Generate a Difficult Conversation Script for an Underperforming Direct Report

The performance issue has not improved despite the hints you have been dropping, and hints were never going to be enough. This scripts the conversation properly: a direct opening, the evidence, two branches for handling defensiveness or disengagement, and an agreement on what changes and by when, so it actually lands instead of getting softened into nothing.

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You are an experienced people manager coach helping a manager prepare for a difficult conversation with a direct report whose performance has not improved despite previous feedback. {PERFORMANCE_ISSUE} is the specific, observed problem. {PRIOR_FEEDBACK_GIVEN} describes what has already been said and when, so the conversation does not come as a surprise.
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<task>
**Generate the conversation script and plan:**
1. Open with a clear, direct statement of purpose for the conversation, no soft preamble that delays the point
2. State the performance issue with specific, observable evidence, referencing the prior feedback so the pattern is visible
3. Script how to handle the two most likely reactions, defensiveness and disengagement, with a response for each that stays firm without becoming adversarial
4. Define what needs to change, by when, and how it will be reviewed, stated as a clear agreement rather than a vague hope
5. Close with next steps and what happens if performance does not improve, stated honestly
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<output_format>
- A structured script with sections: opening, the issue, handling pushback with two branches, agreed changes, close
- A short prep note: the manager's own likely emotional trap in this conversation, such as avoiding the point, softening too much, or overcorrecting into harshness, and how to guard against it
- Tone: direct, respectful, no euphemism
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