Let's Dialogue

“Yoodli is like Grammarly for speech” explained Varun Puri, co-founder of Yoodli, when I met him at the recent PRSA conference exhibit. And as someone who loves using Grammarly (the free version), I was immediately intrigued by the new AI tool.

What is Yoodli?

Yoodli is a free AI powered speech coach to help you improve your communication skills by giving instant feedback on everything from your speech rate to the number of filler words you use.

It differs from other tech I have used since you can add it straight into your zoom call and get feedback from your virtual meeting or interview.

I, however, was interested in finding the benefit for students wanting to improve their speaking skills.

How helpful will Yoodli be to students?

After experimenting with it myself, I believe Yoodli is helpful in these areas:

1. Gaining feedback on vocalics specifically your rate, filler words as well as pauses.
2. Assessing your vocabulary by identifying your repeated or weak words.
3. Indicating your facial nonverbals such as a smile or eye contact.

However, Yoodli will not be able to assess other nonverbals like gestures that a speech instructor can offer or give you a sense of place when speaking like a Virtual Reality speech assistant, such as VirtualSpeech, can accomplish. But in my opinion, it still is a helpful tool for students, especially since it is free and allows you to hone essential skills.

When would be the best time to practice with Yoodli?

Sometimes students use these tools as a last-minute practice to fulfill extra credit points. I am suggesting a more intentional approach.

Yoodli will be more helpful as an early skill development tool for students. Faculty can capitalize on the tool by assigning a short speech for students to record and then share through Yoodli to help assess their delivery and word choice.

Instructors and possibly students can also be part of the assignment to give timestamped feedback. The timestamped comments can help students see specific areas that were strong with positive comments and other areas to improve with suggestions on how to do just that.

Why the intentional approach?

The recorded assignments will help students notice specific details such as how many filler words they are adding, how fast they are speaking, or those unexpected words they are repeating.

One of the best things I did in college was volunteer to be on the campus radio station. Hearing my recorded voice and noticing areas of improvement was especially helpful for me as an ESL student.

Now anyone can use AI tools like Yoodli and get even more feedback than just self-assessment from hearing their voice on the radio. And that is the biggest value of Yoodli!

How often should students use Yoodli?

It’s difficult to answer this question since from my experience students normally don’t practice with these tools unless it’s required.

But repeated practice will make the biggest difference, so assigning students to use Yoodli early on in the semester will expose them to the AI tool and might encourage them to use it again for other speeches during the semester.

Another area would be to assign specific games and exercises in Yoodli for those who need more practice.

I’ll look forward to recommending Yoodli to more students and gathering their feedback to see how it benefits them. I’ll also look forward to seeing how Yoodli continues to coach speakers.

Are there other recommendations you have for students using AI tools like Yoodli?