Ep. 19 - Sophie Thompson, VirtualSpeech CEO: Virtual Reality Training & Generative AI

Brian J Matos

In this episode, Brian explores the world of virtual reality and specifically its integration into corporate trainings with the CEO and co-founder of VirtualSpeech, Sophie Thompson.

Sophie co-founded her UK-based company in 2016 as a way to overcome her fear of public speaking. She realized that VR was uniquely positioned to help people practice skills in a safe environment and build their skills and confidence for real-world situations.

In just 18 months of using VR, Sophie went from being too anxious to order food at a restaurant to being interviewed live on BBC World News. Sophie’s journey with VirtualSpeech has been featured in a number of global media outlets and she has won multiple awards for her achievements with the company.

She provides a behind-the-scenes look into the creation of VirtualSpeech, from its inception as a tool to overcome social anxiety to a global platform assisting almost 400,000 people across 130 countries.

Brian and Sophie discuss the benefits and potential risks of VR training with generative AI and explore how today’s businesses could use virtual avatars to test responses to situations with real personalities. Sophie also shares her experiences as a young entrepreneur, sharing lessons valuable for anyone seeking to start their own business.

To learn more about Sophie:

• LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiethompsonvr/
• WEBSITE: https://virtualspeech.com/

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