New Delhi: A team of researchers has revealed powerful virtual reality (VR) treatment for speech anxiety, that is becoming increasingly more common over time globally.
Published in the journal Frontiers, the study reported work by Dr Chris Macdonald from University of Cambridge in the UK who created an online platform where users transform into skilled and confident public speakers. On the platform, tailored course material develops key skills and life-like virtual reality training environments build confidence.
“In physical reality, a user might be practising a presentation alone in their bedroom but on the new virtual reality platform, they can experience the sensation of presenting to a wide range of increasingly challenging photorealistic audiences,” said Dr Macdonald.
By developing a method that converts smartphones into VR headsets, Dr Macdonald has made sure that the platform is accessible to all.
The platform has been clinically proven to significantly increase levels of confidence for most users after a single 30-minute session.
In the most recent trial with students from Cambridge and University College London (UCL), it was found that a week of self-guided use was beneficial to 100 per cent of participants.
The platform helped all users in one or more of the following ways: to feel more prepared, more adaptable, more resilient, more confident, to be better able to manage nerves, and to feel less anxious.
A user-centric iterative process ensured that the platform would work ‘in the wild’.
In between each rebuild thus far, the platform has hosted over 50,000 practice presentations from remote beta users. To further stress test the software and hardware, in-person events were organised, one of which involved over 1,000 members of the public using the platform in suboptimal conditions in a demo room in Cambridge.
To further expand and deepen the participant pool, the lab went on tour. This included stops at the largest science and technology events such as New Scientist Live as well as less formal settings such as a local market, library, community centre, church, and even someone’s living room.
Speech anxiety and the fear of public speaking impact most people, and it is becoming increasingly more common over time.
The platform has immense potential to empower individuals to overcome their fear of public speaking, ultimately enhancing not only their quality of life but also their capacity to become a driving force of positive change in the world,” said the authors.