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Miguel Ángel Ballesteros

Maker, using software to bring great ideas to life. Manager, empowering and developing people to achieve meaningful goals. Father, devoted to family. Lifelong learner, with a passion for generative AI.

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Game 3: Lightning Re-frame

Game 3: Lightning Re-frame

Objective: Develop mental agility to detect a negative or manipulative frame and re-define it instantly in favor of the common goal.

Players and Roles

  • Role A (The “Troll”): Throws complaints, blame, or negative frames.
  • Role B (The Leader): Re-frames and returns the ball.

Quick Set-up: Attack Phrases

The Troll must stand chooses one of these phrases to launch their initial attack. Don’t think about it, just throw it.

Troll Phrase Negative Frame Type
“You always want to be right about everything.” Identity Attack (You are arrogant).
“This is a total waste of time.” Process Attack (Uselessness).
“What you are is selfish.” Labeling (Moral judgment).
“If you cared about the project, you would do this.” Emotional Blackmail (Guilt).
“What nonsense you just said.” Disqualification (Ridicule).
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Competence Attack (Authority).
“Here we go again with your quirks.” Generalization (Negative history).
“And what would you know?” Status Challenge (Hierarchy).
“That’s not going to work, as always.” Self-fulfilling Prophecy (Pessimism).
“Do it however you want, I don’t care.” Passive-Aggressive (False withdrawal).

Mechanics

  1. The Troll throws a short phrase with poison (e.g., “You always arrive late”, “This is a waste of time”, “You are selfish”).
  2. The Leader has 3 seconds to respond with a phrase starting with:
    • “It is not X, it is Y…”
    • “I understand you are worried about X; my goal is Y…”
    • “Do we want X or do we want Y?”
  3. If they take more than 3 seconds or justify themselves (“it’s not true…”), lose point. If they re-frame towards the goal, gain point.

Debriefing (Closing questions)

  • What do you feel in your stomach when the accusation is thrown at you? (Normalize the stress spike).
  • Which “template” phrase worked best for you?

Pro Tip

Don’t try to convince the Troll they are wrong. Simply change the conversation topic.

  • Troll: “You are annoying”.
  • Leader: “I am persistent because I want this to turn out well. Shall we continue?”

Train this theory

AI Sparring Partner

If you don’t have a human partner, copy and paste this prompt into ChatGPT/Claude to practice alone:

Act as a "Social Troll". We are going to play "Lightning Re-frame".
Your goal is to train me to deflect verbal attacks without getting angry or defensive.

RULES:
1. You throw a "Toxic Phrase" at me (Attack on my competence, identity, or past).
   - Ex: "You are selfish", "This is a disaster".
2. I must respond with a "Positive Re-frame" (change meaning to future/solution) in less than 7 words.
   - Bad: "It's not true" (Defensive).
   - Good: "It's not selfishness, it's self-care" (Re-frame).
3. If I defend myself, say "❌ FAIL" and explain why.
4. If I re-frame well, say "✅ POINT" and throw the next attack immediately.

START THE CONVERSATION NOW BY:
1. Saying "Welcome to the Re-frame Dojo."
2. Throwing the first toxic phrase at me to answer.