Roleplay Prep
Roleplay Prep.
You read a business scenario, find one central theme, and build every recommendation around it. This is the full framework, for both event types.
What you receive
- Your role (consultant, employee, manager)
- Judge's role (supervisor, client, customer)
- Company name and brief description
- The specific challenge or opportunity
This paragraph tells you WHO you are and what world you're in.
- Background on the company or market
- What has happened or what is changing
- Data points, financials, or customer details
- The environment your recommendation must fit
This paragraph gives you the raw material for a specific, non-generic answer.
- Exactly what you must address, often 3–5 bullet points
- The PIs are listed here or on a separate sheet
- Any constraints (budget, timeline, company policy)
- What the judge will probe on in Q&A
Read this paragraph twice. Address every single item listed. Missing one costs you points.
Full session
Prep window · 10 min
With judge · 10 min
Green top bar = core scoring window, PI vocabulary + recommendations
The #1 strategy
One recommendation.
PIs build it out.
You don't give five separate recommendations, you give one, and use each PI as a step in the plan or as evidence that backs it up. The judge hears a coherent strategy, not a checklist. That's what separates top scores.
Read Paragraph 2 for the real details
The specific data, constraints, and context in Paragraph 2 make your answer non-generic. Your recommendation must fit this exact company. That specificity only comes from this paragraph.
Weak: "I recommend improving customer retention." Strong: "I recommend a frequency-based loyalty program targeting repeat visits among the 18–24 segment within 60 days."
State the recommendation upfront, then build it
Open with your answer in the first 30 seconds. Then use each PI to build the plan out, as steps or as evidence. The judge should never wonder what your recommendation is.
"My recommendation is to launch a targeted loyalty program. Here's how I'd build it: starting with customer segmentation [PI 1], then developing a promotional strategy [PI 2], then..."
Map each PI as a step or as evidence
For every PI, decide: is it a step in the plan, or evidence that backs the recommendation? Either works. The key is every PI advances the same answer, not a new one.
A marketing plan: segment the market → develop the promotion → set pricing → track performance → evaluate results. Each step uses one PI's vocabulary, woven in naturally.
Prep breakdown
10 minutes. Every second counts.
The two middle phases are where the presentation is won or lost. Finding a real theme and drawing a visual matters more than polishing your opening line.
Read the scenario, all three paragraphs
- Read the full scenario twice. Do not skip to the PI list.
- Paragraph 1: identify your role and the judge's role
- Paragraph 2: extract the most specific data points or constraints
- Paragraph 3: list every single item you are being asked to address
- Circle the PIs. You'll weave them in, not name them.
Note
Most students read Paragraph 1 and jump to planning. Paragraph 2 is where the specific details live, those details are what make your answer non-generic.
Lock your one recommendation
- Based on Paragraphs 2 and 3, identify your single answer to the scenario
- Write it in one sentence: 'My recommendation is to ___ because ___'
- This is what you'll state upfront and defend for the entire presentation
- Test it: can you use all 5 PIs as steps or evidence to build this recommendation out?
Critical
You have one recommendation. The PIs are not separate recommendations, they are the steps of the plan or the evidence that backs it up. A judge should hear a single coherent strategy, not five disconnected points.
Map each PI into the plan + draw visuals
- For each PI, decide: is it a step in the plan, or evidence that supports the recommendation?
- Order the PIs so they build logically, e.g. research → strategy → execution → measurement
- Draw 1–2 visuals that illustrate the plan (timeline, comparison chart, cost breakdown)
- Label every visual clearly, you'll reference it during your presentation
- Check: does your PI vocabulary flow naturally, without you ever naming the PI?
Critical
Visuals take a strong presentation to top-scorer level. A hand-drawn chart left with the judge shows analytical thinking. Even one clear diagram makes your plan tangible.
Lock the open and close
- Say your opening line out loud: name, role, state your recommendation upfront
- Say your close out loud: restate the recommendation, summarize the PI-backed steps, invite Q&A
- Mark your notes as anchors only, never read from them
- Handshake ready. Wear a watch or have time visible.
Note
If you go blank mid-presentation: say 'Let me take a moment to organize my thoughts.' Pause, breathe, pick up from your central theme. Coming back to the theme always sounds intentional.
