Public Speaking - Glossophobia
What is glossophobia?
Glossophobia isn’t a dangerous disease or chronic condition. It’s the medical term for the fear of public speaking. For those affected, speaking in front of a group can trigger feelings of discomfort and anxiety. With this can come uncontrollable trembling, sweating, and a racing heartbeat. You may also have an overwhelming urge to run out of the room or away from the situation that is causing you stress.
Glossophobia is a social phobia, or social anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders go beyond occasional worrying or nervousness. They cause strong fears that are out of proportion to what you’re experiencing or thinking about.
Anxiety disorders often get worse over time. And they can interfere with your ability to function under some circumstances.
Virtual Reality for Public Speaking (Glossophobia) Extensive research suggests that virtual reality can effectively improve public speaking abilities. The virtual environment enables to modify the number of people, audience attitudes and even distractions.
VR Therapy for Acrophobia
A strong alternative to traditional exposure techniques for acrophobia is given in a virtual reality that enables the therapist complete control of exposure variables. Acrophobia environments are created that allow evaluation and interventions for fear of heights.
VR Environments that help
Audience
- The individual is in an environment to speak in front of an audience and will have to confront questions, distractions and clapping.
Auditorium
The individual is put in an environment to give a conference in a large auditorium, where they are tasked with questions, distractions and clapping.
The office
- The individual is in a conference room with colleagues. This environment is versatile: it can simulate an important meeting, a job interview, an exam and more.
Streaming conference
The individual is in an environment to speak in a large auditorium with the lights off. They can see that they are being recorded by TV cameras. They will be disrupted with questions, distractions and clapping.
Chatting at the bar
- The individual finds themselves sitting at a bar table, having an informal conversation with their companions. Each of these companions engages with a specific communication style – passive, assertive, aggressive, and mixed. The individual is tasked with listening to the conversation and interacting with their companions.
VR Therapy involves gradually introducing the person to various environments and helping them face situations to address their concerns, fears and adapt to new changes. It may involve just a few sessions of therapy, after which the end goal is the person learning to adapt to public speaking
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