For laid-off professionals · Severance negotiations
They handed you the agreement. Rehearse what happens when HR says “this is our standard package.”
You have the counter-offer letter drafted. You still don’t know what you’ll say when they push for Friday.
You got the separation agreement Tuesday — two weeks of pay, COBRA at full cost, twenty-one days to review. HR scheduled a “quick walkthrough” for Thursday. What you can’t picture is asking for four more weeks and paid COBRA, then sitting there while they cite company policy, say cash is locked, and remind you the offer expires before the weekend. Kommi puts you in that room first — with an HR rep who deflects the way real HR reps do — so Thursday isn’t your first take.
The letter isn’t the hard part.
Every severance guide has the same framework: don’t sign same-day, ask for specific non-cash items, counter in writing, stop talking after your ask. You have the bullet points. What you don’t have is muscle memory for when HR says “we need an answer by Friday” and you start softening before they’ve even responded — or when they go quiet for ten seconds and you fill the gap with “but I totally understand if that’s not possible.”
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What’s at stake
A flustered verbal concession can cost you $8k–$40k in severance weeks, COBRA subsidy, or accelerated vesting — or lock you into non-compete language you never meant to accept. The 21-day window only helps if you hold the line in the room.
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Why you procrastinate
You keep rereading the agreement but skip rehearsing the call where they apply deadline pressure. You’re dreading sounding ungrateful or emotional more than the words themselves.
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What scripts can’t do
Severance templates give you email language. They can’t simulate HR pivoting to “cash is locked” while you watch yourself abandon the COBRA ask you came in to make.
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What a lawyer costs
Employment attorneys charge $750–$2,500 to review the document. Worth it for big packages — but you still need to survive Thursday’s call without signing or conceding before the written counter goes out.
Sample roleplay · 3 minutes
“This is our standard package across the company.”
You’re Avery. You’ve reviewed the agreement. Now HR walks you through the terms.
You (Avery)
“Thank you for walking me through this. I’ve reviewed the agreement and I’d like to discuss a few adjustments before I sign — specifically four additional weeks of severance, company-paid COBRA for three months, and neutral reference language in the agreement.”
HR representative
“I appreciate you being direct. This is our standard package — everyone in this round received the same terms. The cash severance amount was set by legal and I don’t have flexibility there. We really need a signed agreement by Friday so we can process your final pay on schedule.”
Your move
- → Don’t accept “standard” as final: “I understand it’s the starting point — I’d like to discuss adjustments based on my tenure”
- → Pivot when cash is locked: “If the weeks can’t move, can we discuss COBRA and reference language?”
- → Hold the deadline: “I’m within my review period and will send a written counter by Monday”
Each choice changes how HR responds. The room gets uncomfortable. You practice making your ask once, then stopping — without filling the silence with a concession you didn’t plan to make.
Then the coach reads you back to yourself.
Not a severance checklist. Not a list of phrases from an employment blog. One observation about what you did, one adjustment for next time, one sentence you can carry into Thursday’s call.
Sample coach debrief
“You opened well — specific asks, professional tone. When HR said ‘standard package,’ you immediately said ‘oh, I see’ and dropped from four weeks to two before they even responded. That signaled your first number wasn’t serious.
Try next time: When they cite standard terms, pause. One sentence: ‘I understand this is the starting point — given my eight years here, I’d like to discuss whether an adjustment is possible.’ Then stop talking.
Carry into Thursday: ‘I’ll review your response and send a written counter by Monday. I won’t sign before then.’”
Questions before you call HR
- Should I negotiate in the call or by email?
- Most guides recommend a brief call to open the door, then a written counter. Kommi lets you rehearse the verbal moment — so you don’t concede or agree to sign in the room before your email goes out.
- What if HR says they don’t negotiate severance at all?
- That’s a common deflection. You practice responding without backing down: “Has there been flexibility in similar cases? I’d like to discuss options that work for both sides.” Then pivot to non-cash items if cash is truly locked.
- I already have scripts from HRGet or BeforeSigning. Why practice?
- Scripts give you email language and counter-offer templates. They don’t prepare you for deadline pressure, the “standard package” deflection, or the ten seconds of silence after your ask. Kommi is where you hear yourself respond under pressure — and fix the premature concession before it costs you real money.
- Is $11.99/mo worth it for one severance negotiation?
- One extra week of severance at a $120k salary is roughly $2,300. Kommi costs less than a single hour with most employment lawyers — and you get unlimited sessions across every hard conversation while you job-search.
$11.99 a month.
A coach with a calendar runs two hundred dollars an hour. Kommi runs roughly forty cents a day — and is awake when you can't sleep, which is when most of these conversations are actually being rehearsed anyway.
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One conversation you’d have talked yourself out of is worth years of this. Or just sleep better on Wednesday. Either way.
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