I was talking to a friend and colleague about a possible training, and he got me thinking about our best experience of role play in a particular training we did for conflict mediators.  I remember thinking at the time that this particular training brought out the best of what SFI has to offer.

We were to depict a series of real-life disputes for a group of 200 or so dispute resolution professionals, and a number of them would then try to resolve the dispute using some specific resolution methodologies.  At any juncture, the action could be stopped by participants, and either the mediator, or the role players would be questioned as to what was going on for them.  Our job was to both be within the emotional reality of the dispute, as well as being cognizant of how the mediation was playing on us.  It was a fish-bowl situation for everyone.

One of the disputes involved  a divorce with child custody and quite a lot of money at stake.  Neither of the parties was giving an inch on their “entitlements”, and the mediator at one point pushed himself quite abruptly away from the table and, without speaking,  flung up his hands – which he kept in the air as if he were using every ounce of self-control he had to keep from strangling us.  There was something powerfully parental in the gesture, and I remember being suddenly  very aware of how childishly my “husband” and I were behaving.  The personal truth of that gesture changed the entire dynamic in the room, and provided much discussion afterward among the participants.

The feedback we got that day was off the charts positive, and many of the participants told us that that training day was one of the most valuable they had ever experienced.

I’m curious what other stories and contexts might be out there about times when role play really worked.  We’d love to hear your thoughts and responses!

Kym