Virtual reality public speaking training: effectiveness and user technology acceptance
Public speaking is a fundamental task in many professional or personal situations. At the same time, there is widespread fear of it, and it takes practice to present well. Previous studies suggest that Virtual Reality Public Speaking Training (VRPST) offers a promising opportunity for this. However,...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1242544/full |
| _version_ | 1797687111776731136 |
|---|---|
| author | Manuel Bachmann Abimanju Subramaniam Jonas Born David Weibel |
| author_facet | Manuel Bachmann Abimanju Subramaniam Jonas Born David Weibel |
| author_sort | Manuel Bachmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Public speaking is a fundamental task in many professional or personal situations. At the same time, there is widespread fear of it, and it takes practice to present well. Previous studies suggest that Virtual Reality Public Speaking Training (VRPST) offers a promising opportunity for this. However, studies evaluating objective and subjective indicators are lacking so far, and valid control conditions are missing in previous studies. We aimed to overcome these drawbacks. In our experiment, participants (N = 42) had the task of presenting a card game to a four-person audience using five provided PowerPoint slides within a time limit of 5 minutes. They prepared either using VRPST or using common self-directed preparation (control condition), being randomly assigned to a condition. Both groups were instructed to prepare for the task at home and given 30 min to learn the rules of the game and present them using the slides. The control group was given an additional 30 min to prepare individually for the presentation task at home. The experimental group received an additional 30-min VRPST session. This training session was done without specific feedback and the presentation was repeated three times. The quality of the rule explanation, the audience-assessed presentation quality, and the subjects’ self-assessed presentation quality were measured. Our results indicate that the VRPST is effective. Subjects who completed the VRPST did a better job of explaining the rules and were better rated by the audience. In addition, the experimental subjects also tended to rate their presentation better in the VRPST condition. Further analyses of those participants who completed the VRPST show high technology acceptance. Our results show the VR training had a significant performance-enhancing effect and that participants would use the VRPST if it were available to them. It seems that practicing a presentation in VR is useful and even better than a conventional preparation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:13:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4d115ab09f1646eb97ee46fcb295a8ab |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4192 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:13:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
| spelling | doaj.art-4d115ab09f1646eb97ee46fcb295a8ab2023-09-13T22:00:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Virtual Reality2673-41922023-09-01410.3389/frvir.2023.12425441242544Virtual reality public speaking training: effectiveness and user technology acceptanceManuel Bachmann0Abimanju Subramaniam1Jonas Born2David Weibel3Department of Social Work, Institute for Specialized Didactics, Profession Development and Digitalization, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandDepartment of Social Work, Institute for Specialized Didactics, Profession Development and Digitalization, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandPublic speaking is a fundamental task in many professional or personal situations. At the same time, there is widespread fear of it, and it takes practice to present well. Previous studies suggest that Virtual Reality Public Speaking Training (VRPST) offers a promising opportunity for this. However, studies evaluating objective and subjective indicators are lacking so far, and valid control conditions are missing in previous studies. We aimed to overcome these drawbacks. In our experiment, participants (N = 42) had the task of presenting a card game to a four-person audience using five provided PowerPoint slides within a time limit of 5 minutes. They prepared either using VRPST or using common self-directed preparation (control condition), being randomly assigned to a condition. Both groups were instructed to prepare for the task at home and given 30 min to learn the rules of the game and present them using the slides. The control group was given an additional 30 min to prepare individually for the presentation task at home. The experimental group received an additional 30-min VRPST session. This training session was done without specific feedback and the presentation was repeated three times. The quality of the rule explanation, the audience-assessed presentation quality, and the subjects’ self-assessed presentation quality were measured. Our results indicate that the VRPST is effective. Subjects who completed the VRPST did a better job of explaining the rules and were better rated by the audience. In addition, the experimental subjects also tended to rate their presentation better in the VRPST condition. Further analyses of those participants who completed the VRPST show high technology acceptance. Our results show the VR training had a significant performance-enhancing effect and that participants would use the VRPST if it were available to them. It seems that practicing a presentation in VR is useful and even better than a conventional preparation.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1242544/fullvirtual realitypublic speakingtrainingsocial anxietyspeech performancetechnology acceptance model |
| spellingShingle | Manuel Bachmann Abimanju Subramaniam Jonas Born David Weibel Virtual reality public speaking training: effectiveness and user technology acceptance Frontiers in Virtual Reality virtual reality public speaking training social anxiety speech performance technology acceptance model |
| title | Virtual reality public speaking training: effectiveness and user technology acceptance |
| title_full | Virtual reality public speaking training: effectiveness and user technology acceptance |
| title_fullStr | Virtual reality public speaking training: effectiveness and user technology acceptance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Virtual reality public speaking training: effectiveness and user technology acceptance |
| title_short | Virtual reality public speaking training: effectiveness and user technology acceptance |
| title_sort | virtual reality public speaking training effectiveness and user technology acceptance |
| topic | virtual reality public speaking training social anxiety speech performance technology acceptance model |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1242544/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT manuelbachmann virtualrealitypublicspeakingtrainingeffectivenessandusertechnologyacceptance AT abimanjusubramaniam virtualrealitypublicspeakingtrainingeffectivenessandusertechnologyacceptance AT jonasborn virtualrealitypublicspeakingtrainingeffectivenessandusertechnologyacceptance AT davidweibel virtualrealitypublicspeakingtrainingeffectivenessandusertechnologyacceptance |