Office Hours Recap | Training Best Practices with Brainshark Roleplay AI plus resources
Missed our live session? We have gathered the top strategies, insights, and AI features shared by our experts Deanne O’Sullivan and Audrey Polce below. Catch the [full video recording] at the bottom of this article and don’t forget to check out [our Best Practices]!
💡 Importance of Roleplay in Training
Roleplay goes beyond traditional lectures to deliver measurable, high-impact results:
- Retention Boost: Roleplay leads to 75% knowledge retention, compared to just 5% for traditional lectures and 10% for reading or listening.
- Higher Win Rates: Companies implementing dynamic coaching and roleplay programs see a 28% increase in win rates.
- Proven Preference: 33% of top-performing sales professionals rank roleplay as the single most effective form of training.
- Confidence Boost: Purposeful practice increases employee confidence by 75%, directly leading to more confident customer conversations.
🛠️ What "Good" Training Looks Like
Designing effective training modules requires a structured, bite-sized approach:
- Keep It Real & Relevant: Simulate actual, live scenarios tailored to real-world workplace situations.
- Keep It Short: Module sessions should ideally run 5 to 15 minutes (20 minutes max for final certifications) so reps can easily fit practice into their workday and complete reviews without burnout.
- Keep It Sequenced: Build knowledge progressively using structured learning paths with clear milestones.
- Less is More: Prioritize topic mastery and repeated practice over sheer content volume.
- Embedded Practice: Integrate roleplays directly into the learning journey (or embed Brainshark coaching links into your LMS) with consistent, objective feedback at every step.
🤖 How Roleplay AI Changes the Game
AI-powered practice offers scalable, objective, and unbiased training across your entire organization:
- Product & Messaging Fluency: Reinforce technical knowledge and messaging consistency for new product launches or updates.
- Safe Objection Handling: Provide reps with a risk-free space to fail, receive instant feedback, and refine their delivery.
- Personalized AI Coaching: Scale coaching without relying solely on manager availability; every new hire practices against the exact same benchmark.
- Beyond Sales: Extend roleplay to leadership development, executive presentations, performance reviews, and customer service conversations.
⚙️ Best Practices for Creating Roleplays
Avoid common setup mistakes by keeping the three core components of an AI Roleplay distinct:
- General Instructions: Tell participants expectations, session duration, attached assets/scripts, and grading rubrics.
- Scene & Objectives (Participant View): Set 2 to 5 realistic goals for the rep to accomplish (e.g., build rapport, identify pain points). Note: The AI persona does NOT see these objectives—they are strictly for the participant and reviewer!
- AI Scenario Prompts (AI Persona View): Define the exact persona, role, location, accent, or background of the AI actor (e.g., "Doctor in South Africa with 25 years of experience") to ensure authentic, highly specific conversational responses.
[Check out the resources here for a full overview of our best practices.]
🎥 Watch the Full Session
Ready to see Roleplay AI in action and explore expert setup tips? Check out the full Office Hour recording below.
📚 Additional Resources / Support
- Deep Dive into our best practices here. [Roleplay AI Best Practices]
- Check out our customer community, [The Rev].
- Access articles and video guides in our [Help Center].
- Reach out to our 24/7 [Support Team]!
We’d love to hear from you! What are your best practices when working with Roleplay AI? What are your main takeaways from the session? Any additional questions? Let us know is the comments.