[hidden]:has(#learning-player){display:block!important}#learning-player [data-lesson-panel],#learning-player [data-learning-model],#learning-player [data-visual-frame],#learning-player [data-learning-check],#learning-player [data-model-annotation]{display:block!important}#learning-player [data-learning-actions],#learning-player [data-visual-controls]{display:none!important}Read every step below and try the exercises on paper. Interactive checks and saving require JavaScript.

Reasoning · Beginner · About 6 min

Make a recommendation people can evaluate

Lesson 1 of 6Step 1 of 5

Give the decision-maker something specific to evaluate

Customer-support lead · Finance director

Read the case: Expanding customer support

Customer-support lead · Finance director

Expanding customer support Recommend a support plan that balances service, capacity, and cost.

A six-person customer-support team receives 1,000 requests a week.

Its median first response is 18 hours.
Management forecasts 1,300 weekly requests next quarter; that growth has not happened yet.
Two additional staff would cost $120,000 a year and are estimated to handle 400 additional requests a week after four weeks of training.
Triage software costs $36,000 a year plus $12,000 setup.
A six-week pilot covered 200 routine requests each week: average handling time fell from 12 to eight minutes, including rework.
The pilot did not test complex cases or peak demand.
The vendor also offers a three-month trial for $9,000 plus the same setup fee.
The first-year budget is $150,000.
One staff member costs $60,000 a year.
Staff capacity and growth figures are planning estimates, not measured outcomes.

A recommendation connects an action to a business need. “We should improve support” expresses an aim, but leaves the decision-maker guessing what to approve. Explain what you propose, which problem it addresses, and why it is preferable to the available alternatives.

A persuasive proposal also shows its limits. You can recommend hiring while acknowledging uncertain demand. The useful question is whether the cost and commitment are justified by what the business knows now.

Follow one argument through the debate

The decision-maker can identify the action and its financial commitment.
The argument distinguishes the current service measure from the estimated capacity gain.
The recommendation explains a reason to prefer hiring without dismissing the software result.

Select a turn to see what it changes.

Name the action
Specify the resource, scope, and commitment you want approved.
Explain the business reason
Connect the action to service, capacity, cost, or another relevant priority.
Identify the comparison
Explain why this proposal is preferable to waiting or choosing another approach.

A proposal with a defensible scope

Customer-support lead · Finance director

Expanding customer support Recommend a support plan that balances service, capacity, and cost.

A six-person customer-support team receives 1,000 requests a week.

Its median first response is 18 hours.
Management forecasts 1,300 weekly requests next quarter; that growth has not happened yet.
Two additional staff would cost $120,000 a year and are estimated to handle 400 additional requests a week after four weeks of training.
Triage software costs $36,000 a year plus $12,000 setup.
A six-week pilot covered 200 routine requests each week: average handling time fell from 12 to eight minutes, including rework.
The pilot did not test complex cases or peak demand.
The vendor also offers a three-month trial for $9,000 plus the same setup fee.
The first-year budget is $150,000.
One staff member costs $60,000 a year.
Staff capacity and growth figures are planning estimates, not measured outcomes.

The proposed action
Approve two support hires at a combined annual cost of $120,000.
The decision-maker can identify the action and its financial commitment.
The reason
The team already takes a median of 18 hours to respond. The hires would address service capacity across routine and complex work, with estimated capacity for 400 additional weekly requests.
The argument distinguishes the current service measure from the estimated capacity gain.
The comparison
Software may help routine work, but its pilot does not establish that it can absorb the forecast growth or handle complex cases. Hiring is the broader capacity option, although it commits us to a recurring cost.
The recommendation explains a reason to prefer hiring without dismissing the software result.

A recommendation is easier to examine when the action, reason, and alternative are explicit.

Test the reasoning

Read the practice case

Customer-support lead · Finance director

Expanding customer support Recommend a support plan that balances service, capacity, and cost.

A six-person customer-support team receives 1,000 requests a week.

