Negotiation is a crucial business skill that significantly impacts organizational success. By resolving issues through negotiation rather than confrontation, companies save time, money, and resources while avoiding prolonged and costly conflicts. Studies in psychology, economics, and sociology show that negotiation skills can be developed through practice and training. Therefore, enhancing students' negotiation abilities can improve their employability. However, despite its importance, this skill is not included in the Business Administration curriculum, for example at Rey Juan Carlos University, and is not formally encouraged in any course.

To address this gap, we proposed an active learning approach involving a training seminar and negotiation simulations. This hands-on method fosters engagement and allows students to apply theoretical concepts in real-world scenarios, promoting deeper learning. To design and implement a strategy for developing negotiation skills, students enrolled in the Corporate Games course completed pre- and post-training surveys. These surveys assessed self-perception of skill development, and overall effectiveness. Additionally, participation in activities, seminars, and the competitive decision-making aspect of the simulation—where students strategize and compete for the best performance—served as control measures, while the process and outcomes provided insights into skill development and participant satisfaction.

With a final sample of 220 valid responses, we met the minimum size recommendations to reduce convergence issues and ensure unbiased estimates. The sample was divided into two groups: an experimental group that received negotiation training and a control group from the same course that did not. This structure allowed us to compare pre- and post-training results between both groups to evaluate the effectiveness of negotiation training.

Preliminary results show an improvement in students' self-perception of their negotiation skills after the course. There was an increase in confidence in persuasion, with some students shifting from “Agree” to “Strongly Agree” in the statement, “I believe I can persuade the other negotiator to agree with me”. Additionally, greater confidence in negotiation leadership was observed, as more students selected “Strongly Agree” for “I am confident that I can take the lead against the other negotiator”. Lastly, there was a decrease in perceived vulnerability, with some participants showing less agreement with the statement, “I believe the other negotiator would persuade me to make more concessions”.

A deeper analysis will provide more detailed insights into the effectiveness of the negotiation course by identifying specific patterns and trends in students' skill development. By quantifying changes across different groups and measuring statistical significance, we can assess whether improvements in student´s perception of confidence, leadership, and vulnerability were consistent and meaningful. Additionally, analysing correlations between participation levels and skill enhancement perception can help determine which aspects of the course had the greatest impact. This comprehensive evaluation will not only validate the course’s effectiveness but also highlight areas for refinement, ensuring future training programs maximize their impact on students' negotiation abilities.

Keywords: Negotiation self-efficacy, active learning, training program, skill development, scenario-based learning.