Eloquentia
Stage fright: Our modern dragon
Roughly 75% of people feel some level of anxiety or nervousness when they have to speak in public.
We likely all know someone, or perhaps even ourselves, who falls prey to that fear that paralyzes us when speaking in public. This fear is among the most common, and it can negatively affect both personal and professional life: academic performance, job opportunities, or general communication.
A new weapon
What if we could turn that paralyzing fear into pure motivation? What if each presentation became an epic quest, marked by accomplishments, trusted allies, and clear visual progress?
This vision brought Eloquentia to life: an app designed for users to hone their voice, much like a hero sharpens their sword. It features a wise AI guide, an immersive medieval world, and practical, game-like missions.
The app's capabilities should include:
Assisting users in managing their fear, enabling them to improve almost imperceptibly.
Tailoring its approach to various user profiles, particularly within professional settings.
Offering a personal coach feature to address user queries and recommend specific exercises.
The enemy: scenic anxiety
Our surveys and interviews revealed a consistent trend: individuals don't falter because they lack content. Instead, their struggles stem from a deficit in motivation, proper guidance, and self-assurance.
The primary hurdles we identified were:
A pervasive fear of public speaking or being evaluated
Insufficient time for lengthy courses
Disengagement caused by dull or impersonal learning experiences
Challenges in applying theoretical knowledge without practical, real-time feedback
My heroes
María, 45-year-old Executive María regularly faces high-stakes meetings. As a perfectionist and dedicated professional, she aims to feel completely self-assured when speaking. She seeks a tool that both values her limited time and provides tangible, practical improvements.
Juan, 32-year-old Entrepreneur Juan is passionate about his startup, but he understands that securing investor buy-in is nearly as crucial as the product itself. He needs to hone his pitching skills, refine his body language, and deepen his emotional connection to his audience.
Maria
"Speaking in public is like facing a precipice; I understand I have to leap, yet fear completely freezes me."
AGE
45
LOCATION
Madrid
STUDIES
ROLE
BIO
María is a seasoned executive with an impressive track record in the corporate world. Her career has been marked by a steady ascent, and despite her many accomplishments, she senses that her anxiety about public speaking is impeding her further progress. She is undoubtedly a highly capable and well-regarded professional, yet she finds it challenging to demonstrate her full worth when addressing an audience.
PERSONALITY
Outgoing
Shy
Analytical
Creative
Organised
Absent-minded
Nervous
Chilled
MOTIVATIONS
The desire to be a more effective leader.
The need to communicate her ideas with clarity and persuasion.
The longing to feel more secure and confident in her work.
OBJECTIVES
Overcome the fear of public speaking.
Improve her communication skills.
Advance her career.
Gain confidence when speaking in public.
NEEDS
A safe and supportive learning environment.
Practical techniques for structuring speeches and speaking with confidence.
Constructive feedback.
Flexible scheduling due to her work commitments.
FRUSTRATIONS
The paralyzing fear of public speaking.
The nervousness and anxiety she experiences before and during presentations.
The feeling that her insecurity prevents her from connecting with the audience.
Feeling like she loses career opportunities due to ineffective communication.
Juan
"Cada presentación es una oportunidad para encender una chispa en la mente de mi audiencia y llevar mi visión al siguiente nivel."
AGE
32
LOCATION
Barcelona
STUDIES
ROLE
BIO
Juan is a driven and visionary entrepreneur who has successfully launched his own startup. While he possesses strong belief in both his product and his potential for success, he recognizes the critical need to sharpen his public speaking abilities to effectively sway investors and attract clients. Despite being a highly active and sociable individual, he finds it challenging to organize his thoughts and communicate them succinctly.
PERSONALITY
Outgoing
Shy
Analytical
Creative
Organised
Absent-minded
Nervous
Chilled
MOTIVATIONS
The desire to turn his startup into a success.
The need to convey his enthusiasm and conviction to others.
The longing to be an inspiring and charismatic leader.
OBJECTIVES
Communicate his vision effectively and persuasively.
