Career Mindset Development

The first time learners use Bodyswaps, an onboarding sequence familiarises them with the features of the app, takes them through an avatar selection and embodiment activity, and prepares them for the experience to come. 

In the onboarding, learners will: 

• Find out how this training is different from the rest
• Select their avatar
• Discover their virtual journal
• Learn how to navigate and use the tools and settings

The learner is placed in the role of an intern at Bodyswaps, a video game design studio. In the lobby of the building, they’re welcomed by Sophie Lewis, who will be managing them during their experience. She explains that Bodyswaps needs someone flexible and capable of taking the initiative, before inviting them to share their confidence in the skills they’ll need.

This is gauged through a series of four Likert-type survey questions, asking the learner to estimate their confidence in their knowledge of how others see them, talking to new people, making a positive impact at work, and communicating their ideas clearly and confidently.

Note: If you wish to receive data about how the learner’s confidence levels have changed as a consequence of the training, it’s important that they complete this introduction and the debrief at the end.

After the learner answers, Sophie excuses herself and encourages them to see if any members of the team need any help.

In the hangout room, Flo and Leo are sitting across from the learner, discussing Flo’s progress on a new project. Leo reminds her that they have a meeting with clients tomorrow to present a script for a new trailer, and the two of them decide to enlist someone to be a test audience while they run it through. However, Sophie is too busy and they can’t find anyone else.

At this point, the learner is prompted to respond to this situation via multiple-choice question. They need to select the response that demonstrates taking the initiative and confidence in introducing themself. 

Once they’ve made their selection, they receive a text from Sophie giving feedback on their choice. If they chose to introduce themself, she congratulates them; if they didn’t, she encourages them to introduce themself now. Either way, Flo notices them sitting there and asks if they’re the new intern, leading into the introduction practice in the next topic.

It’s time for the learner to put their skills to the test and make a good first impression. A popup introduces a three-step method for a good introduction: starting with a smile and eye contact, giving your name and a brief summary of who you are, and finishing by saying you’re looking forward to working with them, offering help, or asking who they are.

When the learner is ready, they begin a freeform interaction in which they introduce themself in their own words, trying to adhere to the three-step method. Behind the scenes, analytics tools pick up on the keywords, body language and verbal cues that show the learner has formulated a successful introduction.

After the learner has introduced themself, they swap bodies with Flo to see the introduction through her eyes. At this point, they receive detailed feedback based on the analysis and are offered the chance to make another attempt if they want to refine their approach.

Once they move on, Flo and Leo welcome the learner to Bodyswaps, introduce themselves, and ask if the learner wants to help them workshop their pitch.

In the meeting room at Bodyswaps, Flo and Leo prepare to deliver their presentation, with the learner watching. They’re pitching a role-playing game about hunting for treasure on the mysterious Oak Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia, and they want the learner to offer some feedback about their performance.

This observation activity requires the learner to click or tap whenever they see examples of good or bad communication, in line with the suggestions Sophie provides by text at the start. Visual feedback is provided in real time to indicate whether the learner has correctly identified each of the three good and three bad examples. To encourage thoughtful observation rather than mindless clicking, the learner is limited to eight clicks.

As the presentation goes on, the learner sees – and can flag with a click – that Flo and Leo have a good deal of passion and enthusiasm for their project, as well as confidence in their idea and statistics. However, they undercut it by interrupting one another, getting distracted, and lapsing into jargon – points that the learner will need to provide feedback on in the next activity.

At the end, the learner receives a summary feedback panel showing buttons that indicate which events were identified. Clicking each one allows the learner to rewind through the conversation and rewatch the good and bad parts of Flo and Leo’s speech, and view an explanation of how they helped or hindered the pitch.

With the presentation done, Flo and Leo ask the learner to give some feedback about what went well and what could be improved. 

In this scaffolded conversation, the learner answers their questions in a sequence of six multiple-choice questions, each gauging their opinion of a different aspect of the pitch. Once each response is chosen from a list of three, Flo and Leo answer, after which Sophie texts with more detailed feedback to show the learner the benefits (and drawbacks, if applicable) of the answer they selected. 

At each stage, the learner needs to select the response that encapsulates all three criteria that make up good feedback: actively engaging with the situation to help Flo and Leo, communicating clearly and unambiguously, and being respectful of Flo and Leo’s feelings. 

At the end of the conversation, Flo and Leo share their thoughts about how the learner engaged with the activity, before wishing them luck and moving on. Here, Sophie texts with further feedback about  their approach as a whole throughout the conversation. Her feedback highlights which of the criteria the learner tended towards – or, if they managed it, congratulates them for including all three.

The learner can then choose to replay this conversation, allowing them to see how different approaches might have affected how receptive Flo and Leo were, or move on to the next topic.

It’s time for the learner to put the good communication skills they’ve identified into practice for themself. Sophie returns to introduce the method by which Flo and Leo came up with their game, showing the learner a series of sticky notes representing genres, personas, characters and goals and asking them to combine the elements to come up with an idea of their own.

The learner then needs to pitch it to Sophie in a freeform interaction, describing it in their own words while she listens. Behind the scenes, analytics tools pick up on the keywords, body language and aspects of speech that demonstrate that the learner is speaking clearly, confidently and fluidly.

Once the learner has said their piece, they swap places with Sophie to see how their speech looked from her point of view. After that, they receive feedback from the analytics tools to help them refine their approach. They can then try recording their pitch again, if they want more practice.

When they choose to move on, Sophie thanks them for sharing their pitch and informs them that they’ve reached the end of the activity. She wishes them luck and asks them to complete the feedback questionnaire on the way out.

The Likert-type survey questions from the start of the course are repeated here, to gauge the change in the learner’s confidence after playing through the module.

Note: With soft skills training, it is not unusual to find that learners’ confidence levels actually fall upon completion. This is because people are often overconfident in their ability to communicate or empathise before the training begins. As the experience raises self-awareness, confidence levels may fall in response.

Before the learner leaves the module, they are asked to complete a short survey about their experience. 

This survey is not compulsory, but the data helps us to assess the effectiveness of our product and identify any areas that need improvement. Clients also find it beneficial when assessing ROI. 

They are asked to mark whether they agree or disagree with the following statements, on a 10 point scale: 

• I would recommend this experience to other students.
• I am able to identify areas for improvement for my own professional communication skills.
• The simulation improved my understanding of professional communication skills.