Sometimes getting up in front of a room of co-workers to make a speech, let alone an entire conference hall of strangers, can be an overwhelming task. Now there’s a Google Cardboard VR app to help you prepare for that next public speaking engagement, getting you more comfortable and on your way to overcoming your fear of public speaking.
Public Speaking for Google Cardboard is a VR app that enables you to practice in front of a virtual audience from the comfort of your home or maybe 10-minutes before your presentation for the procrastinators out there.
The VR app puts you center stage in front of a captive audience, giving you the feeling of actually giving a real presentation. The Cardboard app lets you choose your speech environment – either a 15 person board room or a 400 person conference hall. You can even load your own Powerpoint slides to present virtually, but don’t be surprised if nobody laughs at your jokes.
Although this is a fairly simple Cardboard app and is not for everyone, the power of virtual reality to give you a sense of presence when practicing public speaking can go a long way in helping many overcome their fear of the real thing.
Even if you don’t have a fear of public speaking, the app could still help you prepare for presentation delivery, timing and distracting noises coming from the audience.
The more humorous feature of the app is a toggle switch allowing you to present in front of an animated audience or just frozen cardboard like cutouts of people. It’s not as funny as a toggle switch to imagine the entire audience in their underwear, but can definitely put a stop to that guy in the front row who keeps checking his phone if he’s too distracting.
The free app is still in the works and the developers say they’re working to add new environments, improve audience reactions, and add voice recording capabilities. An iOS version is also coming soon.
For now you can download Public Speaking for Cardboard on Android.
