Discussion is key to learning.
In a screen-bound world, face-to-face conversation is hard.
But it’s important—and teachable.
We help schools teach it.
Discussion skills are teachable — it’s time to get tactical about teaching them.
Our signature program, R.E.A.L.® Discussion, breaks the art of discussion into teachable, assessable skills for a generation of students who would rather text than talk.
Today’s kids struggle with the basics: listening deeply, engaging different viewpoints, expressing themselves, reading non-verbal cues. These are foundational skills for academics — but also for relationships, college, democracy, and career. The causes of this communication crisis may be up for debate (blame phones, pandemic, politics, parents!) but here’s what’s not: our shared future depends on young people learning how to talk and truly listen to each other.
At R.E.A.L.® we design the discussion skills strategy your school needs in today’s world. We customize our research-based approach to your mission and context, blending R.E.A.L.® Discussion into what you already do.
Since Since 2021, we have worked with 70+ K-12 schools, and we’ve learned that our strongest partnerships start with three shared beliefs:
Conversation Skills Are Key to Success – in School and in Life.
Yet, for children growing up in our tech-centric world, live conversation has become hard and even scary. Today’s students struggle with the basics: expressing themselves, engaging different viewpoints, listening deeply, reading non-verbal cues. These are skills for learning across disciplines — and real life.
This is not “just a pandemic problem” … the decline in in-person social skills is a trend researchers have documented for a decade: a predictable opportunity cost of more time spent on screens. It’s not about to get better.
For teachers facing a tech-centric world, in-class learning – which relies on conversation – is becoming even more important. In an AI era, teachers need new tools for explicitly teaching the deeply human skills that robots can’t replace. At the top of the list? The oral and social skills that students learn through discussion.
The good news? These skills are age-old (thanks @Socrates), future-proof (hey AI) — and absolutely teachable. But they must be explicitly taught in schools.
R.E.A.L.® is the first research-backed approach for teaching and assessing oracy and discussion skills. Originally designed by Harvard graduates to serve world-leading US private schools, R.E.A.L.® now integrates with all major curricula.
We are proud to partner with schools around the world, providing educators with training and tools to become the oracy and discussion skills experts our students need.
The R.E.A.L.® approach has been featured by:
The R.E.A.L.® approach has been featured by:
Case Studies
Real Schools, Real Impact
Girls’ Preparatory School
Blair Academy
Nativity Preparatory School
Our Story
As a teacher and school leader, Liza Garonzik realized that her Gen-Z and Alpha students struggled to communicate live, in-person, and across any kind of difference.
Liza knew that these skills were high stakes for learning and life! So, she spent a decade working with experts, teachers, and researchers to develop R.E.A.L.®: the first research-based method for teaching face-to-face discussion skills.
Today, R.E.A.L.® has several programs for teaching discussion skills in K-12 schools. The student results speak for themselves!
But the secret ingredient behind our success? Our school partnership model. We don’t just sell a program. We partner with each school to design and implement a strategy that will really work — for kids, for teachers, and for the community.
Our Story
As a teacher and school leader, Liza Garonzik realized that her Gen-Z and Alpha students struggled to communicate live, in-person, and across any kind of difference.
Liza knew that these skills were high stakes for learning and life! So, she spent a decade working with experts, teachers, and researchers to develop R.E.A.L.®: the first research-based method for teaching face-to-face discussion skills.
Today, R.E.A.L.® has several programs for teaching discussion skills in K-12 schools. The student results speak for themselves!
But the secret ingredient behind our success? Our school partnership model. We don’t just sell a program. We partner with each school to design and implement a strategy that will really work — for kids, for teachers, and for the community.
Featured School Partners
Program Preview
R.E.A.L.® is a method for breaking the deeply human art of great discussion into teachable, assessable, transferable skills for students who would rather text than talk. R.E.A.L.® has programs for Gr. 2-10.
98%
of teachers would recommend R.E.A.L.® to a colleague
96%
of students see R.E.A.L.® skills as useful beyond the classroom
98%
of students report more confidence in speaking up in discussion
96%
of students listen more actively to their peers
94%
of students show a growth mindset towards discussion
5
The top five words teachers use to describe R.E.A.L.® PD :
Practical, Innovative, Fun/Funny, Motivating, Helpful
Stories from R.E.A.L.® teachers
Next steps
Ready to build a Discussion Skills Strategy?