“We need them to have soft skills.”
Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard that in a meeting and thought, Sure… but how do we actually teach that?
Soft skills - like communication, collaboration, empathy, adaptability, and critical thinking - are notoriously tricky to teach. They’re deeply human, hard to measure, and often tangled up in context.
But here’s the thing: they’re essential. Whether you’re preparing learners for the workplace, leadership roles, or even better, team dynamics, soft skills can be developed. And yes, instructional design plays a huge role in that.
Let’s break down how to do it intentionally and in ways that stick.
1. Start with Real-World Scenarios, Not Abstract Lectures
Soft skills are context-sensitive. That means learners need to see them in action, not just read a definition or check a box.
✅ Use realistic case studies, emails, meetings, or workplace dilemmas
✅ Create branching scenarios that let learners explore different outcomes
✅ Use role-play prompts for empathy, negotiation, or leadership practice
📌 Example: Instead of saying “teach empathy,” create a case where a customer is upset, and the learner chooses how to respond, then sees the result.
2. Make Reflection a Core Part of the Learning
Soft skills development requires introspection. Ask learners to reflect on their own tendencies, biases, and behaviors.
💡 Try:
- Journaling prompts after activities
- Video reflection (using Flip or Loom)
- Peer-to-peer discussions around self-awareness
- Strengths assessments or self-inventories
Encouraging learners to pause and process what just happened is where the real growth happens.
3. Design Opportunities for Feedback (Especially Peer Feedback)
Feedback builds awareness. But it’s got to be timely, constructive, and ideally come from more than just the instructor.
👥 Strategies:
- Group projects with rotating leadership roles
- Structured peer review rubrics
- Feedback swaps on soft skills like tone, clarity, and collaboration
- Use rubrics that rate behaviors, not just outcomes
Pro Tip: Teach how to give feedback as part of the process; it’s a soft skill, too.
4. Simulate Messy, Real-Life Conditions
Soft skills don’t happen in a vacuum. Design messiness into the learning.
🎯 Introduce:
- Ambiguity in directions
- Conflicting priorities
- Time constraints or “curveball” updates
- Stakeholder conflicts or competing goals
Yes, it may frustrate learners at first. That’s okay. Frustration is often where soft skills are forged.
5. Use Collaborative Learning with Purpose
Soft skills shine in social settings. That’s why team-based learning, discussion-based activities, and co-created content are so valuable.
🎯 Examples:
- Team challenges with rotating roles
- Group brainstorming with clear norms
- Peer coaching pairs
- Collaborative projects using tools like Miro, Padlet, or Google Docs
💬 Design prompts that require negotiation, consensus, or just plain listening.
6. Incorporate Behavior-Based Assessments
Instead of testing what learners know about communication, assess how they actually communicate.
Try:
- Role-play videos with a rubric
- Self-assessments + supervisor validation
- Scenario-based checklists (e.g., “Did the learner ask clarifying questions?”)
- Rubrics with behavioral indicators (e.g., “Shows active listening,” “Responds with empathy”)
🎯 It’s not just “Did you get the right answer?” ... it’s “How did you handle the interaction?”
7. Model Soft Skills in Your Design & Facilitation
Your course design is a message. Are you modeling the soft skills you’re teaching?
✅ Is communication clear, empathetic, and responsive?
✅ Are expectations transparent?
✅ Is the environment psychologically safe?
✅ Are you open to feedback and modeling self-awareness?
👀 Learners don’t just absorb what you teach; they absorb how you teach it.
Wrapping It Up: Design for Humans, Not Just Learning Objectives
Soft skills development is human development. It’s about building better listeners, better collaborators, better leaders. And it’s entirely teachable, with the right strategies and structure.
So next time someone says, “Can we add a module on communication?”, smile and say, “Absolutely. But let’s design it for impact.”
🐾 Your Turn!
What strategies have you used to teach soft skills, or where have you seen it fall flat? Share your thoughts in the comments or tag @SilverCalicoLLC to keep the conversation going.