Why a Second Round
A live programme puts people in the room with professional actors and lets them try the behaviour they need at work. Three months later the room is gone, the day job is back, and the useful question is simple: can I still do it? The follow-up simulation gives every participant one more go at exactly that, with the same kind of pressure and the same kind of feedback.
It is step six of the Sidestream six-step method and the last phase of the client journey. Everything before it, diagnosis, scripted scenario, cast, delivery and the booster rituals of weeks 9 to 16, builds up to it. We look at what people do, in the room and in the follow-up simulation, not what they tick on a form.
What Happens in the Hour
Each participant books a one-hour slot over Zoom. The scenario is new, so there is nothing to rehearse from memory, but it is built around the situations practised in the original programme: the same kind of conversation, the same kind of counterpart, a different story. The coach is someone the participant has not met, which keeps the exchange fresh and keeps the feedback independent of what happened in the room.
- One hour over Zoom, booked by the participant, around 90 days after delivery.
- A fresh scenario built around the behaviours practised in the room.
- A coach the participant has not met, in character for the scene, then out of character for the debrief.
- Personal feedback on what the participant did, and a second attempt where it helps.
- Optional. It is part of the offer, not a condition of it.
What It Is Not
The follow-up simulation is not an assessment, a score or a report on individuals. Nobody passes or fails. It is practice: a second rehearsal, with feedback, at the point where the first one has had time to settle. Organisations that want to measure behaviour change over time can do so with their own data and observers; the guides on how to measure behaviour change and the Kirkpatrick model set out how that works.
Why Practising Again Helps
Retrieval is the part of learning that sticks. In Roediger and Karpicke's 2006 experiment, people who practised recalling a text kept 61 per cent of it after a week; people who re-read it kept 40 per cent. A conversation is not a text, but the mechanism is the same: pulling the behaviour out under pressure, rather than reviewing it, is what makes it available next time. The follow-up simulation is that retrieval, scheduled. Our research page has the detail on the testing effect and on our own UCL study.
Which Programmes Include It
The follow-up simulation is offered with every live programme, from a half-day workshop to a multi-day simulation, and with the leadership, difficult conversations, conflict and new manager programmes. Formats, group sizes and timing are on the client journey page; the whole engagement runs 12 to 16 weeks from the first call to the follow-up simulation, depending on format. To talk it through, book a 30-minute call.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the follow-up simulation?
An optional hour, around 90 days after a Sidestream programme, in which each participant steps into a fresh scenario with a coach they have not met, built around the situations practised in the room, and gets personal feedback. It is a chance to practise again and to see how much has stuck.
Is the follow-up simulation an assessment?
No. Nobody is scored, ranked or reported on. It is a second rehearsal with feedback, for the participant's own benefit. If your organisation wants to measure behaviour change, our guides on measurement explain how to do that with your own observers and data.
Why is the coach someone the participant has not met?
A new coach keeps the scene fresh and the feedback independent of what happened in the original room. The participant cannot lean on a relationship or a remembered routine, which is closer to what work is like.
When does it happen?
Around 90 days after delivery, after the booster rituals of weeks 9 to 16. The whole engagement runs 12 to 16 weeks from the first call to the follow-up simulation, depending on format.
Do participants have to take part?
No. The follow-up simulation is optional and each participant books their own slot.