A woman who had crippling social anxiety to the extent where she would feel on the verge of a panic attack when ordering a coffee has overcome her fear of public speaking by creating a virtual reality app where she simulates a room full of people to talk in front of, calling it “genuinely life-changing”.
Sophie Thompson, 29, was so anxious throughout her childhood and university years that she did not order for herself in restaurants or speak in assessed presentations – but people who meet her now describe her as “outgoing” since she used virtual reality. While doing her masters degree in 2016 Sophie had an important presentation approaching, so she and a friend created a virtual reality experience, showing a room full of people, to practise her public speaking.
From then on her fear disappeared and she became a much more confident person, even going on nights out with university friends – something she spent years being “too nervous” to do. The virtual reality experience has since evolved into its own company, VirtualSpeech, and incorporates several at-work scenarios, such as job interviews and meetings.
