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By\u00a0Vani Mandava<\/a>, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Research<\/em><\/p>\n People often rank public speaking as the number one fear that they face. New cloud-based technology from researchers at the University of Rochester lets speakers polish and practice at home in front of their computer camera, while the analysis provides instant feedback about improvement.<\/p>\n Leading this effort known as ROC Speak is M. Ehsan Hoque (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, an assistant professor of computer science\u00a0and electrical and computer engineering at University of Rochester, where he codirects the Rochester Human-Computer Interaction (ROC HCI) Lab (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Hoque has more than one motivation for helping people improve their communication. He has a brother\u00a0with a severe social deficit who isn\u2019t able to communicate well. Hoque also has heard from the public in\u00a0more than 2,000 emails that some wish they could practice public speaking on computers in the privacy of their homes. Social speaking ability is valued by everyone, from academics who lecture to business\u00a0leaders and students. With the donation of Microsoft Azure for Research tools<\/a>, Hoque has explored and designed a new platform to help speakers.<\/p>\n At a conference a few years ago, a man walked up to Hoque and said he feared social stigma because his\u00a0speaking style was monotonous and he had difficulty making eye contact with people. Hoque was inspired by that encounter to further develop what is now ROC Speak (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s possible that in the future, ROC Speak will help people overcome speaking issues and might smooth social difficulties for people with Asperger\u2019s Syndrome.<\/p>\n Among those testing the tool has been Valentina Kutyifa, a research cardiologist and former president of the Toastmasters Club at the University of Rochester. She has helped build a collaboration between the nonprofit Toastmaster\u2019s International, which also helps people practice speaking, and ROC Speak. \u201cI have used the ROC Speak product for some of my speeches, and I felt it’s very useful and helpful for preparing speeches and providing instant feedback,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Hoque explains that communication is much more complex than we realize, especially the nonverbal\u00a0elements. The ROC Speak platform works by measuring many forms of nonverbal behavior\u00a0simultaneously. Using the video camera and audio recording on the user\u2019s laptop, the program\u00a0measures eye gaze, word use, voice level, and hand gestures. ROC Speak uses techniques that\u00a0automatically analyze these subtle human behaviors. In addition, the system provides feedback,\u00a0which allows users to explore the nuances of their behavior during practice of a speech.<\/p>\n \u201cThe human face has 43 muscles. Using 43 muscles, we can create 10,000 unique facial expressions. To\u00a0model nonverbal behavior, we need to get a lot of data and collect it in a naturalistic environment,\u201d Hoque said. To facilitate capturing and handling that data, Microsoft Azure for Research lent the project access to cloud resources with advanced tools in the Cortana Intelligence<\/a> suite, tools such as Azure Machine Learning and Microsoft Cognitive Services. This enabled the ROC Speak team to make the platform broadly available, capture and store participant data, and synthesize it.<\/p>\n