Ever lose a job offer because an interviewer drilled into details you hadn’t rehearsed? Ever watch your carefully crafted speech unravel when the first audience question pokes a hole you never saw coming?

With Ovation’s Scenario Modifiers, you can program our AI avatars to behave exactly like that tough interviewer or audience member, allowing you to tackle the most challenging questions in rehearsal rather than in the moment.

What is a Scenario?

Scenarios are more than a dozen communication exercises in Ovation that define the environment, conversational flow, and feedback criteria for a practice session.

What is a Scenario Modifier?

A Scenario Modifier is a custom AI prompt that changes or enhances Ovation’s default AI behavior. You can make the AI act stressed, skeptical, enthusiastic, indifferent, or even provide it with a detailed personal backstory.

Think of it this way: Ovation sets the stage and provides the actors; your Scenario Modifier is the director’s note, instructing the AI exactly how to perform.

Clear modifiers ensure the AI fully embodies the role, personality, or emotional state needed to reach your learning objectives. This practice—known as prompt engineering—involves crafting precise, strategic instructions (e.g., “You’re a skeptical investor who challenges my startup idea with probing questions.”).

How to Use Scenario Modifiers in Ovation:

Step 1: Choose a Scenario
Start by selecting a Scenario in Ovation.

Step 2: Write Your Scenario Modifier
Define the AI avatar’s tone, mood, goals, background, or communication style. Keep it to under 2,000 characters.

Step 3: Start the Scenario
Run the simulation and see how closely the AI avatar embodies your modifications.

Tip: You can update and re-run a scenario with different modifiers until you get the exact behavior you want.

Examples

Each of these examples shows how Scenario Modifiers transform a standard scenario into something richer and more specific.

Example 1: The Grade Negotiation

Scenario: One-on-One Conversation
Venue: Office
Description: Meet with your professor (played by the AI avatar) to discuss a recent grade on your paper.

Scenario Modifier 1: Grade negotiation
"You are role-playing as my professor, and I am a student in your Econ 101 class. I am in your office after class to discuss a grade I received on a paper. I feel like the grade was lower than I deserve. You are a tough negotiator and don’t want to budge, but if I make valid points, you give in and agree to raise the grade.”

Scenario Modifier 2: Graded Paper & Professor Notes
(To give the AI more context about the paper you graded, you would add a 2nd Scenario Modifier containing snippets of the paper you turned in, along with the grade and the grade notes that the professor gave you.)

What to Look For:
The AI Professor may push back and cite specific reasons for disagreement.

Example 2: Tough Interview

Scenario: Interview
Venue: Boardroom
Description: Meet with the hiring manager for the job interview.

Scenario Modifier 1:
"You should focus the interview on technical questions about my last job. Don’t let me get away with overly-general answers; keep pushing me to provide technical details to prove I know what I’m talking about.”

Scenario Modifier 2:
"Initially, be slightly dismissive of my responses, and act skeptical of my fit for the role. Change this behavior to being impressed and excited if I answer enough questions with sufficient detail and display a clear understanding of what the role requires.”

What to Look For:
The AI interviewer may scoff at your answers, point out contradictions, or express doubt. After multiple practice sessions, you start to provide better, more detailed answers and win the interviewer over by the end.

Example 3: Emotional Patient

Scenario: Medical Exam
Venue: Examination Room
Description: Examine a concerned AI patient, ask qualifying questions, and offer a diagnosis.
Scenario Modifier:
"You role-play as the patient and break down crying while explaining your symptoms. You constantly cough while speaking, complaining about breathing and stomach issues."

What to Look For:
The AI’s emotional breakdown challenges learners to remain calm, listen actively, and respond with empathy under emotionally charged conditions.

Example 4: Murder Interrogation

Scenario: Interrogation
Venue: Interrogation Room
Description: Question a suspect who has been charged with murder.

Scenario Modifier:
"You are role-playing the suspect and are incredibly nervous. You deflect questions, occasionally contradict yourself, and become increasingly agitated if pressed. Your contradictions contain clues about the truth you're covering up."

What to Look For:
As the detective, focus on reading the AI's behavior for inconsistencies in its responses. Use follow-up questions to pressure the suspect into revealing contradictions.

Example 5: Startup Pitch

Scenario: Elevator Pitch
Venue: Elevator
Description: Pitch your big idea to a potential investor in a short, high-pressure elevator ride.

Scenario Modifier:
"You are a seasoned investor with a track record of successful exits. You’ve heard hundreds of pitches, and you’ve grown jaded. You quickly cut to the chase and point out issues you expect me to have based on your previous investments in similar companies. You’re skeptical and ready to dismiss the idea unless my pitch specifically anticipates your concerns.”

What to Look For:
A weakly supported pitch will cause the AI to dismiss you and decline to invest. A strongly supported pitch may convince the investor there’s something there, and they may offer to set up a follow-up meeting.

PROMPT TEMPLATE to use in ChatGPT

Copy and modify the below template and paste it into ChatGPT to have it quickly create a well-formatted Scenario Modifier for you:

I want to create a Scenario Modifier for a simulation in Ovation (ovationvr.com), a virtual reality and AI-powered platform for practicing communication skills.

In Ovation, a Scenario is a realistic roleplay situation where the user interacts with an AI-driven avatar to practice specific communication challenges. Scenarios can range from a job interview to an impromptu speech to handling a tough customer conversation.

A Scenario Modifier is a custom AI prompt that changes or enhances Ovation’s default AI behavior within the scenario. Think of it this way: Ovation sets the stage and provides the actors; the Scenario Modifier is the director’s note, instructing the AI exactly how to perform.

Help me write the Scenario Modifier that will guide the AI avatar's behavior in my specific context. It should consist of a short Label (less than 15 characters), and the instructions to the AI.

Here are the details:

Scenario: [e.g., Job Interview, Impromptu Speech, Debate, Medical Exam, Elevator Pitch]

User (My) Role: [e.g., Job applicant, Student, Doctor]

AI’s Role: [e.g., Interviewer, Patient, Investor]

Tone or Mood of AI Avatar: [e.g., Skeptical, Anxious, Encouraging, Distracted]

AI's Backstory or Personality Details: [e.g., You are distrustful of doctors due to past experiences, and hesitant to reveal symptoms. You need gentle reassurance before fully opening up.]

Any Specific Details or Conflict: [e.g., Mention my resume gap, argue about a grade, break down emotionally, challenge my logic, ask about budget]

Learning Objective: [e.g., Practice staying calm, Respond to pressure, Handle emotional situations, Give clear explanations]

Write the Scenario Modifier now, with direct instructions to the AI avatar, as if giving it stage directions or a backstory. Make it realistic, engaging, immersive, and keep it short. 

Pro Tips for Creating Effective Scenario Modifiers

• Be specific: Describe the avatar’s mindset, motivations, and emotional state.
• Avoid Names: Ovation's audience members already have names, so avoid renaming them within your scenario modifier. Future updates will enable name customization.
• Add conflict or complexity: Don’t shy away from difficult situations or elaborate backstories.
• Iterate and remix: If the AI behavior doesn’t match your expectations, tweak it and try again.

Whether you're preparing for challenging conversations or training to navigate complex emotional situations, Scenario Modifiers allow you to craft truly custom learning experiences.