{"id":1847,"date":"2022-10-11T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2022\/10\/11\/help-students-become-more-confident-speakers\/"},"modified":"2024-05-31T18:48:07","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T01:48:07","slug":"help-students-become-more-confident-speakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2022\/10\/help-students-become-more-confident-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Help students become more confident speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The ability to express yourself in a group setting is a fundamental skill that has gained importance in today\u2019s world. The act of logging in to an online classroom and contributing to a conversation is a form of \u201cpresenting\u201d that may cause stress and anxiety for both students and teachers. Beyond the modern hybrid classroom, employers rank the ability to communicate clearly and confidently alongside problem solving and collaboration as essential skills often missing from their current employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people can relate to some level of \u201cpresentation anxiety,\u201d even if they generally enjoy public speaking. It takes practice to feel confident sharing information with a group. When you add the potential complexities of navigating a slide deck, speaking at a comfortable pace, and finding ways to inform and engage an audience, it can get overwhelming\u2014especially for students who are new to presenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest whitepaper in the series of Accelerate Learning kits created by Clarity Innovations, Inc., and sponsored by Microsoft, \u201cEmpowering Students to be Agents of Their Own Learning<\/a>,\u201d explores software that provides helpful feedback as users practice their presentation and speaking skills. This is a valuable tool for people of all experience levels, from young students just learning to express themselves to seasoned presenters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the whitepaper, evaluators reviewed automated skills coaches powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can help presenters of all skill levels become better speakers, build confidence, and reduce presentation anxiety. The applications evaluated were Speaker Coach<\/a>, built directly into Microsoft PowerPoint<\/a>, and Yoodli, a third-party plugin used with Chromebook Screencast and Google Slides. Both applications provide feedback in key areas of effective presentation skills, but only Speaker Coach is easy to access and activate directly from the software. Additionally, it\u2019s the only application reviewed that provides live feedback while the presenter is speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaker coach required fewer clicks and tools to configure and activate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of live feedback<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the factors that makes Speaker Coach so effective is that it provides the opportunity for speakers to practice on their own, in a comfortable environment, and offers constructive feedback in a non-judgmental way. There\u2019s even an option to get live feedback, so presenters can adjust their style while they\u2019re presenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Live Feedback gives you tips while you\u2019re speaking. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When activated, Speaker Coach listens to a presentation and gives the presenter live feedback on how to improve in several areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n