Episode 46: Practice Before It Counts: AI Role-Play with Paul Burani

We all know people get better through practice. The problem is that many of the conversations that matter most at work, giving feedback, handling objections, negotiating, coaching an employee, or talking with an important customer, are conversations people rarely get to practice before the stakes are real.

In this episode of Lessons from Learning Leaders, I talk with Paul Burani, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Atlas Primer, about how AI-powered role-play can give people a place to practice those conversations, receive feedback, try again, and build skill before they need it on the job.

We also get into one of my longstanding frustrations with traditional role-play. Give someone a card that says “be difficult,” and suddenly they’re auditioning for an Oscar instead of behaving like a real customer or employee. AI gives us the opportunity to build more consistent characters, clearer parameters, and repeated practice without needing another participant to play the part.

Paul and I also talk about why L&D has to move beyond measuring whether people attended training, completed it, passed a quiz, or enjoyed themselves. If training is supposed to improve performance, eventually we need to connect what people are practicing to the outcomes the organization actually cares about.

In this episode, we talk about:

* Why human skills may become more valuable as AI handles more routine work

* How AI can provide realistic practice for difficult workplace conversations

* Why traditional role-play often falls apart

* The difference between knowing what to do and being able to do it

* Why repetition matters when developing communication skills

* Using real company information and common objections to make practice more realistic

* Connecting training data to business outcomes instead of stopping at completion and satisfaction

* How AI can help managers, salespeople, leaders, and others prepare for high-stakes conversations

About Paul Burani

Paul is the co-founder and CRO of Atlas Primer. His career has included marketing, advertising, entrepreneurship, leadership roles at Google, ed tech, and now AI-powered learning and performance. At Atlas Primer, he is focused on using AI to help organizations strengthen the human skills that still depend on judgment, communication, empathy, and practice.

Connect with Paul and Atlas Primer

Atlas Primer: atlasprimer.com

Try Atlas Primer Roleplay: roleplay.atlasprimer.com

Connect with Paul on LinkedIn: Paul Burani on LinkedIn

If this conversation gives you something useful, share it with another trainer, facilitator, or learning leader who might benefit from it.

And if you haven’t already, subscribe to Lessons from Learning Leaders for practical ideas on training, facilitation, learning transfer, AI, and helping people perform better at work.