It's "a magic mirror for improving communication", as Laurent Vuarraz Voisin puts it. And it's true that the Talkmobile application has something bluffing about it. The app was developed by the start-up Talk.Swiss, based in Orbe (VD) and Microcity Neuchâtel, and founded by this former journalist. Since joining RTS, Laurent Vuarraz Voisin has specialised in training to help people improve their communication skills. His training courses are aimed at company and team managers, politicians, lawyers and anyone who needs to speak up and build relationships.
Talk.Swiss's mission, according to its manager, is to put "the spoken word at the centre, to bring new life into organisations". But behind this marketing slogan lies a formidably effective application, which Le Temps is the first media outlet to report on. According to our tests, by intelligently using artificial intelligence services, the app can help improve oral communication.
New app
But let's start at the beginning. In 2011, Laurent Vuarraz Voisin, drawing on his experience in the media, created a learning method based on numerical indicators, convinced that this teaching method should accelerate results. He experimented with and trained everyone to speak better, either individually or in small groups of no more than eight people.
About ten months ago, Laurent Vuarraz Voisin added a smartphone application. I already had the idea of using artificial intelligence 10 years ago for self-analysis, but the technology wasn't ready," he says. Today, thanks to our in-house team and partnerships with the Idiap institute in Martigny and the HEIG-VD in Yverdon, we have a service that is fully developed. These intensive seminars cost around CHF 1,500 for two days of face-to-face training and a series of daily micro-lessons in the Talkmobile app.
According to Laurent Vuarraz Voisin, this app "makes speech visible through objective data". Once you've downloaded the app and created an account, you need to define your objective, such as "speaking brilliantly about yourself", or "negotiating and selling with talent" and "making a successful pitch". Then you get down to the practical work. With your smartphone in front of you and the camera switched on, you record yourself for any length of time, saying whatever you want. These videos are then sent to Talk.Swiss, which automatically analyses them securely and confidentially, she assures us. Very shortly afterwards, the results are available, again within the app. And you're presented with a wealth of information, presented in a simple way. The app analyses three main elements simultaneously: verbal, paraverbal and non-verbal communication.
Objectivising a speech
Let's start with the first. For example, a cloud of keywords extracted from the video is displayed on the screen. If all the words are of a similar size, this means a priori that no impactful key message has been conveyed in the video. This provides an opportunity to improve. We can also see the type of verbs used, with the percentage of active and passive speech. "If you want to mobilise your audience, take your colleagues or your public with you, it's better to use active forms. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to objectify our speech in a few seconds", explains Laurent Vuarraz Voisin.
In the case of paraverbal communication, speech speed, stuttering, pauses and inhalations are displayed on a graph. For non-verbal communication, a graph is displayed showing the moments when you express joy, fear or anger, enabling you to determine whether the emotion is congruent with your speech. In a fun way, the more videos and micro-lessons you make, the more you improve, the more points you earn and the more you progress. "Depending on your objectives, you will learn to be more convincing, more confident, more composed or more committed. Each time, depending on what you're trying to achieve in your context", assures Laurent Vuarraz Voisin.
Convincing according to our tests, the app is linked to a two-day training course at Talk.Swiss. It should be noted that Laurent Vuarraz Voisin is currently looking for investors for his company in order to develop the patents filed - "they must share my ethical vision of artificial intelligence", he adds.
