3 conversations · 1 ready to practise
How to talk to a Red personality at work
Reds want the point in one sentence. Easy to read. Harder to do when one has just cut you off.
Tasha · assistant shift lead in a supermarket
She overruled you in front of the team
Your assistant shift lead overruled your call yesterday, in front of everyone. It can’t happen again.
Gary · early shift lead in a supermarket
The shift lead who steamrolls every handover
Gary talks for ten minutes at every handover and never hears a word you say.
Sandra · store manager of a large supermarket
Pushing back on a deadline
Sandra wants a yes by the end of the day. The honest answer is "not all of it".
Coming soon
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Practice for reflection, not legal or HR advice. If it involves harassment, discrimination, health or safety, talk to HR or ACAS.
Practise it before you say it
You know the advice. Lead with the point, keep it short, don’t take the directness personally. Then a Red talks over you in front of the team and you go round the houses like you always do. These three let you practise with someone who reacts like a Red: they warm up when you’re brief and clear, and dig in when you hedge.
Two-thirds of managers say they’re uncomfortable communicating with the people they manage.
Lou Solomon, Harvard Business Review, March 2016 (survey by Interact and Harris Poll)How it works
- Pick the conversation. Each one is an everyday situation from shops, warehouses and shift work, with one person on the other side who has their own reasons.
- Talk it through. Type what you’d say. They answer the way people do: they deflect, go quiet, or open up when you get it right. Up to eight turns.
- Hear how it went. Our AI coach reads the whole conversation and tells you what worked, where it slipped, what to say instead and the one thing to practise. Then try it again.
What we keep: nothing you typed. Your conversation stays in your browser and goes to our AI coach only to write the next reply and your feedback. Use a made-up name for the person you’re thinking of.
Reading on Red personalities
- Red Personality Type: Traits, Strengths, and Blind SpotsWhat drives a Red, and the blind spots that show under pressure.
- How to Communicate With Different Personality Colors: Scripts, Phrases & Email ExamplesThe phrases that land with each colour, and the ones that don’t.
- Personality Colors at Work: How Red, Yellow, Green & Blue Behave in the WorkplaceHow a Red behaves in meetings, and what frustrates them on shift.
Questions people ask
What does a Red react well to?
The point first, then the reason, then one clear ask. Bring a recommendation, not just a problem. A Red hears hedging as you not knowing what you want, so say it plainly and let them decide how.
Are people really just Red?
No. The colours are a quick way to describe habits under pressure, not boxes. Tasha, Gary and Sandra lead with Red habits, so the practice is in matching that pace without getting flattened by it.
Which one should I start with?
Tasha. She’s the one you manage, so the conversation is yours to set up. Gary, the other shift lead, and Sandra, your store manager, are coming soon.
Can I do the same one twice?
Yes, and that’s where most of the learning is. Your first go at each conversation is free. Each go after that, including a second go at the same one, uses one Ask BOM credit.
Credits are the same as Ask BOM credits: packs from 10 for £3 to 100 for £20, and one code works across every coach tool on the site. How credits work