When pollsters ask people about their biggest fear, public speaking often comes top, even beating death.
A Cambridge University scientist believes he has an antidote to the sweaty palms and racing heartbeat that many of us experience when asked to give a presentation — and he’s making it available free.
Developed by Dr Chris Macdonald, the system allows a nervous speaker to use an ordinary smartphone as a virtual reality headset. They can then practice giving a talk to what appear to be increasingly large and intimidating audiences.
A peer-reviewed study suggests it works, with users feeling more confident when they spoke in public for real. It beats imagining that your audience is naked, Macdonald said, an age-old tactic that trials suggest does not actually help.
“I set out with a simple but ambitious mission: make the most effective treatment for the most common fear and make it freely accessible to all,” Macdonald said. “Please do use it. It will transform your life and greatly expand your opportunities.”
The system, called the Virtual Reality Public Speaking Platform, is available here.
It involves using a mount to turn your phone into a headset. The version used in Macdonald’s testing costs about £17, while cardboard versions can be bought for around £6.
The system uses a technique known as overexposure therapy, placing users in simulated speaking environments that are more challenging than the real-life situation they will ultimately face. You can, for example, practise giving a speech in a virtual stadium filled with 10,000 animated spectators.
In smaller venues, members of the pretend audience will look bored and fiddle with their phones; some may walk out. The goal is to make real-world speaking feel manageable in comparison.
A study published in the journal Frontiers in Virtual Reality, involving 29 teenagers, suggested a single 30-minute session had an impact.
They were also taught a relaxation technique known as 4–7–8. It involves breathing in through the nose for a count of 4, holding one’s breath for a count of 7 and exhaling from the mouth for a count of 8.
Before the session, only 31 per cent described themselves as feeling confident about speaking in public; afterwards it was 79 per cent.
Further testing with students from Cambridge and University College London found that a week of use resulted in measurable improvements in people’s sense of being prepared and their overall confidence. Some even grew to enjoy giving presentations.
Macdonald said: “Prior to a presentation, most students tend to practise on their own, normally in their bedrooms to an audience of zero. As a result, it will feel like a significant step up when they present to even a small group of people and even a subtle audience gesture can throw them off.
“Students who use the VR platform can practise in a different venue every night to a wide range of highly distracting audiences and fear-inducing scenarios. That means a real presentation to a small group will feel like a significant step down.”
How a rude virtual audience helped me conquer my presentation fears
A spectacularly bad performance on stage, aged seven, convinced me that public speaking wasn’t for me (writes Helen Alexander).
But a recent career change meant I could no longer avoid presentations (I did try) and I was sent by my boss to a workshop. It didn’t work. It ended with 12 very anxious participants sweating, stumbling, and in one case crying, through some terrible talks.
Then a kind colleague put me in touch with Chris Macdonald at the University of Cambridge, where I work. He told me about the system he’s created.
I got hold of a headset mount for my phone (there were no instructions but it was very intuitive) and started practising on one of the lowest levels, speaking in front of a virtual audience of nine people.
I gradually built up from there until I was giving my short presentation to a virtual audience of 50 at the Cambridge student union and then 100 at another virtual version of a real university venue.
I was practising in my living room but I still had a dry mouth, clammy palms and felt slightly nauseous. I suspect that’s what made it effective: making it through the virtual presentations, in spite of feeling nervous, gave me confidence for the real talk.
Also, the virtual audience isn’t static. There are realistic distractions, like someone looking bored scrolling on their phone right in front of you or getting up and leaving.
So did I get through my real presentation? I did. It wasn’t a performance anyone will remember, but I’ll count that as a win. I didn’t vomit, or pass out, or any of the other horrors my overactive imagination had predicted.
