Will AI make you a better speaker?

We tried top AI speaker coaching solutions to find out.

As a presentation training firm, we’ve used an AI tool for 2+ years. Speakers get near-immediate feedback auto-analysis on speed, verbal fillers, and clarity of language.

As trainers, the main benefit is how easy it is for speakers to send us their rehearsal and for us to give feedback. As a result, we’ve added hundreds of hours of coaching outside of normal business hours. Transformation occurs when speakers practice, which is why we’re so bullish on tools that enable more coaching.

There’s another AI coaching tool that is gaining traction with other trainers. When I tested it, I became hyper-aware of the written words that appeared on the screen in real time. The coach gives feedback by commenting on the transcript.

We decided against the transcript tool for the same reasons we caution speakers to limit the time they spend writing and scanning talking points:

Reading words exercises the wrong muscle. To become a better speaker, speak. Listen to your voice: Are you rushing or going at a conversational pace? Do you sound unsure or convinced?

Here’s what AI speaker coaching software doesn’t do (yet):

Tell you what your audience wants. Walk the hallway, get on the phone, work your network, and find out what colleagues, members, investors, and clients want to learn and why.

Convince you that your idea is worth sharing. If your idea doesn’t matter to you, it won’t matter to your audience.

Tell stories.  AI generates somewhat polished prose (if you instruct it to remove jargon). But too often, AI-generates and speakers use messages and terms that won’t resonate: innovation, commitment, strategy. These terms need context (30,000 ft view backed by data) and real-world stories (street-level perspective). AI prose lives in the dangerously ambiguous 300-ft sphere: Your audience might know what the term means, but it is open to so many interpretations that you risk losing control of the narrative.

We support any tool that makes it easier to practice.

But you get more from rehearsing when you follow your instincts about what is compelling and what isn’t.

You get the most from rehearsing when you look at another human: their microexpressions will reveal far more than any algorithm.

For more insight on how to become a better presenter, follow Portico PR.

#publicspeaking #thereluctantpresenter Portico PR #aicoaching #presentationskills