How to Create Role Plays for Your Course

Review an Arabic version of this article.

 

What is Role Play?

Role Play is a new curriculum item that allows learners to practice their skills by interacting with an AI character in realistic scenarios. These exercises give learners the opportunity to apply what they’re learning in your course through hands-on practice, allowing them to build confidence and develop real-world skills like decision-making, problem-solving, and communication. This guide will show you how to design meaningful and engaging Role Plays.

 

Why Include Role Plays in Your Course?

Role Plays enable learners to:

• Practice their skills in realistic settings before applying them in real-life situations.
• Receive targeted feedback on their approach and decision-making
• Engage actively with the course content, improving retention and learning outcomes

 

Designing a High-Quality Role Play

Decide Where to Include the Role Play

Identify where within your course a Role Play will reinforce key skills and align with learning objectives. Then, select the “Role Play” curriculum item to begin.

 

 

✅ Best Practices:

• Include at least one Role Play exercise per course section.
• Ensure scenarios align with the skills learners are developing.
• Connect Role Plays to Learning Objectives

 

💡 Examples:

• Add a negotiation Role Play after a lecture on effective communication strategies.
• Include a leadership challenge Role Play in a course section on team management.
• Place a customer service Role Play after a module on conflict resolution techniques.

Decide How to Create Your Role Play

Select “Create from scratch” to build your role play manually, or choose “Create with AI” to answer a few quick questions and let AI generate it for you.

Creating Your Role Play with AI

The “Create with AI” feature makes creating high-quality role plays fast and simple. You provide a few details and either select lectures from your course. AI then uses that context to generate a role play that fits naturally within your course. 

Provide Role Play Details

In this step, you define the scenario and provide details about the characters. Your inputs guide the AI to create a role play that is realistic, focused, and aligned with the skills that learners should practice. You will answer the following questions: 

 

1. Tell us about the skills you want the learners to practice 

✅ Best Practices:

• Identify 2–4 skills learners can demonstrate in a single conversation.
• Phrase skills as observable actions (e.g., “ask open-ended questions” rather than “communication”).
• Ensure skills are aligned with your course objectives.
• Select skills that complement each other so learners can practice them together in one scenario

💡 Example Response:

• Ask open-ended questions to identify the customer’s specific needs 
• Acknowledge and restate the customer’s concern using active listening 
• Link a product feature to the customer’s pain point and propose a next step 

2. Tell us what the role play is about

✅ Best Practices:

• Briefly describe the learner’s role and the AI character’s role.
• Describe the main challenge the learner must address through the role play.
• Keep the scenario realistic, focused on one situation, and aligned with the selected skills.
• Use clear, neutral, and respectful language.

💡 Example Response:

• Learner: Sales representative for a project management SaaS platform. 
• AI character: Small business owner running a 10-person marketing agency.
• Challenge: The customer is hesitant about cost but is also struggling with team inefficiency and missed deadlines. 

3. Give us additional information about role play/characters (Optional)

✅ Best Practices:

• Describe the AI character’s traits/background for added context
• Suggest a first line for the AI character.
• Define learner goals (measurable outcomes tied to the selected skills)
• Indicate suggested duration (either 3, 5, or 10 minutes)

Tip: Ensure the scenario reflects the skills learners should practice and can be completed within the selected duration.

💡 Example Response: 

• The AI character is skeptical, budget-conscious, and motivated by efficiency
• First line: “Honestly, I like some of what I”ve seen, but I’m not sure it makes sense to spend this much for our team size”
• Duration: 10 minutes
• Learner goals: 
  • Ask at least one open-ended question that uncovers the customer’s needs.
  • Accurately restate or paraphrase the customer’s main concern at least once.
  • Identify a product feature that addresses the customer’s pain point.
  • Propose a clear next step (demo, trial, or follow-up meeting) that is realistic for the scenario.

Select Lectures

Selecting specific lectures connects course content to the role play experience. This helps the AI generate scenarios that are directly tied to what is being taught, creating a more accurate and relevant learning experience for learners.

