Improvement of Public Speaking Skills Using Virtual Reality: Development of a Training System

The Public Speaking project is a Virtual Reality (VR) training system dedicated to the improvement of public speaking skills. It provides users with the opportunity to rehearse their speech in a realistic virtual environment which displays an interactive audience. The experience is customized based on the chosen training scenario, which is determined by the room, participant's role, audience behaviors, and timer. A companion website provides comprehensive feedback reports on speakers' performance, based on their verbal and nonverbal behavior, as well as replay functionalities. In addition to its educational objective, this system is used as a tool to advance research into the development of effective public speaking training environments.