How do you test for soft skills like communication?

Scenario:

You are in the process of hiring for a role that has a lot of technical skills requirements, however, the team is very collaborative and communicates a lot on how they will work together to achieve a specific result.  

Question:

What tests can you put together that will illustrate the candidate's soft skills in this area?

It's a challenge we get a lot in the software industry, where software engineers have qualifications in coding languages, and experience of working with X software house, but their ability to show their non-technical side is harder to quantify.

It's not as easy as asking them to make a presentation, as in reality this isn't the scenario they'll be in.  They'll be in a group discussion, where their opinion will be sought on an approach to a problem.  They'll be asked to comment on how they thought a particular activity went and how it could be improved.  They'll be discussing technical solutions with a range of people from technical experts to non-technical team members from other parts of the business.

Have you tested these skills?  What did you do?

Share your experiences in the comments 

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