Among other things, I’ve been working hard finishing a VR speech anxiety training for Evrience Air. Lots of bug fixing, tweaking and polishing, but it’s it’s now available for anyone who updates Evrience Air to its current latest version 1.0.081! If you are a VR Counselor who knows how to help others who struggle with it, this VR exercise might help you enrich your care. It’s designed to make practicing presentations easier, more engaging, and actually kind of fun!
The speech anxiety training simulation is all about creating a realistic but low-pressure environment to practice in. Instead of just throwing you in front of an audience and hoping for the best, it gives you helpful real-time feedback while you’re performing on stage.
Interaction
As the client speaks, the system keeps track of the following:
- Posture – Are they standing straight? Good posture helps you look and feel more confident.
- Hand Gestures – Are they using natural movement, or are their hands glued to their sides?
- Voice Volume – Are they speaking loud and clear for the people to hear them?
The VR Counselor has indicators of where their client is doing well and what they might want to improve on.
Optionally, the audience actually reacts to the client’s performance. Their moods range from bored to being completely mesmerized by it! Thought bubbles above their heads give you a sense of what’s going through their minds – like reading the room, but with subtitles.
To make things a little more engaging, there are some playful elements built in:
- Scoring System – Track improvement as the client trains their skills.
- Fireworks – Hit high performance scores, and the stage lights up with fireworks.
- Falling Petals – When the audience is really into it, rose petals tumble down over the stage.
Not everyone starts in the same place. That’s okay, of course. The speech anxiety training allows the VR Counselor to choose a difficulty level that fits client’s comfort zone. You can build up confidence gradually.
A fun way to grow
Not only is a VR Counselor there to guide clients, but clients can even practice together with others! Whether they want to present in front of a virtual audience of friends or get feedback from a VR Counselor, there’s always an option for up to five people to meet each other. The experience feels real, but without the same pressure. With this speech anxiety training, clients get to practice at their own pace, track their progress, and even have a bit of fun along the way.
If this sounds interesting, give it a go! The Speech Anxiety simulation is now available in Evrience Air, and I’d love to hear what you think. Hope it helps make public speaking feel a little less scary and a lot more doable!