Capture the attention of potential investors and clients.
Develop public speaking skills that enable him to close deals and grow his business.
Enhance his personal brand as a speaker.
NEEDS
Techniques for structuring persuasive and memorable speeches.
Skills to connect with the audience through body language and eye contact.
Feedback on his communication style and persuasive ability.
Practice in real-life situations.
FRUSTRATIONS
Difficulty grabbing the audience's attention.
Lack of confidence in his ability to persuade others.
The feeling that his body language doesn't convey confidence and professionalism.
Not knowing how to handle tough questions.
Eloquentia's promise
Creating an app that combines:
Personalized practice with AI
Gamification, inspired by RPGs, to maintain motivation
A narrative aesthetic designed to make the user feel supported.
A clear and visually stimulating progress system
Designing the Journey
How can an app effectively teach public speaking without overwhelming users with excessive verbal instruction? What's the best way to motivate users... without creating undue pressure? How can we gamify the experience to transform the fear of speaking into an engaging game?
Map of the kingdom
Chapters designed as unexplored lands that evoke visual thrill.
AI teacher
Wise character with helpful feedback who serves as an emotional and functional guide.
Narrative challenges
Structured practices designed as missions that allow users to progress in an entertaining way.
Achievements and Levels
Visible and entertaining motivation. Collecting is used.
Customisable Avatar
Medieval roles like bard, adventurer, alchemist that provide identity and a sense of belonging.
Eloquentia's Visual Universe
The visual design of Eloquentia was meticulously crafted, making every element feel like an entry point into a unique world.
It features medieval RPG-style illustrations, drawing users into an immersive realm distinct from their everyday reality.
We used a warm and natural color palette.
Highly legible typography ensures ease of reading.
The UI is modular and intuitive, leveraging familiar patterns found in other applications for immediate user comfort.
The unexpected ally: AI
"What if artificial intelligence doesn't replace... but accompanies?"
Archimedes, a wise and charismatic illustrated owl, becomes the user's guide. He listens to their questions, suggests exercises, corrects speeches, and offers encouragement during moments of doubt.
Personalized conversational AI.
Quick prompts: "I only have 5 minutes, what should I practice?"
Voice or text input .
Immediate feedback: on structure, tone, and rhythm.
And most importantly: he doesn't judge. He only accompanies.
The training
We tested the app with 5 users who wanted to improve their public speaking skills and were therefore potential users of Eloquentia.
Login
No issues found
Progress understanding
Some users mistook the title for a goal.
Resume practice
Icon confuses users
Using Archimedes AI
Well-welcomed and positive result
Iterate & improve
After listening to our heroes, we refined the path:
"Play" was changed to "Resume practice."
"3 speeches remaining" became "3 more exercises to level up."
We created a smoother onboarding for Archimedes.
For a subsequent phase, we plan to include improvements that would allow users to share their achievements in Eloquentia, or even ask for help from other adventurers, including guilds with certain advantages. This way, we integrate a multiplayer experience and help promote the application.
What I learnt
Designing Eloquentia taught me that good design doesn't just solve functional problems; it also nurtures emotions. I learned to transform the fear of public speaking into a game and narrative experience, to humanize AI so it inspires rather than intimidates, and to create interfaces that accompany instead of evaluate. This experience reinforced a key idea: when design connects with the human element, technology stops being just a tool and becomes an ally.
Used tools
Conclusion: you are the hero
Eloquentia doesn't just teach you to speak; it teaches you to believe in your voice. It doesn't eliminate fear, but rather trains you to face it with grace, technique, and confidence. With AI, narrative, and human-centered design, it turns every practice session into a victory.
Material Expressive and improvements
Shortly after completing this first phase, Material 3 Expressive was released. This update to Material 3 adds emotion and specific color touches to certain components, and my intention is to switch the project to this new library. I previously attempted to make this library change, but it proved to be too significant a structural shift, breaking the entire project.
Beyond this, I also want to incorporate use cases that are currently reflected in the wireframes and need to be added to the high-fidelity prototype.