By Elisa Monetti, Senior Training Specialist at Excellence Education
In an era where information is universally accessible and where many professionals are accustomed to seeking continuous opportunities for developing their skills, classroom training risks losing relevance if it fails to actively involve participants and create a lasting impression to anchor learning.
Engagement—understood as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral participation in an event—is what transforms a training session into a transformative experience.
High-engagement methodologies stimulate attention, facilitate memory retention, and promote the practical transfer of skills… all while keeping an eye on enjoyment.
These types of methodologies prove particularly effective:
- When aiming to develop soft skills such as communication, leadership, or problem solving
- In contexts where simulating real-life operations is key to reducing the gap between theory and practice
- When participants already possess strong technical skills and the goal is to reach a higher level of conscious and strategic application
The value of these methodologies can be measured in terms of increased emotional involvement, which fosters motivation to learn; improved retention of content through active experience; and certainly, the development of both individual and collective awareness—fundamental for organizational change.
To clarify and offer some concrete examples of what is meant by high-engagement methodologies, let’s now take a closer look at three of the most common ones.
1. Business Game
A business game is a competitive or collaborative simulation that reproduces complex business dynamics. Participants, organized into teams, take on decision-making roles within a simulated context where they must make choices to face and overcome challenges and obstacles.
This methodology is especially suitable when aiming to strengthen strategic vision, practice leadership, or encourage interaction among different company functions.
A business game allows for safe experimentation, making real decisions with simulated consequences, seeing the impact of one’s choices, and reinforcing team dynamics. It’s particularly powerful for developing systems thinking, goal orientation, and collaboration.
2. Role Play
In a role play, participants enact a professional situation by assuming specific roles. The activity is followed by a guided debriefing to reflect on what happened and the skills demonstrated.
This method is particularly effective for training in communication, developing active listening, empathy, and objection handling, as well as in sales and leadership training.
Role play enhances awareness of one’s relational style and enables participants to try new behaviors in a safe setting. The experiential aspect, combined with constructive feedback, effectively stimulates change.
3. In-Basket
The In-Basket is a simulation that recreates the “incoming mail.”
In the first individual phase, the participant receives an initial scenario composed of emails, memos, phone messages, and requests to analyze and manage within a limited time. They must decide what to do, how, when, and whether to delegate.
In the second phase—debriefing—the group reflects on the decisions made, the importance of delegation, and time management skills.
This methodology is highly impactful for training in prioritization, time management, and decision-making. It is also useful in assessments and the development of managerial profiles or operational training for high-responsibility roles.
The In-Basket puts organizational, analytical, delegation, and stress management skills to the test in realistic contexts, making decision-making styles and synthesis capabilities emerge.
Continuous training is now more than ever a strategic pillar for organizations seeking to evolve.
In settings where participants are already experienced or highly qualified, simply transferring content is no longer enough.
Engagement becomes the key to stimulating reflection, change, and true learning. Choosing high-engagement methodologies means investing not only in training, but in the transformation of individuals and teams.
