Updated

Pocket guide

What to say when it matters

Volo is a social skills app for iPhone and Android, and What To Say is its pocket guide of real lines for real moments: 61 situations across 8 categories, from breaking the ice with a stranger to telling a friend their cancelling hurts. Every line comes in three tones, warm, playful and direct, with a short note on why it works. Steal them or make them yours.

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Two free scripts per category

Breaking the ice

First words for strangers, groups and brand new chats.

  • Free script

    When you want to talk to a stranger at a party

    You've noticed someone who seems interesting, and every minute you wait makes walking over feel like a bigger deal.

    “Hey, I only know the host here, so I'm making myself talk to new people. How do you know them?”

  • Free script

    When you join a group conversation already in progress

    There's a circle of people mid-conversation and no obvious door in. Hovering at the edge feels worse every second.

    “This looks like the fun corner. What did I miss?”

Also in this category

  • ·When you get introduced and the introducer walks away
  • ·When you recognize someone but their name is gone
  • ·When you're seated next to a stranger at a dinner
  • ·When small talk stalls at "how are you"
  • ·When you want to talk to someone you see at the gym every week
  • ·When you message someone new for the first time

All 8 breaking the ice scripts and how to use them →

Awkward moments

For when the room goes quiet and your brain follows.

  • Free script

    When the conversation goes quiet

    The thread just ran out and you can feel both of you noticing. Three seconds of silence feels like thirty.

    “I keep thinking about what you said earlier, about almost moving abroad. What stopped you?”

  • Free script

    When you both start talking at the same time

    You both spoke, both stopped, both said "sorry, go ahead", and now you're trapped in a politeness standoff.

    “No, you first. I want to hear it, and I promise mine will keep.”

Also in this category

  • ·When you call someone the wrong name
  • ·When you didn't hear them the third time
  • ·When your joke lands flat
  • ·When you get caught not listening
  • ·When you wave at someone who wasn't waving at you
  • ·When someone points out that you've gone quiet

All 8 awkward moments scripts and how to use them →

Graceful exits

Leave the conversation, keep the goodwill.

  • Free script

    When you need to end a conversation that won't end

    It was a good chat ten minutes ago. Now it's circling, you're late for the rest of your life, and there's no natural pause in sight.

    “I could talk to you about this all night, and that's exactly why I have to stop myself. I'm off to make my rounds.”

  • Free script

    When you want to leave the party early

    You've had a good time, and now you're done. But it's barely ten and you can already hear the chorus of 'nooo, stay!'

    “I'm going to sneak out while I still love everyone here. This was exactly what I needed.”

Also in this category

  • ·When you're cornered by a talker at an event
  • ·When a phone call needs to wrap up
  • ·When you want to move on at a networking event
  • ·When a text conversation has run its course
  • ·When guests won't leave and you're done hosting

All 7 graceful exits scripts and how to use them →

Compliments

Give praise that lands and take it without flinching.

  • Free script

    When someone compliments you and you freeze

    Someone says something genuinely kind and your instinct is to argue with them or deflect it into the floor.

    “That really means a lot, thank you. I put more into it than it probably looks like.”

  • Free script

    When you want to compliment a stranger without being weird

    Their jacket is great, their dog is perfect, whatever it is, you want to say so. You just don't want to make it strange for either of you.

    “Sorry to interrupt your day, I just had to say that jacket is fantastic. Okay, that's all, carry on.”

Also in this category

  • ·When you want to praise a colleague's work so it lands
  • ·When someone shows you what they made and "nice" isn't enough
  • ·When you want to tell a friend what they mean to you
  • ·When a compliment feels backhanded
  • ·When you're praised in front of a group

All 7 compliments scripts and how to use them →

Saying no

Turn things down without burning anything down.

  • Free script

    When a friend asks for a favor you can't do

    They need something real, you genuinely can't give it, and every draft of your reply sounds like either an excuse or a rejection of them personally.

    “I hate saying this, but I can't take that on right now. I'd do it badly, and you deserve better than my leftovers.”

