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Stanford researchers use VR training to help managers develop empathetic communication skills, particularly when delivering critical performance reviews.
Present perfect continuous + result — "We have been exploring conducting this study" — describes an ongoing action with a present effect. Example: "through our Stanford Accelerator for Learning, we have several partners which we are exploring conducting this study."
Passive voice for process description — "Everything that the participant did in VR was recorded" — shifts focus from the doer to the action itself, common in academic and professional settings. Example: "their voice, their body movements" were recorded.
Conditional + infinitive for possibility — "can feel in the virtual environment" — expresses potential capability. Example: "participants can feel in the virtual environment and usually it can help trigger more emotions."
This Stanford study explores how virtual reality can develop empathetic leadership skills in the workplace. Researchers focused on performance reviews—the difficult task of giving critical feedback—because it demands both emotional awareness and skillful communication. Participants put on a VR headset and took the role of a manager giving feedback to a computer-generated employee, then switched perspectives to experience the interaction from the employee's viewpoint, hearing their own recorded voice and seeing their recorded body movements. The study found that through practice in VR, participants increased their use of understanding-focused language, emotional expressions, and first-person pronouns like "I" and "we," showing measurable improvements in empathetic communication.
This video is excellent for shadowing because the speakers use clear, measured pacing, everyday business vocabulary mixed with specific academic terminology, and natural pauses that make repetition manageable. The content is well-structured with concrete examples (performance reviews, the avatar interaction, the perspective-switching exercise) that anchor the more abstract concepts.
The video suits B1 learners and above who want to improve professional English and understand contemporary workplace training methods. Listeners will encounter natural transitions between explaining complex concepts and describing practical applications, building confidence with business-focused language while learning how empathy can be taught systematically.
put on a headset — wear or position a device on the head, here used literally but as a common action phrase in tech contexts.
switch places — exchange positions or roles with someone else; take the other person's position.
feel themselves as — experience or imagine being in the role or mindset of someone, often used in training and learning contexts.
trigger emotions — cause or provoke feelings to arise.
traditional modes — conventional, established methods or approaches used previously.
full valence of emotion — the complete intensity, quality, and depth of emotional experience (here, "valence" refers to the emotional tone or strength).
pervasive — widespread, existing everywhere or in most situations; commonly found throughout.
