement without conceding your core interest

🎯 Tips for Effective Practice

Before You Start

  • 🎧 Use headphones to prevent echo (Avatar Simulation)
  • 📍 Find a quiet space
  • 🧠 Review the scenario description before beginning

During the Session

  • 👂 Listen/read carefully before responding
  • 🎯 Focus on interests, not positions
  • ❓ Ask clarifying questions
  • 📝 Take mental notes of key points
  • ⏸️ It's OK to pause and think

After the Session

  • 📊 Review your transcript analytics
  • 🔄 Try the same scenario with a different variation
  • 📈 Check your dashboard for trends
  • ✍️ Note areas for improvement

❓ Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Microphone not working? - Check browser permissions (click the lock icon in the address bar) - Ensure your microphone is selected in system settings - Try refreshing the page - You can always continue in Text Practice instead — the scenario and coaching are identical

AI not responding? - Check your internet connection - Wait a few seconds – responses may take 5-10 seconds - If stuck, click "Return to Simulator Setup" to start again

Avatar not appearing? - The counterpart's video comes from the server and does not need your camera - Check your internet connection, then refresh - If it still will not load, the simulation falls back to text automatically and keeps your transcript

Emotion reflection unavailable? - This is optional and never blocks a simulation - Grant camera permission when prompted, and check no other app is using the camera - If the models cannot load, the simulator says so and the session continues normally

Timer not showing? - Ensure JavaScript is enabled - Try clearing browser cache and refreshing

📚 Additional Resources

Ready to Practice?

Choose a mode and start improving your negotiation skills today.

Start a Roleplay →