April 9, 2021 - Dom Barnard
In today’s business environment, you must have good presentation skills to be successful. We live in a world of meetings, presentations and conferences, in which a clear and assertive presentation can get you a promotion, fund your idea or secure a contract.
Presenting information clearly and concisely is the key to getting your message across. However, most people feel terrified when asked to speak in public. Through practice and preparation, you’ll become more confident in your presentation skills, and you’ll find yourself being less nervous when public speaking.
We’ll explain why virtual reality is the perfect tool to increase your confidence and improve your presentation skills.
Virtual reality is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. That person is immersed within this environment, giving the impression that the person is really there, and can perform a series of actions within this virtual world.
We’re using virtual reality (VR) to immerse people in different realistic presentation styled environments, where they can practice and perfect their skills.
Give a TED talk in front of hundreds of people, deliver a speech at a wedding, teach a room full of students – all from the safety of your own home. By practicing your presentation skills in virtual reality, you’ll build up a positive visualization in your mind of you delivering a great presentation.
Plenty of studies have proven the effectiveness of positive visualization. When we imagine a positive outcome to a scenario in our mind, it’s more likely to play out the way we envision. Instead of thinking “I’m going to completely forget what to say on stage”, use VR to visualise yourself delivering an inspiring speech with great enthusiasm.
With the VirtualSpeech app, you can add your own presentation slides into the virtual room with you, so that you can practice for an upcoming event. Simply save your presentation as a PDF document and add it to the app – you can change the slides in the virtual world by pressing your VR headset trigger.
Add your own slides to the virtual meeting or conference room to practice with.
Poor delivery and timing are the most common problems people have when they make a presentation. Being able to time what you say, at the correct point in your speech, with the right presentation slide, are important skills and require you to know your content well.
Practicing your timing in the virtual world will make you much more confident when delivering the speech for real. You can even try out several different ways of delivering the same material and decide which sounds better.
Speakers that practice come across as confident, and avoid the “umms” and uncomfortable silences that detract from the message. Knowing your slides and practicing your delivery with them, will help keep the presentation within a reasonable timeframe. Audiences appreciate presentations that make the point clear and concise.
Feedback includes:
Track eye contact, hesitation words, speech length and more – you’ll be able to analyse how you’re improving these metrics over time.
Need to prepare for a team meeting? Presenting at a conference? Giving a TED talk? VR can immerse you in a variety of rooms to suit your needs and improve your skills for the correct type of event. The more adjusted to your environment you are, the more comfortable you’ll feel.
With VR, you can spend time in a similar room to where you’ll be delivering your presentation. You’ll be able to practice with a realistic audience, sound (audience and environmental), lighting distractions and even audio feedback like you’d get with a microphone.
Our presentation rooms include:
Eye contact, distractions and impromptu speeches can all be improved in a fun and engaging way. We’ve build mini-courses to help you learn the essentials of presentation skills, including:
You’ll want to rehearse your presentation multiple times – it’s essential if you want to deliver a great presentation. However, it’s hard to improve without actually presenting to an audience. With VR, you can practice in a realistic way as often as you like – whether it be ten or a hundred times. This is a great way to build confidence in your presentation abilities.
Some leading public speakers suggest rehearsing lines in various positions and in different orders – this will ensure you don’t just memorise the speech line for line and can handle unforeseen distractions.
The more you mix up your presentation and setting, the more comfortable you’ll feel with your speech.
Start improving your presentation skills today with our public speaking course integrated with VR.
