The virtual audience--easing the fear.

For many people, the thought of public speaking is a fate worse than death. At the same time, to succeed in business often requires addressing large groups of people. Despite coaching, many people still struggle to overcome this hurdle.

Help might be on the way, though, in the form of virtual reality exposure therapy--computer-generated images and sound delivered through a helmet-like headset that offers a virtual environment in which to work out the anxiety. Page Anderson, an assistant professor of psychology at Georgia State University, started a clinical study in late May to determine how effective the technology is in allaying the fear and anxiety that often accompany public speaking. The headset is being tested as a possible replacement for what's known as "exposure therapy"--the idea that patients face their fears to beat them. Exposure therapy only works, however, through a controlled and prolonged degree of exposure, to give the anxiety time to subside, and then be repeated. This is difficult to do. Anderson hopes to shorten the process through the use of virtual audiences.

For more information visit www.gsu.edu.