In Development
Speachy
Empowering users world to find their voice and improve their public speaking skills!
September, 2022
Speachy
Empowering users to find their voice and improve their public speaking.
Speachy, enables users to build their skills, prepare for upcoming projects, and track progress via analytics, awards and certifications.
My co-founder role consists of product design, project management, user research and advocating for Speachy! After synthesising pain points in the problem space, following primary and secondary research, we ideated features, crafted the user flow, and created a roadmap.
No we have validated our idea, our MVP is in development! We are working on gaining traction and are eager to integrate user-testing feedback after the first release in June!
The team project involved extensive research such as surveys, interviews, user persons and a competitor analysis to identify and validate the problem. From there we defined key objectives, began ideation and created low, medium and high fidelity prototypes.
Current Status | Time Frame | Tools | Team | My Role |
In development! | 18 months + | Canva Adobe XD Figma | Grace Choo (Co-founder) Emma Schmidley (Co-founder) | Project Management Research and Validation UX Design and Prototyping Business Strategy |
The Problem
Background Research
Public speaking is terrifying.
This is something my team unanimously agreed upon at UQ’s 2022 ‘Weekend of Startups’ Hackathon. Ever since, we’ve heard a collection of anecdotes and horror stories from everyone we’ve spoken to, fuelling our desire to build the best solution we can. After scanning articles, gathering statistics, attending public speaking groups, sending out a survey and facilitating in-person interviews we were shocked to find:
75%
of people suffer from glossophobia
(a fear of public speaking)
- The National Institute of Mental Health
Why?
Our research uncovered the main factors that contribute include:
- Lack of skills (53%)
- Lack of effective preparation (75%)
- Low confidence (82%)
Statistics taken from a survey of students and young professionals at the UQ Weekend of Startups.
The root causes of these problems are:
- Inadequate, inaccessible education
- Genetic or biological factors
- Expensive coaching and speech therapy ($300+ per session)
- Previous experience
What are the consequences?
- Poor communication
- Avoidance of speaking or social situations due to stigma
- Low self-esteem
- Anxiety, distress and depression
- Missed opportunities
- Lower-earning jobs
Delivery
Content
Context
The 3 main components of public speaking:
Volume
Pacing
Intonation
Enunciation
Filler words
Body language
Style
Structure
Storytelling
Coherency
Time management
Adherence to a criteria
Audience
Stakes
Potential Outcome
Previous Experiences
Preparation
These were identified during our research.
Our solution aims to address these.
Survey Results
53%
have difficulty speaking to an audience
82%
said confidence was a major challenge
100%
want to improve their speaking skills
75%
are unsure on the next steps to improve…
What words come to mind when you think of public speaking?
A selection of quotes from interviews
“We need more public speaking education. I believe this would be valuable for anyone at any level”
Joshua Phillips
QUT student and Professional Speaker
“I dread uni presentations but this would make preparing so much easier!”
Lily Winburn
UQ Biomed Student
“I would use this and recommend it to Public Speaking Society Members”
Simeon Gover
UQ Student & Public Speaking Society Executive
“ 100% think it’s an amazing idea… an app like this would be really helpful ”
Vishaak Gangasandra
TEDxUQ 2022 Emcee & Curator
“ I definitely think [TEDx] speakers would be interested and benefit from this ”
Madalyn Conwell
TEDxUQ Co-Director
“ ... A useful tool to complement Professional Development Workshops ”
Alfred Schmidley
UQ School of Business (Executive Education)
Ideation
We discussed the best way to solve our users pain points in our app, aiming to reduce anxiety, boost confidence and help users prepare and practise for a presentation.
When ideating what features our app would include we settled on:
- Providing lessons to improve skills by practising.
- A 'premium' option to prepare for a specific presentation or interview.
- Progress reports for users to boost confidence
- Optional mindfulness tips and sessions alongside advice on when and how to contact a professional.
I therefore separated the features of the app into three seperate sections, each involving a unique user flow. My rough notes, used for team discussion are demonstrated on the right.
Sketches
I sketched out ideas for the each section o a few of the key components. This helped lead me in the right direction when creating the wireframes in Canva.
Version 1 Prototype
Version 1 Prototype
I made all of each of the app wireframes into a working prototype through the use of Adobe XD. I connected them allowing users to follow along with each of the three processes. You can try it out using the QR code!
User-centric Design
Lack of confidence in skills
Not knowing how to practise
Anxiety and stress
Lack of preparation
Not knowing how to prepare
Lack of confidence in preparation
Lack of confidence in skills
Lack of confidence in preparation
Anxiety and stress
Users can build on their existing skills and learning new ones
Users are provided with an initial assessment to identify which skills need further development e.g. volume, pace etc.
Optional mindfulness to practise when stressed
After answering questions, users are provided with guided preparation plan to get ready for their speech or interview
Users will feel comfort in knowing they have prepared properly
Users will see the progress they have made, how they have developed their skills and feel more experienced in taking on new public speaking opportunities
User Testing
We were able to demonstrate the app in use, consider the feasibility of how it would work and test out the prototype with potential users to gain feedback to propel our design. Below are a few quotes of user-feedback on our concept and app design and how we plan to response in our next version.
Version 2 Prototype
Reflections
Key learnings
Rapid Design Process
- Maintaining attention to detail despite the short time allocated
- Learning how to fast-track wireframes and designs - utilising the most efficient methods of creating a prototype
- Understanding the best tools to use to maximise efficiency
Teamwork Skills
- Knowing how to allocate tasks and prioritise effectively
- Learning each other's strengths so we can utilise them
- Discussing issues together to consider multiple viewpoints - ultimately helping us find the best solution
Idea Validation Techniques
- Learning, through workshops and research how to effectively validate
- Generating survey data and ensuring a quick turnaround
- Asking meaningful questions to interviewees to get the most useful information
- Understanding the value of a good network
Communication
- Being able to effectively describe and understand ideas within the team
- Listening and taking on advice
Reflections
Key learnings
Rapid Design Process
- Maintaining attention to detail despite the short time allocated
- Learning how to fast-track wireframes and designs - utilising the most efficient methods of creating a prototype
- Understanding the best tools to use to maximise efficiency
Teamwork Skills
- Knowing how to allocate tasks and prioritise effectively
- Learning each other's strengths so we can utilise them
- Discussing issues together to consider multiple viewpoints - ultimately helping us find the best solution
Idea Validation Techniques
- Learning, through workshops and research how to effectively validate
- Generating survey data and ensuring a quick turnaround
- Asking meaningful questions to interviewees to get the most useful information
- Understanding the value of a good network
Communication
- Being able to effectively describe and understand ideas within the team
- Listening and taking on advice
What would I do differently next time?
More considered Design Process
- Although I am proud of what I achieved in a small amount of time, I would allocate more time for a more detailed approach
- I would have liked more time to research and implement design trends and make the UX more unique, modern and interesting
- For example I would update the navigation bar and add more guidance for the users
Mental Health Considerations
- I think one of the main reasons people struggle with public speaking could be due to an underlying health condition such as AD, or GAD.
- While we have included options for mindfulness, I believe it would be helpful to provide brief questionnaires to flag people who could be struggling with mental health and encourage them to get professional help
- To make our app more inclusive, we could have specific tips available for people who are neurodiverse
Perseverance in the venture
- I thoroughly enjoyed this whole process due to my passion for our problem space. I truly feel as though our solution, if done effectively, has huge potential.
- My team and I are currently researching potential accelerator programs to continue working on this idea.
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