It’s not easy standing up in front of a crowd and making a speech. No matter how many times you rehearse it, your nerves can still tie your tongue. The best way to prevent this from happening is practice and coming to see public speaking as a fun challenge.
Learning to articulate and carry yourself well is a great way to stop your fear of public speaking from taking over, especially if your life or work revolves around presentations, lectures, and so on. Here are seven mobile apps that can help you build your skill and confidence.
1. Orai
If you want an app that can train you in every aspect of public speaking, Orai is a good choice. Even though its best features are in paid plans, like four-week training programs, there’s much to learn from its free daily tools.
Orai listens to real or practice speeches and assesses where you’re at in terms of:
- Conciseness
- Filler words
- Energy
- Pace
- Pausing
- Confidence
- Facial expressions
You can tweak your abilities one day at a time until your performance becomes consistent. The biggest test is applying what you learn to actual speeches, which is only a matter of mastering a few more techniques.
You can brush up your skills with Orai’s free seven day trial, or pay for its specialist training courses for ongoing practice.
Download: Orai for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
2. PromptSmart Pro
When it comes to scripts, you don’t need to carry papers or cards around. Your smartphone can contain digital copies, work as a teleprompter, and even record each session to assess and share later.
PromptSmart Pro is popular among public speakers for its voice recognition technology, as well as different ways to use and display documents. This includes an unlockable cloud-based feature for managing documents.
Additionally, you can go for notecards instead of long scripts. You can edit as you practice, if not write whole speeches on your phone. Unfortunately, the app’s free version for Android only allows three-minute presentations, but it’s nothing you can’t work around.
Download: PromptSmart Pro for Android (Free, in-app purchases available) | iOS ($19.99)
3. Speakometer
There are many challenges to preparing a speech, from choosing the right words to pronouncing them. Voice exercises and a dictionary are invaluable, but so are language learning apps beyond Duolingo.
When fighting a fear of public speaking, strengthen your understanding of the language you use and a boost in confidence will follow. Speakometer’s full potential comes at a price too, but, once again, your free options are worthwhile.
For example, you can practice elocution with over 200 English words. The app can also teach you how to pronounce difficult terms. Just type them in while reading a script or writing a formal speech and then practice them until they become second nature.
Download: Speakometer for Android (Free, in-app purchases available)
4. Vocabulary Builder
Low self-esteem is often behind fear of public speaking. Having a vocal coach and exercises at your fingertips can go a long way to boosting your confidence, but laying a strong foundation in terms of vocabulary is even better.
Making use of Vocabulary Builder’s lessons and games between users around the world can replace your instinctive filler words, like “umm” and “er”, with more productive ones. Considering this app is completely free, you may get more out of it than Speakometer.
Then, you’re less likely to panic if your mind goes blank onstage. You can just pull appropriate words from your pool of knowledge to keep your crowd entertained, while you get your speech back on track.
Download: Vocabulary Builder for Android | iOS (Free)
5. Word of the Day
If you like the idea of adding to your vocabulary, Word of the Day is another top choice. It comes up with a huge range of English words on a daily basis, including their definitions and pronunciations.
But you also get to test your knowledge with quizzes and competitions between hundreds of users. What this offers public speakers is a fun and casual way to absorb new words, from everyday slang to rare technical terms.
At the end of the day, all this will come in handy when composing speeches for different goals. Use Word of the Day long enough and you’ll have the perfect words pop into your head for any given situation.
Download: Word of the Day for Android (Free, in-app purchases available)
6. Diction Exercises
You can train your voice and diction with exercises like any other skill. Just reading a book out loud warms your vocal cords and teaches you to narrate with color, pace, pauses, and so on. You could turn to a coach or find a range of tricks online for projection and charisma too.
Alternatively, check out this free and handy little app: Diction Exercises. It contains exactly that alongside tongue twisters to work out your mouth and improve articulation.
Apart from trying an exercise every day, you could memorize and apply your favorite ones before each speech to make sure your words come out clearly. It may feel strange doing them in public, but your audience and peace of mind will thank you for them.
Download: Diction Exercises for Android (Free)
7. Metronome Beats
If you want to take extra care of your rhythm and energy, try an app like Metronome Beats. This may be of more use to musicians, but public speakers can find it every handy too.
When a presentation contains a lengthy monologue, for example, you want to maintain an active pace so as not to lose the audience’s interest. With Metronome Beats you can practice your speech alongside a custom tempo.
The app’s free features are all you need. Just adjust its settings to minimize distractions while training and set up a timer to make sure your speech doesn’t take too long. Here’s a simple but very helpful tool in tackling your fear of public speaking.
Download: Metronome Beats for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
Replace Fear With Fun of Public Speaking
The key to any great presentation is making it fun for yourself and your audience. Get your public speaking skills to a point where you don’t need to worry about them anymore. At the same time, think about how to make each project pop, whether casual or professional.
Include audio as well as visual aids. Crack a joke. Play a quick game. Think outside the box for ways to stimulate people’s brains and hold their attention, but without going overboard and blurring the whole point of the presentation. It’s a delicate yet very rewarding balance.