Role playing requires students to take on the persona of a person (or phenomenon) and examine a course-related issue through the lens of this role.

Role playing requires students to embed themselves more deeply within a particular perspective than simply reading or hearing about this perspective, which can increase the relevance of the content.
By discussing and applying a variety of perspectives to a situation, students are better able to appreciate complexities.

Identify your learning objectives for the lesson.
Craft or choose a scenario around this content. Decide if you would like students to research roles ahead of time or work from a list of prepared characteristics.
Prepare the students with your expectations, but be willing also to step back and allow the conversation to flow as the students proceed.
In your debrief, ask students to reflect not only on the role that they played, but also how they interacted with others given the context. This meta-analysis of their own behavior is often the most valuable.

Each occurrence of a role play situation is different - enjoy the variety!
Don't be afraid to start small - role playing exercises can be successful in both short and longer time frames.