# Read a scenario overview

> Understand the goal, counterpart, and requirements before you start practicing.

Source: https://lira.thoughtly.com/docs/practice/scenario-overview
Audience: everyone
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

The scenario overview is your brief for the conversation. It brings the scenario's artwork, product context, goal, and practice controls together so you can start with a clear purpose.



![A scenario cover beside its conversation goal, five-minute duration, language, and Start practice button.](https://lira.thoughtly.com/docs/images/product/scenario-overview.webp)

Your goal and call settings stay together at the top of the scenario.



## Read these first

**Your goal** describes the outcome you are working toward. **Your counterpart** and **The situation** explain who you are speaking with and the circumstances of the conversation. Expand longer text when you need the full context.

The call's duration, language, and difficulty help you choose the right time and setup. These are scenario settings; you do not need to change your account to practice in a scenario's language.

Hover or focus the difficulty badge to read what that level means. On **Expert**, expect frequent interruptions and pressure to finish quickly. Respect the customer's time, earn permission for a short exchange, and use relevant questions and listening to keep their attention. A final warning gives one opportunity to change course; another generic pitch or product-category question does not earn another warning. A dismissive or hostile reply to the initial relevance challenge, or an inappropriate personal question, can end an Expert conversation immediately. A concise, respectful purpose, permission, and specific question earn more time. Ordinary pauses, filler, accents, or stuttering do not count against you. At any difficulty, you can also clearly ask to hang up or stop the role-play. The browser call ends automatically when they leave; you do not need to press **End call**.

The product and publishing details identify the scenario you are using. If it is assigned, the assignment context helps distinguish it from general practice.

## Understand the rubric

The **Scoring rubric** lists the skills being assessed, what good performance looks like, and any individual minimums. The certificate card brings the qualifying requirements together.

You must meet the applicable requirements in the same attempt. A strong result in one skill on one call does not combine with another call to qualify. See [feedback and scoring](https://lira.thoughtly.com/docs/results/feedback-and-scoring) for details.



![A four-skill rubric showing scoring criteria, equal 25 percent weights, and individual minimum scores.](https://lira.thoughtly.com/docs/images/product/scoring-rubric.webp)

The rubric describes what each skill measures and which minimums apply.



## Return to your progress

Where available, the page shows your personal best, recent attempts, and scenario activity. Open an attempt to review its feedback. A scenario's leaderboard includes eligible submitted results, rather than every private practice call.

Select **Start practice** when you are ready. Managers and admins with permission to manage the scenario also see **Edit** and assignment controls.



![An Expert difficulty badge separated from the Edit and Assign buttons on a scenario page.](https://lira.thoughtly.com/docs/images/product/scenario-difficulty-actions.webp)

The difficulty describes the version you are viewing; editing and assignment actions sit separately.





> **Published versions preserve context**
> 
> An existing assignment or attempt can use an earlier published version. Its original rubric and certificate requirements still apply, even if the scenario has since been updated.
> 
> When the versions differ, **Open your assigned version** returns to your assignment from the current scenario. From the assignment, **Open current scenario** shows the latest published settings. Start practice from the assigned version when you want an attempt to count toward that assignment.