How to Improve Communication Skills with Virtual Reality: A Guide

Due to the pandemic, virtual reality has been pushed into mainstream reality. This merging of technology with reality would have naturally happened. But, the pandemic seemed to escalate things.

In five years, the Virtual Reality industry is set to expand from an $829 million industry to a $4.26 billion industry.

In the workplace, companies may be wondering how to improve communication skills among team members while using Virtual Reality to assist with that. Many common workplace issues aren't because business premises are poor, but are due to workers lacking in soft skills - particularly effective communication.

To find out how Virtual Reality can help with ways to develop strong communication skills, keep reading.

How to Improve Communication Skills With Virtual Reality Customer Service Training Simulations

One way in which a company can learn how to improve workplace communication is by using Virtual Reality simulations. Virtual Reality creates scenarios in which employees get practice with their customer service skills. 

The pressures of having a customer react emotionally to a situation can leave employees questioning how to respond. Many people do not have the soft skills of remaining calm under pressure, diffusing situations, or active listening. Being able to find a solution to a problem while remaining calm in a heated moment is essential. 

Virtual Reality comes into play here. Employees can practice engaging with difficult clients through virtual reality devices or laptop. It allows them to role-play different soft skills scenarios. Employees learn how to engage personably with fictional avatars without risking real-life clients. 

These training programs provide tips for better communication for employees. They gain a similar learning experience as a real scenario would offer. 

This type of training leads to increased customer satisfaction. It helps decrease handling times and with significant conflict resolution improvement. 

Virtual Reality for Public Speaking

The idea of making a presentation or giving a speech brings people back to high school speech class. The fear of what the audience insights of your talking points creeps in before a presentation. 

With Virtual Reality simulations, employees can face their fears without judgment. Different simulators put you in a situation where you'll present to an office or crowd of people. You can adjust the settings to where the audience reacts based on the performance the employee gives.

Avatars enthuse or look bored from your speech. These kinds of non verbal communication can be daunting. The assignment given may be to collect data and from that come up with a story or explain a product. This is a sure way to gain the confidence needed to present a business proposal, speech, or pitch an idea.  

Different things like keywords, body language, and tone are analyzed by virtual reality offer comprehensive feedback of your non verbal communication skills. This lets employees think on their feet while improving their soft skills. It nudges them to be confident in their professional abilities with tangible feedback offered to them. 

Using VR for Increased Employee Communication

A major flaw of companies is that communication between employees is rather low. This is even more so the case when people have to rely on remote communication rather than in person. Virtual Reality provides tangible strong communication skills and tips for employees to use.

VR simulators can bring up common workplace situations that can only be resolved by being able to communicate effectively. Employees can understand what kind of communication determines the success or failure of a business deal. Practicing to interview potential job seekers provides an opportunity to avoid a bad hire or a future lawsuit.

Many types of companies could enjoy this. For example, you don't have to work in an office to take advantage of VR. Service industry workers know how much communicating between the kitchen and front of house staff determines the success of a shift. 

With VR, conditions can be arranged to where a customer will present a problem that can only be resolved if the manager takes action. It's up to the employee to react to the customer in a pleasant way. They should then get information from other employees and bosses to relay the pertinent information back to the customer. 

Using this tool advances communication skills and other soft skills. It emphasizes how important it is for a functioning workplace. This is one of the best ways to improve communication skills between employees at work.

Enhancing Emotional Intelligence

Someone can be the most qualified person to fill a position, but their efforts be futile if lacking emotional intelligence. Business leaders are the most fortunate when they have the interpersonal skills to perceive other people's emotions. Beyond this, they pick up on others' feelings while remaining stoic with their own. 

Having this skill acts as a trickle-effect in the office place. If one employee, especially a leader, displays high emotional intelligence, the rest of the employees are likely to respond in a positive way. Rapport is boosted from having a high EQ. 

EQ is a natural skill, but can also be learned. VR can help build EQ by promoting people to developed essential skills like self-awareness. Self-awareness translates in actions as making confident, rational decisions.

It allows people to learn how to communicate their needs. This leads to reduced stress and more camaraderie among employees.

Higher Quality of Business

Though Virtual Reality is still a newer technology and expensive, the initial investment is not only in the technology, but in your employees developing strong communication skills. The multifaceted uses of VR technology teach workers how to develop strong communication skills even when under stressful conditions. This increases the quality of your business.  As the price of a virtual reality headset continues to drop, more organizations will start finding the budget for virtual reality headsets in their budget.

Active listening, learning communication styles, and advancing emotional intelligence are some of the soft skills that builds strong leaders. A team of innovators awaits from taking advantage of the potential Virtual Reality has to offer.

Reap the benefits of embracing Virtual Reality training to improve your organizations communication skills. To see the different courses to improve team soft skills development, visit Agile Meridian's website by clicking here.