Simple Wearable Device to Reduce Stress When Delivering a Speech without Pre-training

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Public speaking anxiety is common.
• Effective stress management can improve performance and quality of life.
• Simple interventions are needed to alleviate speaker stress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of a wearable device's guided breathing exercise in reducing speech-related stress.
• To assess the impact of the intervention on stress levels during different phases of a speech task.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-eight participants were assigned to either a Breathe app group (using Apple Watch) or a control group.
• The Breathe app group engaged in guided breathing exercises before speech preparation.
• Participants prepared and delivered speeches, with stress levels monitored via cardiac activity.

Main Results:

• Guided breathing exercises significantly reduced stress during the exercise and speech preparation phases.
• Stress levels were not significantly reduced during the actual speech delivery.
• Cardiac activity indicated physiological stress modulation.

Conclusions:

• Guided breathing via wearable devices may help manage pre-speech anxiety.
• Integrating stress-easing tasks before or during speeches, potentially using device feedback, could be beneficial.
• Further research is needed to optimize interventions for in-speech stress reduction.