This is the second on a series on how artificial intelligence voice to text services can help Bobcats advance their academic skills.
A key skill for students to develop is the ability to communicate professionally and effectively. Part of acquiring these skills is having the ability to engage audiences through presentations. Traditionally we have relied on either rehearsing presentations alone or presenting in front of friends or peers to gather valuable feedback on how to improve our communications skills. Even in a traditional course, or work setting, this can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Setting up time during class to let everybody rehearse or getting busy coworkers to set time apart to give you feedback just requires a lot. Now, in the midst of the COVID pandemic, these things are even more difficult.
Here is another space where artificial intelligence (AI) can help. AI services can give feedback on tone and engagement. AI can tell you if you are speaking too fast, or too slow, or if your tone is too monotonous and potentially boring. AI can even tell you if you are using terms that you should avoid. In other words, AI can help you improve your presentation skills, and it can do it at your convenience. For Bobcats, all this help is there, at your fingertips. One of the latest features released for PowerPoint on the web (will not work on the desktop version) is the “Rehearse with Coach” feature. You can access it by logging in to your Texas State Microsoft 365 account and opening your PowerPoint presentation via PowerPoint online. Then select the SlideShow menu and look for the Rehearse Coach item. You will, of course, need a microphone.
At the end of the presentation the AI service will present you with a report, but also give you real-time feedback as you present. The report includes things like how long was your presentation. Did you speak at a reasonable and understandable speed? Was your pitch engaging? This AI coach is smart enough that it will give you feedback if you are reading too much off your slides, instead of using them to support your presentation. It also detects the use of filler words like ‘um’. Here is a view of a report at the end of a rehearsal.
The process is assisted by AI-driven voice services. Check out other “AI and Voice” posts on this blog, such as: New service lets Bobcats transcribe recordings for free! and Dr. Carlos Solís presents AI-captioning study at Microsoft higher education event.
Dr. Carlos Solís is Associate Vice President of the Technology Innovation Office.
