Diagnostic Challenge

5 Principles of Role Playing

Below are the 5 basic concepts and/or attributes you can adopt to ensure your DC Client experience is both easy and enjoyable!

1. Given Circumstances

  • Commit to the case details provided to memory. This will involve a bit of homework, but once you have intimate knowledge of the facts (the given circumstances of the case, then you can relax and enjoy the ride!

2. Relaxation

  • Don’t stress, you’ve got this! With your intimate knowledge of the case details, all you need to do is clear your mind, listen, and be yourself!

3. Listening

  • Now that you’re relaxed, you can focus on the conversation in the room. Listening is the cornerstone of improvisation and as such warrants a couple additional points:
    • Answer only the question asked. Its tempting to over-indulge, but the students will ask for more information if they want it.
    • Ask questions! If your endurance begins to waver or something is unclear, be sure to ask for clarification. It’s important for the students to learn that above anything else their communication should be comprehensible.

4. Endurance

  • Improvisation can be taxing, but it’s critical that you remain in character whenever interacting with students. One helpful tool is to remember your character objective, so that if you sense that you’re beginning to drift, bring your thoughts back to the question/problem that your character originally came in for. This will help you refocus.

5. Character Objective

  • This is included in your client case scenario. It represents the ultimate goal of what your character seeks from his/her visit to the veterinarian. With this in mind, you can put the given circumstances on the back burner (you know them well, after all) and focus on why you are here–i.e. your character objective.

For a Printable version, click here