A new website wants to allay public speaking fears by allowing people to upload videos and enable speeches to be critiqued by friends or pros. Darren Schwartz, CEO of SureSpeak, divulges the importance of effective communication.
Digital Journal — When Darren Schwartz was in his early 20s, he suffered from severe stuttering. His stammering became such a problem he sought help from speech therapists, eventually overcoming his impediment with constant practice. Now, Schwartz wants to help other people get over their fear of public speaking through an online video site just for people to practice making speeches.
SureSpeak gives webcam-friendly users the ability to record videos of their speeches, review them and then allow the clips to be critiqued by friends or experts. These critics can score videos based on various factors, from message content to sincerity. The site also features instructional courses to “help users enhance and perfect anything from the perfunctory sales pitch to what used to be the dreaded wedding toast,” according to the press release.
SureSpeak CEO Darren Schwartz explained the appeal of his Chicago-based site, which launched earlier this month: “Ninety-three percent of communication is through body language and tone of voice, but few people practice these critical skills. The ability for speakers to see and hear themselves in a private practice environment is what makes SureSpeak so powerful for speech and presentation training.”
In an interview with DigitalJournal.com, Schwartz spoke about why SureSpeak fills a new media void and how the site can help people gain confidence in effective communication.
DigitalJournal.com: Why should someone use SureSpeak to enhance their speaking skills?
Darren Schwartz: Public speaking is the biggest fear next to death. When you can’t communicate, you feel trapped inside your own body. SureSpeak lets you practice speaking and later self-review the video. You can invite others to watch you, score you and give feedback.
DigitalJournal.com: Who are the ideal users of the site?
Schwartz: The application could apply to anyone who wants to get better at their communication skills, like at job interviews or corporate presentations. Also, SureSpeak could work for speech therapists, or therapists who work with autistic children.
DigitalJournal.com: SureSpeak keeps your videos private, so critique is only viewable by the video creator. But does that model close you off from the many views the site could get, like YouTube does?
Schwartz: YouTube has done us a great service because they’ve opened the online video market. But the main difference between us and them is people go to YouTube mainly for entertainment purpose while people come to us to alleviate some pain they’re experiencing.
DigitalJournal.com: SureSpeak isn’t just for people who want to practice speeches, right?
Schwartz: We also want to create a marketplace for speech experts. They can register and list their info, and then members can see who the expert coaches are. We want to market directly to coaches and let them know they can use SureSpeak to help their lessons with clients.
DigitalJournal.com: Explain how pricing will work.
Schwartz: The basic package costs $30 per month. But using the entire site is free until the end of April. There will be a free option down the road but it will have limited functionality, like offering a fraction of the instructional courses a paid member would see.
DigitalJournal.com: What is SureSpeak’s end goal?
Schwartz: We want to create a platform for people to learn to communicate better. Members should understand the elements that go into communication, including language and tone.
Business-wise, our main goal is to get 10,000 users as quickly as possible. And I got a feeling that, eventually, we’ll have some suitors talking to us.
For an example of SureSpeak’s instructional videos, see below:
