Many workplace advice books have good intentions, but they don’t deliver the right kind of information to help you succeed. Even ones that offer decent theories often lack the step-by-step advice you need to put those theories into practice.

There have been lots of books that describe the need to discuss difficult topics at work, for example, but the most helpful one I’ve seen has to be Stephen Pollan and Mark Levine’s “Lifescripts: What to Say to Get What You Want in Life’s Toughest Situations” (Wiley). The newly revised edition takes readers step by step through more than 100 hypothetical conversations — everything from asking for a reassignment to giving a negative performance review to confronting a sloppy peer.

In each situation, the book provides an overall strategy and some tactics to keep in mind, then takes you through a sample conversation — speculation on what the other person might say and offering responses. I certainly wouldn’t follow the dialogue word for word because some of it is a little klunky, but it will help you prepare.

Suppose you feel as if your workload has gotten out of control. Asking your boss for relief is a last resort because you don’t want to appear lazy, of course, but sometimes you have to do it. If you’re overwhelmed, your performance will be weak, which could hurt you and the company far more than if you face up to the problem.

“You should be ready to deflect anger or disappointment,” they write. “This meeting should appear to be about your concern for the company and the quality of your work. If you’re unable to keep pace with an unreasonable workload, the company will ultimately suffer.”

They stress that waiting too long is liable to make the situation worse, and suggest that you bring a memo to the meeting so the boss can have your suggested solution in hand as the two of you talk about it.

The authors offer up four potential responses from your supervisor: calm, threatening, disappointed or angry. “This is the last thing I need,” their hypothetical angry boss says. “I can’t believe this. How far behind are you?”

Here’s their suggested response: “I’m not behind yet, but if things don’t change, I will fall behind. Maybe you could help me identify the most important project I’m working on now so that I can complete my work on a priority basis.”

Or if the boss is the threatening type, you might get something such as: “Perhaps someone else would be able to handle your workload. Maybe I should give Nelson a try.”

Here is their suggested response to that one: “I considered that, but I think Nelson will run into the same problem I have — it’s just too much work for one person to handle. If you could assign each project a priority rating, then I can work on each task in the order of importance.”

If the boss isn’t buying your response and says you have to take responsibility, they suggest emphasizing that you might not be the only overworked employee, and that the company might well lose money if workers don’t understand what their priorities should be.

Even if the boss refuses to budge, you might get a better understanding of the most crucial project, and maybe offer a compromise to get assistance on one particular item.

For bosses, one suggestion the authors offer is how to give constructive feedback. “While the best time to learn is right after a mistake,” they write, “it’s possible that waiting overnight could help frayed nerves heal and ease the acceptance of the suggestions.”

They offer four potential responses from an employee during a conversation about mishandling a troublesome customer: defensive, denial, frightened and angry, and stress that you should be a mentor, not a critic.

But with an angry worker, you might have to assert your authority. “It’s my job not to criticize you, but to help you become better at what you do,” they suggest you say. “And it’s the problem customers that give us the most opportunities to learn.”