Linking lectures provides the AI with context from the course, allowing it to tailor each role play to the intended topics and learning goals. As a result, conversations more accurately reflect the key concepts and themes of the course.

How to select lectures:

• Select one or more lectures for the role play to align with.
• Lectures with a total duration of up to 40 minutes can be included.
• Lectures may be chosen from different sections of the course.

Reminder: Providing context helps the AI generate a role play that is coherent, realistic, and actionable for learners. 

After creating a role play with AI, the Back to regenerate button can be used to review or regenerate the role play.

Regenerate Role Play

This option opens the setup view, where inputs can be reviewed and adjusted. Once changes are made, the role play will be regenerated using the updated key inputs.

 

Creating Your Role Play from Scratch

To create your role play from scratch, follow these steps:

Write the Role Play Title

Create a clear and descriptive title that captures the essence of the role play. The title should highlight the key skills learners will practice and reflect real-world scenarios they will encounter. Note that the title will be displayed to learners as the curriculum item within the course content.

 

 

✅ Best Practices:

• Ensure the title is clear, specific, and aligned with learning objectives
• Focus on the skill(s) being practiced
• Make the title engaging and relevant

 

💡 Example Titles:

• Handling a Dissatisfied Customer’s Complaint
• Negotiating a Service Contract with a Budget-Conscious Client
• Resolving a Dispute Between Two Team Members Over Project Responsibilities

 

Creating Your Role Play Exercise

To create your role play exercise, you’ll follow a three-step process:

1. Plan the Role Play: Write the realistic scenario and define the learner’s role.
2. AI Character Customization: Provide details about the AI character, including their name, appearance, voice, personality, background, and first line.
3. Role Play Settings: Adjust the title, set the duration, and define the meeting goals.

For more detailed instructions, see the sections below.

 

Plan Role Play:

1. Write the Scenario:

   Create a realistic scenario that defines the learner’s role, objectives, and the challenge they will face in an online meeting. The scenario will be presented as the “Meeting Agenda” to learners during their role play.

 

✅ Best Practices:

• Ensure the scenario mirrors real-world challenges learners are likely to encounter.
• Provide sufficient context for meaningful decision-making during the online meeting.
• Clearly define the learner’s role and objectives.
• Include details about key characters, organizations, or settings as needed.

 

💡 Example Scenario: “You’re a team lead in the marketing department. One of your team members, Jordan, has been missing deadlines for a key campaign, and these delays are affecting the entire team’s ability to stay on track. In this online meeting, you need to discuss the issue with Jordan, understand the root cause, and help them get back on track while maintaining their morale and motivation. Your objective is to identify solutions while keeping the conversation constructive.”

 

1. Define the Learner Role:

   Assign a clear and specific role to the learner. This section will not be visible to learners during the exercise, but it provides context for the role play setup, ensuring the scenario remains relevant and aligned with the intended learning outcomes.

 

✅ Best Practices:

• The learner’s role should be clearly defined and closely aligned with the course’s learning objectives.
• Ensure the role reflects realistic, real-world situations that learners are likely to encounter in their jobs or daily lives.

 

💡 Example Learner Roles:

• Team lead in the marketing department at a mid-sized tech company
• Project manager in a software development company
• Sales executive in an e-commerce company

 

1. Once you’ve defined the learner role, you can move on to editing the role play title you created in the first step.
   

 

AI Character Customization

Next, you’ll create the AI character that the learner will interact with during the role play. A well-defined character makes the experience feel more real and engaging for the learner. Since the character details will be visible to learners, make sure to use language that’s clear and engaging. Follow the steps below to get started:

1. Select the AI character’s appearance and voice. Choose an avatar that best matches the character’s role and personality to set the tone for the role play. Click “Change” to select a different avatar from the available options.

 

 

1. Give the AI character a relevant name that fits their role and personality, ensuring diversity and inclusivity to make the character relatable and engaging for all learners.

 

 

1. Next, you’ll define the role of the AI character in the scenario. This role should complement the learner’s role, creating a meaningful interaction that helps them practice their skills.

