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$%675$&7 Virtual reality (VR) applications for fear of public speaking pose several design challenges with regard to the adaptability of the scenarios to the training/treatment requirements of each person. The present study focuses on three major aspects identified in literature that would help customize the virtual audience for fear of public speaking applications: interaction, group dynamics, and personalization. Eight experts from VR-related fields of study have been interviewed to share the expertise on how to achieve and implement these aspects. Keywords: Virtual audience, customization, training. Index Terms J.4 [Computer Applications]: Social and behavioral sciences—Psychology; I.3.7 [Computing Methodologies]: Threedimensional graphics and realism—Virtual reality ,1752'8&7,21 Fear of public speaking is one of the most common phobias in the world, which causes emotions to overcome the intellect and hinder communication [1]. The field of psychology addresses speech anxiety in a structured way focused on stages of assessment [2] and treatment options such as in vivo [3], relaxation methods [4], and virtual exposure to the phobiatriggering factors [5]. Training communication skills that help lower anxiety during speech delivery has also been long part of university curricula [6], including both teaching theory and history of rhetoric as well as training public speaking skills [7]. Understanding both clinical and nonclinical views can therefore help develop a viable VR tool for training and treatment. The purposes of the study is hence twofold: (1) Learn from first-hand experience of trainers how training for public speaking is conducted and what is vital in the process; and (2) reveal the factors that can turn VR into a useful tool for new target groups also – people with lower levels of anxiety than phobic people. 5(/$7(':25. VR applications implemented in fear of public speaking have focused on the efficiency of the simulation in eliciting and improving phobic responses [5][8]. Regarding virtual audiences, their actions are preprogrammed and occasionally manipulated by a person specialized in phobia treatment [9]. This control procedure helps recreate the natural interaction between speaker and audience that usually occurs in real life. A current downside is that interaction is limited *
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IEEE Virtual Reality 2013 16 - 20 March, Orlando, FL, USA 978-1-4673-4796-9/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE
to a one-to-many model and members of virtual audiences are not programmed to interact with each other or display group dynamics. Acording to the inter-audience effect theory, individuals in a group influence one another’s response to a speaker, be it positive, neutral, or negative [10]. Positive and negative audiences have been already implemented in phobia treatment in VR [5]. With regard to what elicits anxiety, the factors vary for each person and can span from status and power of audience members, closeness between a speaker and the audience, audience size [12], familiarity with audience’s interests or educational levels and homogeneity of such characteristics as well as visibility from the stage setting [13]. Personalized VR scenarios were designed on pre-assessments of subject’s hierarchy of anxiety provoking situations [8]. However, no personalization of virtual humans (VHs) occurred with virtual characters depicting familiar faces to the speaker. To sum up, VR applications can benefit from audience customization opportunities, integrated group dynamics of audiences, and transferability to target groups with lower levels of anxiety than phobia patients. 0(7+2'2/2*
