There are many benefits of roleplay that participants learn to master and to use in their everyday life outside of the event. In addition to building confidence and improving speaking, roleplay also helps participants hone these valuable skills:

Empathy — One of the benefits of roleplay is experiencing the world from the perspective of someone else, in this case, through your character. It can be difficult to “walk in someone else’s shoes,” and to set aside your circumstances to truly experience things as someone else would. Acting and roleplaying is one of the best ways to do so.

Building empathy improves your emotional intelligence, which makes you a better leader, manager, parent, and partner. 

Creativity — Participants not only create their own persona as a character, they also create the story of what happens to them during the event. Throughout the week, your character will determine their fate as they decide what to do when confronted with decisions such as: what kind of student they will be, whether to support or betray a friend, or whether they will join the others on a magical quest. In addition, all the magic is created by your imagination. You’ll be making up spells, potions, rituals, and prophecies to tell the best story possible with your co-participants.

Creativity is one of the top skills employers and colleges seek in their applicants. It isn’t enough to repeat knowledge you have mastered. Instead you have to contribute to knowledge-making through creative thinking and solutions.

Generosity — In collaborative roleplay, each player gives play to others. They “play up” someone by acting afraid of them if they are a villain, giving in if they are roleplaying a bully, or being admiring and grateful if they are playing a hero. Collaborative actors also learn to include others in their scenes and plots, and not to hog the spotlight, but rather to share it. When something interesting comes your way, collaborative roleplayers know to share it, because that makes it even more interesting. Involving additional creative minds takes the story and the magic to even better places than you can conceive on your own.

Generosity and teamwork are desired attributes for both colleges and employers. Most workplaces are organized around teams, who work together to accomplish goals. Learning to not only work together, but to truly value different team members’ contributions, is learned through collaborative roleplay.