Its median first response is 18 hours.
Management forecasts 1,300 weekly requests next quarter; that growth has not happened yet.
Two additional staff would cost $120,000 a year and are estimated to handle 400 additional requests a week after four weeks of training.
Triage software costs $36,000 a year plus $12,000 setup.
A six-week pilot covered 200 routine requests each week: average handling time fell from 12 to eight minutes, including rework.
The pilot did not test complex cases or peak demand.
The vendor also offers a three-month trial for $9,000 plus the same setup fee.
The first-year budget is $150,000.
One staff member costs $60,000 a year.
Staff capacity and growth figures are planning estimates, not measured outcomes.

Quick check · 1 of 2Which opening gives the finance director a decision to evaluate?

Customer support matters to every business.Approve two support hires for $120,000 annually to increase capacity across routine and complex requests.The pilot proves software will solve next quarter’s service problem.

Your turn

Customer-support lead · Finance director

Recommend either hiring or a limited software trial. State what should be approved, explain the business reason, and compare it with one alternative.

Read the case: Expanding customer support

Customer-support lead · Finance director

Expanding customer support Recommend a support plan that balances service, capacity, and cost.

A six-person customer-support team receives 1,000 requests a week.

Its median first response is 18 hours.
Management forecasts 1,300 weekly requests next quarter; that growth has not happened yet.
Two additional staff would cost $120,000 a year and are estimated to handle 400 additional requests a week after four weeks of training.
Triage software costs $36,000 a year plus $12,000 setup.
A six-week pilot covered 200 routine requests each week: average handling time fell from 12 to eight minutes, including rework.
The pilot did not test complex cases or peak demand.
The vendor also offers a three-month trial for $9,000 plus the same setup fee.
The first-year budget is $150,000.
One staff member costs $60,000 a year.
Staff capacity and growth figures are planning estimates, not measured outcomes.

Your response Optional 0 / 2400

You can type or use your keyboard’s microphone to dictate. Your text stays editable. Practice is optional.

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I recommend approving… The business need is… Compared with… The important limitation is…

Try it aloud

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0:45

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Review and continue

Customer-support lead · Finance director

Expanding customer support Recommend a support plan that balances service, capacity, and cost.

Read the practice task and case

Recommend either hiring or a limited software trial. State what should be approved, explain the business reason, and compare it with one alternative.

A six-person customer-support team receives 1,000 requests a week.

Its median first response is 18 hours.
Management forecasts 1,300 weekly requests next quarter; that growth has not happened yet.
Two additional staff would cost $120,000 a year and are estimated to handle 400 additional requests a week after four weeks of training.
Triage software costs $36,000 a year plus $12,000 setup.
A six-week pilot covered 200 routine requests each week: average handling time fell from 12 to eight minutes, including rework.
The pilot did not test complex cases or peak demand.
The vendor also offers a three-month trial for $9,000 plus the same setup fee.
The first-year budget is $150,000.
One staff member costs $60,000 a year.
Staff capacity and growth figures are planning estimates, not measured outcomes.

Your response

You can return to the practice whenever you want.

One model response

I recommend the three-month software trial for $21,000 including setup. It would let us test whether the observed handling-time improvement persists in our routine work while keeping the larger hiring decision open. Unlike two hires, it does not add broad capacity, so it should not be presented as a complete response to forecast growth.

The recommendation names a bounded action and calculates its cost.

This is one defensible recommendation when learning before committing is the priority. A hiring recommendation can also work if it explains why current service and broader capacity justify the recurring cost.

Review the performance

RecommendationI identify the action and commitment.
ReasoningI connect the proposal to the business need.
ComparisonI compare a real alternative and explain a limitation.

Choose one move to improve, revise your response, then try it aloud.

Common mistakes to avoid

Describing an aspiration instead of proposing an action.
Treating an estimate as a guaranteed result.

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Make a recommendation people can evaluate

Give the decision-maker something specific to evaluate

Name the action

Explain the business reason

Identify the comparison

A proposal with a defensible scope

Test the reasoning

Your turn

Review and continue

Your response

One model response

Review the performance

Make a recommendation people can evaluate

Give the decision-maker something specific to evaluate

Name the action

Explain the business reason

Identify the comparison

A proposal with a defensible scope

Test the reasoning

Your turn

Review and continue

Your response

One model response

Review the performance