13 communication, persuasion, and conversation frameworks with one auto-routing entry point.
Describe your situation — /howtotalk picks the best approach.
/howtotalk My boss keeps taking credit for my work and I need to address it
The AI automatically:
- Analyzes the situation (emotion level, power dynamic, cultural context)
- Selects the best 1-3 frameworks
- Designs a phase-by-phase pipeline
- Generates specific scripts and language to use
| Command | What It Does |
|---|---|
/howtotalk |
Full analysis → framework selection → strategy with scripts |
/howtotalk:select |
Quick framework recommendation (don't generate full strategy) |
/howtotalk:practice |
Role-play simulation with coaching and debrief |
| Framework | Creator | Use When |
|---|---|---|
| NVC | Marshall Rosenberg | Expressing needs without blame, resolving conflicts |
| Crucial Conversations | Patterson, Grenny et al. | High-stakes conversations, strong emotions |
| Never Split the Difference | Chris Voss (FBI) | Negotiations, salary talks, deals |
| Getting to Yes | Fisher & Ury (Harvard) | Win-win negotiations, finding mutual interests |
| Influence | Robert Cialdini | Ethical persuasion, marketing, detecting manipulation |
| Framework | Creator | Use When |
|---|---|---|
| Radical Candor | Kim Scott (Google/Apple) | Giving tough feedback with care |
| Difficult Conversations | Stone, Patton, Heen (Harvard) | Conversations you've been avoiding |
| Motivational Interviewing | Miller & Rollnick | Motivating someone who resists change |
| Framework | Creator | Use When |
|---|---|---|
| Storytelling | Campbell, Duarte, Pixar | Presentations, pitches, compelling narratives |
| Socratic Method | Socrates | Teaching, coaching, leading to insight |
| Framework | Creator | Use When |
|---|---|---|
| SCARF | David Rock | Understanding reactions, managing team dynamics |
| Active Listening | Carl Rogers | When you need to truly hear someone |
| DESC | Bower & Bower | Setting boundaries, standing up for yourself |
/howtotalk (meta-router — user-invocable)
└── 13 frameworks (internal, auto-selected by /howtotalk)
├── nvc, crucial-conversations, never-split
├── getting-to-yes, influence, radical-candor
├── difficult-conversations, motivational-interviewing
├── storytelling, socratic
└── scarf, active-listening, desc
The 13 frameworks have user-invocable: false — they don't appear in the slash menu but are called internally by /howtotalk via the Skill tool. You just describe your situation and the router handles the rest.
Complex situations use multiple frameworks in sequence:
| Situation | Pipeline |
|---|---|
| Difficult conversation | Difficult Conversations → NVC → Active Listening |
| Negotiating a deal | Getting to Yes → Never Split → Influence |
| Giving feedback | SCARF → Radical Candor → Active Listening |
| Persuading a group | Influence → Storytelling → Socratic |
| Resolving team conflict | Crucial Conversations → NVC → Getting to Yes |
| Motivating resistant person | SCARF → Motivational Interviewing → Socratic |
| Saying no gracefully | Active Listening → DESC → NVC |
cd /path/to/your/project
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ironyjk/howtotalk/master/install.sh | bashWith auto-update hook:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ironyjk/howtotalk/master/install.sh | bash -s -- --with-hookWorks with any LLM — see strategy-frameworks for Cursor, ChatGPT, Gemini setup.
/howtotalk My team member keeps missing deadlines but gets defensive when I bring it up
→ SCARF (diagnose threat) + Radical Candor (deliver) + Motivational Interviewing
/howtotalk I need to negotiate a 20% raise at my annual review
→ Getting to Yes (BATNA) + Never Split (tactics) + Influence (close)
/howtotalk:practice Saying no to a client's unreasonable request
→ Interactive role-play with coaching after each exchange
- strategy-frameworks — 9 strategy frameworks +
/thinkmeta-agent - toc-agents — Theory of Constraints, 10 tools
- triz-agents — TRIZ, 9 tools
MIT
@ironyjk × Claude Code