Free Google Cardboard Public Speaking app

A well known fact – many of us are afraid of speaking in front of an audience.

Actually, many people fear public speaking more then they fear death – sounds pretty serious :–)

Did you know that practicing in virtual reality can remove this fear? It may not be obvious at first, but speaking in front of a virtual audience can boost your confidence in the real world.

There is some research to back this up, for example:

Higher perceived audience interest (in VR) increases self-rating and reduces public speaking anxiety.

or Virtual Reality Therapy: An Effective Treatment for Psychological Disorders that talks about application of VR to threat phobias.

Background

A few years ago in Toastmasters, I’ve learned about a technique that helps me focus on the audience when practicing speech at home.

It involves finding some old magazines with people on the cover and setting them up around the room, so that you are facing a “virtual audience”. It’s not a very responsive group of folks, but there are very patient :–) Anyway, the technique helps with things like maintaining eye contact.

Another tool I’ve learned, is “positive visualization”. Basically, you imagine that you are delivering your speech and the audience is happy and smiling. This, in turn, makes you more relaxed and confident when you get to deliver your speech for real.

Solution with Google Cardboard

Recently I’ve combined what I’ve learned in Toastmasters with the research I’ve found on-line. “Public Speaking for Cardboard VR” was born :–)

In the app, you are standing in front of a very receptive and supportive audience. They look cartoonish which will have a relaxing effect on you.

The app helps you learn to maintain eye contact with members of the audience, by rewarding you every time you do it. Look one of the avatars in the eyes, and he will give you a standing ovation.

Last but not least, because you will be presumably wearing VR goggles, there is no way to rely on notes. By mastering your speech by heart you will be able to keep your audience engaged by maintaining eye contact throughout the speech.

Share your experience

Please share in comments your feedback on the app. How to make it better? How to make it more useful for you?

Maybe you had an important speech to deliver and you used the app to practice… Please comment below and tell us all about it :–)

Get the “Public Speaking for Cardboard VR” now.