learning blueprint //

Setting the Stage

for Effective Role Plays
By Swati Karve

Successful role plays require meaningful and

relevant characters, skillful facilitators, the
participants ability to play the roles, observer
involvement, and an effective debriefing process.
Role plays can be prewritten, part
of a video clip, impromptu, or
created specifically for training.
Role play as a pedagogy is usually used in training programs
involving interpersonal skills in
general organizational settings
such as communication, sales,
performance appraisal, counseling, mentoring, team building, and
leadership. They also are used in
specific settings, such as healthcare and social services, where
participants take on the roles of
workers, clients, and others in
those settings.

Why it works
Role plays allow participants to experience the role and what the role entails.
They also provide a safe environment
for learners to experience and express
the feelings and opinions about the
roles covered by the training program.

Guidelines
There are two ways you can approach
role plays. You can design it so that all
participants are assigned to two- or
three-person groups, with everyone
doing the role plays. Or you can develop
a script that calls for two or three
76 | T+D | NOVEMBER 2011

volunteers to do the role play, while the

remaining learners serve as observers.
Here are steps to follow for creating the
role play.
Do background research. Gather data
from HR and line managers on participant needs and the specific job roles of
participants. This ensures that the context of the role play becomes relevant
for the participants and that they are
comfortable with the setting.
Script the role play. The role play must
be scripted well and without ambiguity.
Role plays usually are scripted for two
or three characters.
Script the general context. That
includes the organizational chart and
reporting relationships, as well as where
the players fit into the chart. Provide
the background information about
the organization or department, and
describe all the necessary details of the
context in which the roles are going to
be played out.
Script for specific characters. Create
separate character scripts for each role.
Describe the character and context of
each role and the relevant issue that is
to be played out.
Do not give exact dialogues in the
role plays. This might lead to anxiety
or stage fright for some. Additionally,
the dialogues might not match the
personality of your role players. The

personalities of the participants need to

show up in the role play. If you do give
exact dialogues, instruct the participants to play the roles along the given
lines, and inform them that they do not
need to use the exact words.
Do not write a case study for a role
play. I have seen facilitators write an
entire story for a role play, and there
is a great deal of ambiguity when
participants are asked to perform a
role play based on the script. Do not
do this unless you want to create an
impromptu role play out of the case
study. However, be clear about how you
want to go about the role play if it is
impromptu. Otherwise it can become
confusing and be a waste of time.

Facilitation guidelines
Facilitation can make or break a roleplay session. Here are some pointers.
Choosing volunteers. Success of a role
play to a great extent is based on the
role players. At the beginning of the
session, call for volunteers. Take care
that the same outgoing person does not
volunteer all the time. Occasionally, you
may nominate a person to participate
because of personality, role, experience,
or any other suitable factor. In general,
do not allow a boss and subordinate to
Photo by iStockphoto.com

Checklist:
Steps to Effective Role Plays
volunteer in the same role playunless
the goal of the session is for the participants to experience what its like
to be in the others shoes. If a player is
not effective, you may call on another
volunteer to give participants a chance
to compare the behaviors of different
personalities in a given situation.
Preparing players for role play. Give
out the role-play context and the specific role script to each individual. Do
not allow players to see the other players scripts. Allow volunteers 10 to 15
minutes to read and understand
the roles. Answer their questions and
make them comfortable.
Preparing the observers. While the
players are reviewing their scripts, go
over the scripts with the observers. Give
out observation sheets, which will bring
attention to the relevant issues in the
role play.
Setting for the role play. Ensure that
everyone can see and hear the role
players.

For any internalization to

happen, discussion at an
emotion level becomes
important. Do not leave
any issue unresolved.
Facilitating and debriefing. Monitor
the role play, players, and observers
and take notes. Do not interrupt the
role play unless necessary. Time the role
play, and give a signal to players three to
five minutes before the end. Thank the
players for volunteering.
After the role play ends, discuss the
experience of the players and observers,
and draw parallels to the organizational
reality. Ask observers what they would
do in the place of the players. Discuss
the takeaways from the session and
the feelings of both the players and

Consider role plays when the training involves communication

or interpersonal skills.
Define the learning outcomes of the session.
Study the relevant organizational roles.
Create the role-play scriptsone with a general context, and the other thats
specific to the role.
Prepare the observation sheets with pertinent points to be observed.
See that the setting is right for the role-playstage, A/V tools, light, and so on.
Call for volunteers.
Facilitate and debrief after the role-play.
Do not leave any issue unresolved.

observers. For any internalization to

happen, discussion at an emotion level
becomes important. Do not leave
any issue unresolved.

Results
Role plays are successful if they
mirror the organizational reality and
setting, and participants relate to it
emotionally. If a role play ends up just
as entertainment for the participants,
learning may be lost.

Resources:
Jankowski, M. (2011). Virtual RolePlaying Takes Center Stage. Training.
http://www.trainingmag.com/article/
virtual-role-playing-takes-center-stage.
The National Teaching & Learning
Forum. (n.d.). Role Plays and Expressive Exercises. http://www.ntlf.com/pod/
roleplay.htm.
Sogunro, O.A. (2004). Efficacy of RolePlaying Pedagogy in Training Leaders:
Some Reflections. Journal of Management Development, 23(4): 355371.

Swati Karve is head of her consulting

firm, Arcturus Global Consulting, in Troy,
Michigan. She has more than 19 years of
experience in teaching,consulting, and
training in behavioral and soft skills
domains in India and the United States;
karvess@yahoo.com.

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