  • Free script

    When you're invited and you don't want to go

    There's no conflict, no excuse, no scheduling problem. You just don't want to go, and 'I don't want to' feels illegal to say.

    “Thank you for thinking of me, honestly. I'm going to pass this time, I need a quiet one. Have the best night.”

Also in this category

  • ·When someone asks to borrow money
  • ·When you have to cancel plans without burning the friendship
  • ·When someone won't take your first no
  • ·When family asks for a commitment you can't make
  • ·When a salesperson won't let go

All 7 saying no scripts and how to use them →

Hard conversations

The talks you keep putting off, made sayable.

  • Free script

    When you have to apologize and mean it

    You were wrong, they're hurt, and 'sorry you feel that way' is not going to cut it. This one has to be real.

    “I've been thinking about what I said, and I was wrong. Not 'wrong if it upset you'. Wrong. I'm sorry, and I understand if it takes a while to feel okay.”

  • Free script

    When a friend keeps canceling on you

    Third cancellation in a row, always with a decent excuse. Individually they're all fine. Together they're starting to say something, and it stings.

    “No stress about tonight. Can I say one thing though? That's three in a row, and I'm starting to wonder if something's up. With you, or with us.”

Also in this category

  • ·When someone owes you money
  • ·When you have to tell a friend something they don't want to hear
  • ·When someone crosses a line with a "joke"
  • ·When you have to deliver bad news
  • ·When a friend is grieving and you don't know what to say
  • ·When you disagree about something big with someone you love

All 8 hard conversations scripts and how to use them →

Work moments

Meetings, bosses and moments your career notices.

  • Free script

    When you disagree with your boss

    They've proposed something you think is wrong, everyone else is nodding, and the cost of speaking up feels very visible while the cost of silence is invisible.

    “Can I push back on one piece of that? I might be missing context, but I see a risk there and I'd rather raise it now than in the retro.”

  • Free script

    When you're interrupted in a meeting

    You were mid-point, someone talked over you, and now the conversation is moving on with your sentence still hanging there unfinished.

    “Hold that thought, I want to land my last point first. Then I'm curious where you're going with that.”

Also in this category

  • ·When you need to ask for a raise
  • ·When you don't understand and everyone else seems to
  • ·When you made a mistake and need to own it
  • ·When a coworker takes credit for your work
  • ·When you're put on the spot with a question you can't answer
  • ·When you run into a senior person at the coffee machine

All 8 work moments scripts and how to use them →

Dating moments

Honest moves for dates, sparks and almost-relationships.

  • Free script

    When you want to ask them out

    You like them. You're pretty sure they might like you. Someone has to convert this from a maybe into a plan, and it's apparently going to be you.

    “I really enjoy talking to you, and I'd love to take you to dinner. Properly, as a date. What do you think?”

  • Free script

    When the first date conversation stalls

    The interview questions are used up, the food hasn't arrived, and you can feel the date's pulse dropping. Somebody needs to shock it back to life.

    “Okay, forget the standard questions. What's something you're weirdly into that never comes up on dates?”

Also in this category

  • ·When you want a second date and don't want to play games
  • ·When the date is going well and you want to say so
  • ·When you want to end the date early without cruelty
  • ·When you're not feeling it and they ask again
  • ·When you want to define the relationship
  • ·When the texting momentum has died

All 8 dating moments scripts and how to use them →

Questions

Fair questions

What do I say when the conversation goes quiet?

Go back to something they said earlier. "I keep thinking about what you said about almost moving abroad. What stopped you?" A silence is not a problem; the panicked scramble to fill it is.

How do I say no politely?

Short, honest and warm, with no essay. "Thank you for thinking of me. I'm going to pass this time, I need a quiet one. Have the best night." Then stop talking.

How do I end a conversation politely?

Leave at the peak and name the exit: "I could talk about this all night, which is exactly why I have to stop myself. I'm off to make my rounds."

Are the scripts free?

Yes. Every script on this site is free to read, with the warm, playful and direct versions of each line.

Keep the right words close.

Save the lines you love to My Lines and train the moment behind each one with a linked lesson or roleplay.

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