HP Innovation Journal Issue 14: Spring 2020 | Page 66

Associates. He uses VR as an exposure therapy tool for a
wide range of phobias, including fear of public speaking,
which he says is one of the most common phobias he sees,
alongside a fear of flying.
Exposure therapy works by slowly exposing a person
to the situations they fear, in a safe, controlled way to
help them learn coping skills and build comfort over
time. He also simultaneously teaches patients how to
work through their feelings of anxiety and panic using
controlled breathing techniques and other behaviors.
“VR therapy works on an inoculation model—like how
a flu shot teaches the body to fight off a disease,” he
says. “The patient knows they’re not actually in front of
a real crowd, but the experience still activates a nervous-
system response, so they can learn how to control it.”
Reiner says he’s seen many patients use VR effectively
as part of the process to overcome glossophobia. His
patients gradually step up to live practice as they
progress through their sessions, and he has helped
formerly glossophobic patients give everything from
wedding toasts to stand-up comedy routines.
NEW TOOLS FOR TRAINING AND THERAPY
The ability to use VR in this way may sound like
something out of science fiction, but VR public-speaking
programs have actually been available for at least 20
years. The defining change over the last five years was
the launch of powerful devices like the HP Reverb and
the Oculus Rift, which made VR accessible, attractive,
and affordable for the average consumer. Today’s VR
gaming headsets typically cost between $400 and $700.
“The first VR system I used in 1999 cost about $15,000,”
says Reiner. “Today’s systems are not only much cheaper,
but they also have better resolution and provide a more
immersive experience.”
Most early public-speaking VR programs offered a static
environment, with the user standing at a pixelated podium
looking out over a small crowd of generic virtual audience
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HP Innovation Journal Issue 14
members. Today, they offer a more detailed, realistic
experience, where you can customize everything from the
type of room to the presentation tools you’ll use and how
members of the audience will respond to your speech.
“When you put on a high-definition headset like a Reverb
and look out at a virtual audience, you see a bunch of
eyeballs follow you,” Marshall says. “You feel a sense
of presence in the venue. It’s like 200 people are really
staring back at you.”
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT—
OR AT LEAST MORE PREPARED
Programs like Ovation VR also give users the ability to select
the format of their speeches to match the environments they
plan to speak in, whether that’s a boardroom or a ballroom.
They can also incorporate slide presentations and note cards,
and practice holding a microphone.
“Think about how pilots use a flight simulator—it helps
them learn how to fly, refine their skills, and stay relevant,”
Marshall says. “It’s the same with a public-speaking
simulator. We want people to give as many practice
speeches as possible so they can see their strengths and
weaknesses and guide their improvement over time.”
The software also provides active training with real-time
feedback around common challenges, like notifications
if you move your hands excessively, say too many filler
words (like “um” or “actually”), or fail to shift your gaze
evenly across the whole audience.
“Every time you give a practice speech, it’s all recorded in
3D so you can play back the speech while moving around
the room and watching yourself,” Marshall says. “It’s
amazing how much body language you can read from just
your torso, head, and hands.”
This body language is recorded through the VR system’s
headset and controllers. It can show if you’re making
consistent eye contact with the audience, whether you
stand stiff or move around too much, and how you handle
equipment like a laser pointer or microphone.