 

 

✅ Best Practices:

• The AI character’s role should offer a perspective that adds value to the learner’s experience.
• Make sure the role fits with the learning objectives and helps the learner stay engaged in the scenario.

 

💡 Example AI Character Roles:

• Senior Project Manager at a tech company
• HR Manager at a mid-sized company
• Frustrated Client in a Consulting Firm

 

1. Define the AI character’s personality and background. This step helps shape how the AI will respond and interact with the learner. Describe your character’s personality traits, motivations, and any relevant background details that will influence how they behave in the scenario.

 

 

✅ Best Practices:

• Provide enough context to help learners understand the AI character’s perspective and anticipate challenges.
• Keep the description concise (2-4 sentences) to provide enough context without overwhelming the learner.
• Focus on the character’s motivations, personality, and how they interact with others in the scenario.

 

💡 Example Character Backgrounds:

• “Jordan is a mid-level marketing associate who has been with the company for two years. They’re usually reliable but have recently struggled to balance multiple projects. Jordan is worried about their performance and values their reputation as a team player. They appreciate direct, constructive feedback and respond well to clear expectations”
• “Taylor is an experienced HR manager at a mid-sized company. They’re known for staying calm under pressure and taking a thoughtful, step-by-step approach to problems. Right now, they’re dealing with a long-time employee whose performance is slipping, and they’re feeling the pressure to handle it carefully. Taylor values team harmony and wants to address the issue without creating unnecessary tension.”

 

Write the AI Character’s first line. This first line sets the tone for the conversation and gets the learner engaged right from the start. It should establish the context of the scenario and create an immediate opportunity for the learner to dive into the interaction.

 

 

✅ Best Practices:

• Align with the character’s personality and the scenario’s tone.
• Clearly introduce the situation and prompt the learner to engage and respond thoughtfully.
• The first line should feel natural and directly connected to the situation.

 

💡 Example First Lines:

• Jordan: “Hey, I got your message about wanting to talk. I know I’ve been a little behind lately, and I’m glad you reached out. How’s everything going on your end?”
• Taylor: “Thanks for meeting with me today. I’ve been thinking about the project delays and wanted to hear your thoughts on how we can get back on track. What’s your take on the situation?”

 

Role Play Settings

In this step, you’ll configure the settings for your role-play scenario to ensure it’s well-suited to your learners’ needs. This includes choosing an appropriate meeting title, defining the meeting duration, and setting clear meeting goals.

Choose a meeting title. Select a title for the call that clearly reflects the nature of the conversation. The title will help both the learner and the AI character understand the focus of the role-play scenario.

 

 

✅ Best Practices:

• Make the title specific and relevant to the scenario.
• Ensure the title clearly reflects the situation being simulated.

 

💡 Example Titles:

• “Performance Feedback Discussion”
• “Customer Support Call: Shipping Issue”
• “Team Meeting: Project Updates”

 

1. Define the Meeting Duration: Set the length of the meeting based on the complexity of the role play. Ensure it gives the learner enough time to demonstrate key skills without feeling rushed.

 

 

1. Set the Meeting Goals: Establish specific, measurable goals that the learner will be evaluated on during the role play. These goals should directly align with the learning objectives of the scenario and help assess the learner’s performance. You can select up to five meeting goals.

 

 

✅ Best Practices for Defining Meeting Goals:

• Align each goal to the course learning objectives and skills that learners are working on gaining.
• Make sure the goals are specific, actionable, and measurable.

 

💡 Example Meeting Goals:

• Ask at least three clarifying questions to gather key details about the issue before proposing a solution.
• Identify the customer’s primary concern and acknowledge their emotions within the first two responses.
• Offer a solution that is both realistic and tailored to the customer’s needs, while maintaining company policies.

 

Start Creating Engaging Role Plays

Role Play exercises are a great way to give learners a chance to practice their skills in real-world situations. By following the steps in this guide, you can create engaging, meaningful scenarios that help learners build confidence, solve problems, and improve their communication.

Ready to get started? Pick a key skill, design a scenario that puts it into action, and set clear goals for your learners. With a little creativity and planning, you can create role plays that make learning more interactive, enjoyable, and impactful.