Do You Know What Your Nonverbal Behavior Communicates? – Studying a Self-reflection Module for the Presentation Trainer

Abstract

Abstract. In recent years, research on multimodal sensor-based technologies has produced different prototypes designed to support the development of public skills. These prototypes are able to analyze the nonverbal communication of learners and provide them with feedback, in cases where human feedback is not available. One of these prototypes is called the Presentation Trainer (PT). Experts in public speaking claim that ultimately there is not such thing as the right way to do a presentation. They pointed out that it would be useful for tools such as the PT to present learners with the opportunity to become aware of their own nonverbal communication. Following this suggestion we developed a selfreflection module for the PT. In this study we conducted user tests exploring the use of this module. Results from these tests showed that participants perceived that the self-reflection module helped them to reflect about their performance, and point out research paths to further investigate the influence of selfreflection in the learners' performance.

Controlled evaluation of a multimodal system to improve oral presentation skills in a real learning setting

“…These surveys have only been conducted in laboratory settings. Only two studies (Damian et al ., 2015; Schneider, Börner, Van Rosmalen, & Specht, 2017) were conducted in a real‐world setting, but only with 3 and 12 participants, respectively.…”

“…Learning in this context is defined by obtaining a better score in one or more presentation dimensions or by counting the duration and frequency of mistakes. Only Logue (Damien et al ., 2015) and two versions of the Presentation Trainer (Schneider et al ., 2015; Schneider et al ., 2017; Schneider, Romano, & Drachsler, 2019) were evaluated in this way. In the case of Logue, the study was conducted as a lab‐based controlled experiment within‐subjects, where the performance was measured first without the system being active, and then, measured with the system working as designed.…”

“…Schneider et al . (2017), in an observation of 12 students using the system in‐the‐wild found that they stay less time in mistake states after a training session although no statistical test for significance was performed. In the virtual‐reality version of the Presentation Trainer, Schneider et al .…”

Beyond Reality—Extending a Presentation Trainer with an Immersive VR Module

“…The feedback displayed concerns the learner’s posture , use of gestures , voice volume , speaking time and use of pauses , phonetic pauses (filler sounds), and facial expressions (smiles). After practicing the presentation, the PT provides learners with a self-reflection module where it displays the analysis of the data tracked during the presentation allowing learners to self-reflect about their performance [25]. For this study, we added two new features to the PT: a VR real-time feedback module and a post-practice histogram and video analysis.…”

“…For example, the application described in [23] displays simple corrective real-time feedback regarding basic public speaking skills on a screen. In contrast, the applications presented in [22,25] that are also designed to support the development of public speaking skills provide more complex feedback which is presented offline.…”