Drawing visuals
A drawn visual is
your biggest differentiator.
Visuals are drawn during prep time on your scratch paper and shown to the judge during your presentation. You leave them with the judge when you finish. Draw 1–2 visuals that directly support your central theme, a chart comparing options, a timeline for your plan, or a cost breakdown. They signal analytical thinking. Most competitors don't do them well. That gap is your advantage.
Bar / column chart
Use when:
Comparing options, showing before/after, market share
Draw 3 bars: competitor A, B, your recommendation. Label the y-axis with a metric (revenue, satisfaction, etc.).
Implementation timeline
Use when:
Phased rollout, short-term vs. long-term actions, 90-day plan
Horizontal line with 3 phases. Label each: Phase 1 (0–30 days), Phase 2 (30–60 days), Phase 3 (60–90 days) with action items.
Pros / cons matrix
Use when:
Comparing two options, justifying a recommendation over alternatives
Two columns. Label each option. Use checkmarks and x's. Make sure your recommendation column wins on the criteria that matter.
Budget / cost breakdown
Use when:
Justifying investment, showing ROI, allocating resources
Simple table: line item | cost | % of budget. Add a totals row. Draw a pie chart beside it if time allows.
Draw 1–2, not 5
Two clear visuals beat five rushed ones. Each should stand alone.
Label everything
Axes, columns, and data points. The judge reads it after you leave.
Reference it in your rec
Say: 'As you can see in this chart...' then hand it over. Never draw it silently.
Presentation architecture
10 minutes with the judge.
Judges score against the rubric, not general impression. Cover every section. Keep your central theme present throughout, not just in the intro and close.
The core rule
Never name a PI.
Use its words.
Judges know the PI list. If you say "My first performance indicator is analyzing competitors," it sounds like you're reading a checklist, not solving a problem. Instead, use the PI's vocabulary naturally inside your recommendation. The judge will recognize it and score it, without you ever saying the PI code or title.
The test
After your presentation, you should be able to map every sentence back to a PI, even though you never named one out loud. That's the target.
Don't say this
"My first performance indicator is market segmentation. I recommend we segment the market, and then develop a loyalty program, and then track the results."
Sounds like a checklist. Three separate ideas, not one coherent plan.
Say this instead
"My recommendation is a frequency-based loyalty program. To build it out: first, we need to identify our highest-value customer segment, 18–25 year olds represent 3x the purchase frequency of any other group. That's who the program is designed for. From there, we develop the promotional structure around their specific behaviors..."
The PI vocabulary is woven in (segmentation, target market, behaviors, promotion). The judge scores it. One recommendation, PI vocabulary used as steps in the plan.
Judge Q&A
Hold your position.
Add evidence.
Judges ask both standard questions (same for all competitors) and scenario-specific follow-ups based on what you presented. Pushback is not an attack, it is engagement. The correct response is to reinforce, not retreat.
Judge pushes back on your recommendation
Acknowledge the concern, then reinforce: 'I understand that concern, the reason I still recommend this is [specific evidence or data from the scenario].' Never change your answer just because they pushed back.
Judge asks you to elaborate on a concept
This is a PI depth check. Expand your answer to the next verb level, if you said 'identify,' now explain cause and effect. Use industry vocabulary. Don't repeat what you already said.
Judge asks something you didn't prepare for
Say: 'That's a strong point, based on the information in the scenario, I'd approach that by...' then connect to your central theme. Coming back to the theme always sounds intentional.
You go blank or lose your train of thought
Say: 'Let me take a moment to organize my thoughts on that.' Pause. Breathe. Re-anchor on your central theme sentence and work forward from there. Composure under pressure is scored.
Rubric
100 points. Two categories.
70
Performance Indicators
5 PIs, each worth 14 points. For every PI: use its vocabulary naturally in a recommendation, apply it specifically to the scenario, and demonstrate the correct verb level. 14 points per PI adds up fast, missing one hurts.
30
21st Century Skills
Critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration. Judges assess how you reason under pressure, handle Q&A, use industry vocabulary, maintain composure, and present yourself professionally. This category is your margin in a close competition.
Run live scenarios with the PI reference open.
Filter to your cluster, open a PI, practice using its vocabulary without naming it.