Effective change communication is a vital skill in today’s ever-evolving work environment, yet many professionals struggle to balance clarity with empathy and engagement. At the Projektipäivät 2024 event in Helsinki, Finland (September 17-18), LessonLab, in collaboration with Wakaru Oy, organized a workshop to test our AI-based Taito Communication training simulation on a larger scale with approximately 80 attendees representing diverse businesses.

In this article, we’ll explore how the Taito Communication training simulation fared in this real-world test and share the key insights gained.

An immersive workshop experience

Our interactive 1.5-hour workshop was designed for managers and professionals, providing them with hands-on experience using LessonLab’s AI-powered training simulation, Taito Communication. The simulation placed participants in a realistic organizational change scenario, where they took on the role of a product development director tasked with communicating a significant change initiative – establishing a new R&D center in Europe and integrating the existing team into it. As expected, this change scenario raised questions and concerns about increased travel, new working practices, and potential workforce changes.

Simulation overview and real-time feedback

The participants faced the challenge of communicating the change to a team of AI agents, each representing a different real-life personality type with varying adaptability and readiness for change. These agents were developed through research on resilience and communication in collaboration with the Resilience Alliance, an international, multidisciplinary research organization, ensuring they mirror authentic human responses in change scenarios.

The goal in the simulation was to engage these virtual team members and gain their support while addressing their concerns. The AI agents offered immediate, personalized feedback through numerical scores (0-100) and written evaluations, focusing on aspects such as clarity, empathy, and engagement. This real-time feedback provided participants with a comprehensive view of their change communication proficiency, enabling them to analyze their strategies, understand their effectiveness, and identify areas for improvement.

Key insights from the simulation

The participants communicated for around three rounds in the simulation. All participants performed exceptionally well, scoring on average between 80-90 out of 100 with their last communication round.

One of the most striking insights from the simulation was that while many participants were skilled at delivering clear and concise messages, they often struggled with conveying empathy and engaging their audience. That is, the participants tended to communicate as if they were the recipients themselves, leading to missed opportunities to connect with their actual audience. This highlighted that effective change communication requires more than just presenting comprehensive facts; it involves understanding the emotional journey of those affected by the change.

By experimenting with different communication styles in a risk-free environment, participants learned how to adapt their messaging to foster understanding, reduce resistance, and create a more supportive environment for change.

The verdict on Taito Communication

The workshop provided us with valuable information that the Taito Communication simulation accurately assesses change communication skills. Over 80% of the participants stated that the simulation accurately reflected their real-life communication competence. Additionally, the simulation session received a rating of 4.33/5, with encouraging feedback:

A fun way to identify areas for improvement in one’s communication. The implementation worked well.

This was a truly interesting workshop that left a clear impression and many thoughts simmering.

The tool seems great for communicating our own change situations. The best part was hearing others’ solutions on how communication was carried out.

This large-scale test with a diverse group of business representatives indicated that the simulation offers a reliable reflection of real-life communication competencies, demonstrating its potential as a practical training resource.

Final thoughts on Taito Communication

Taito Communication demonstrated that mastering change communication requires more than just delivering clear messages—it involves genuinely understanding and connecting with the audience. The simulation served as a valuable tool in revealing the nuances of communication and highlighted the importance of empathy and engagement in driving successful change initiatives. It’s evident that combining technology with human insight can create powerful learning experiences.

Thank you to all who participated and contributed to making this event a success. We look forward to sharing more insights from our upcoming events and AI-driven training solutions. Stay tuned!

Further information

If you are interested in learning more about the Taito Communication simulation, the workshop experience, or have any comments or questions, please contact us here. You can also find more information about Taito Communication here.

Authors

 

Jere Lehtinen, Ph.D., COO, LessonLab Oy

 

 

Perttu Dietrich, Ph.D., CEO, LessonLab Oy