Communication skills are key success factors in healthcare and social professions – but teaching them during training is a particular challenge. Role-playing with actors is considered effective, but it is expensive and difficult to scale. Virtual training simulations offer a valid alternative.

Existing products have so far relied almost exclusively on textual transcripts of what is said, neglecting key para- and nonverbal communication signals such as eye contact, body posture, and tone of voice. New sensor technology in the field of eXtended Reality (XR) and advances in AI-supported speech and dialogue analysis open up the potential to close this gap.

The project is examining the feasibility of holistic, sensor-based recording and AI-supported evaluation of communication behavior in immersive learning scenarios. For the first time, this data will be compared with a normative catalog of requirements from vocational training and evaluated objectively.

The benefits are multi-faceted: if the project is successful, teachers will in future be able to provide well-founded feedback on communication skills that goes beyond purely subjective assessments. This would make training more objective, scalable, and accessible.

In the long term, better training effects can be achieved, training costs reduced, and the quality of care in the health and social sectors improved. The technical implementation is challenging: standards such as “appreciative communication” must first be translated into observable behavioral characteristics, which in turn must be sensorially recorded and automatically evaluated. The study lays the methodological and technical foundations for this. Several potential implementation partners have expressed strong interest in further development – but they expect clear indications of feasibility before participating.