One of the most valuable outcomes from a simulation is soft skills practice.
Ask any employer what new graduates are missing, and you’ll hear the same answer again and again: soft skills. They’ve got the technical know-how, the Excel formulas, the data analysis, the theory, but many stumble when it comes to communicating clearly, collaborating on a team, or adapting when things don’t go according to plan.
Business simulations don’t teach soft skills in a step-by-step way. But they require them! And when students engage deeply with a simulation, they get a controlled, challenging environment to practice the very skills they’ll carry into their careers.
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are personal attributes and interpersonal abilities (often called “people skills”) that shape how well someone works with others and performs on the job. Unlike hard skills, which are technical and job-specific, soft skills transfer across industries and roles. Whether you’re running a startup, managing a project, or climbing the corporate ladder, these skills are the foundation for success.
Seven Soft Skills Simulations Put to the Test
1. Communication: Teammates have to make their case to each other and to their instructor as they justify their decisions. Explaining why your team adjusted its pricing strategy or expanded into a new market builds clarity and confidence. It might seem obvious but most businesses struggle with communication. Our simulations provide students a regular, periodic opportunity to practice communicating their thoughts and ideas.
2. Teamwork: If students learn nothing else, they will learn what it takes to function as a team (both positively and negatively). Simulations make that unavoidable. The workload is often too much for one person, so dividing responsibilities and trusting your teammates becomes essential. Collaboration often means better outcomes.
3. Adaptability: Students face uncertainty in our simulations. Market share drops. Competitors launch new products. Customer preferences shift overnight. These force students to pivot quickly and adjust their strategies. Adaptability is the difference between surviving and winning.
4. Problem-Solving: Every decision round presents a new challenge. Should you increase marketing spend or hold steady? Adjust your price? Invest in new technology or double down on operations? Students sharpen their ability to analyze information, weigh trade-offs, and take action.
5. Leadership: Ever been on a team where no one wants to make the call? Simulations surface leadership moments fast! Each team has a leader responsible for finalizing decisions, but true leadership isn’t about titles. It’s about guiding discussions, building consensus, and standing by the plan when the pressure rises.
6. Work Ethic: Winning teams aren’t just lucky (most of the time!), they need to put in the hours. Students quickly discover that success requires digging into the materials, running the numbers, and showing up for their team. And just as important, they learn what happens when someone doesn’t pull their weight.
7. Time Management: Simulations are fun. Sometimes too fun. Students can easily spend hours analyzing every line of data. Time management becomes critical, balancing the need for deep analysis with the reality of other classes, projects, and life commitments.
How Instructors Can Help
While simulations create the environment for soft skills to grow, instructors can amplify the experience by:
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Debriefing after each round
Lead discussions about what went well, what didn’t, and how students worked as a team. Use the above list as topics students should cover, review, evaluate, consider.
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Encouraging reflection
Have students journal weekly about their teamwork, leadership, or adaptability takeaways. Ask the students to turn the journal into a paper summarizing their simulation experience from a “soft skills” point of view.
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Providing feedback
Highlight moments where students communicated effectively or adapted under pressure and note with guidance the areas where they could have improved.
Activities to Reinforce Learning
Want to make soft skills even more visible? Try these classroom ideas:
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Post-Round Reflection Prompts
“Did any of you have conflict on your teams this week?” (Bring it out!)
“How did your team handle conflict this week?” (Lean into the awkward!)
“What would you do differently next round?” (Reflective learning)
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Soft Skills Tracker
Have students rate their skills, e.g. adaptability or teamwork, at the start and end of the simulation to see growth over time. (0-5: how would you rate yourself?)
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Peer Feedback
Invite students to give one another anonymous, constructive feedback midway through the exercise and at the end. (Use our peer review survey or create your own!)
The Takeaway
Business simulations aren’t just about numbers and strategy. They’re about people and how they work, lead, and adapt together. By engaging in simulations, students don’t just understand business concepts better; they get to practice the skills that will make them more effective in the workplace, long after the simulation ends.
Author: Tim Sams
Director of Marketing for Interpretive Simulations.
