These tips came out of a discussion forum that was held from 11th-13th August 2003. Gisela Adams from Relationships Australia led and facilitated the event which focused on the importance of preparing, debriefing and de-rolling online role-play students.

Summary of Top Tips

Being a role-player is a skill. It’s important for the student to be well prepared and have a good sense of who their character is. To encourage this understanding ask the student questions such as:

• Where do you live?
• What work do you do?
• What do you do for leisure?
• What sort of car do you drive?
• What's your favourite movie?
• Where did you grow up?

Playing someone totally different to yourself means you really need to analyse that character and think about the situation - it is even better online because people feel less inhibited and can really carry a role.

Online role-play can actually be more emotionally intense than face to face role-play.

Not having the direct face to face interaction and the face to face rapport building, and not being able to rely on non-verbal cues/behaviour can make online role-play a very isolating experience when emotional buttons are pressed.

After an online role-play it is very important to discuss the participants’ experiences. This is because role-players can become emotionally involved in the role, and it may elicit expected feelings. Ask participants:

• How they felt while participating in the role-play.
• What happened during the course of the role-play?
• What was learned?
• How was it learned?

Facilitate the process immediately through postings of support, e-mails of support and facilitation through synchronous chat during or immediate after the role-play. There should be no or little time delay.

Extended online role plays (played over three or four weeks) can get pretty intense – for both participants and moderator. Anonymity and asynchronicity can create a very immersive experience for players who have time to plan out and reflect on their contributions.

Online role-play participants are relieved of the performance anxiety inherent in face to face role play and can become very absorbed in their role.

Video the students’ role-plays and put them on DVD. Watch the videos immediately after the event. This helps students identify ways they could improve. Letting students watch their fellow students’ role-plays is also beneficial. A great learning tool!

Contributors
Graeme Robinson, Carolyn Richards, Ian Mcdonald, Kerrie James, Anthony Hill, Rose Grozdanic, Judy Fawcett, Ruth Djordjevic, Maureen Connors, Melanie Burke, Mary Aquino, Gisela Adams