About VirtualSpeech

VirtualSpeech is an award-winning soft skills training platform with VR and AI integration. We focus on communication skills such as public speaking, sales, and leadership.

VirtualSpeech has helped over 550,000 users across 125+ countries to improve their skills through interactive practice exercises, and has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, BBC, Wall Street Journal, and Huffington Post.

Our Story

VirtualSpeech was founded in 2016 as a way to practice public speaking in a more realistic way. We had a fear of public speaking to the point of avoiding it altogether, and found that rehearsing in front of a mirror or to a colleague didn't prepare us for being on stage with hundreds of people staring at you, or even just being in a meeting with our managers.

We came up with a solution - using virtual reality (VR) to simulate various sized audiences and distractions, resulting in an effective way to practice public speaking and build skills and confidence for the real world.

Since then, we have expanded into other soft skills training, from sales pitching to interacting with the media, and worked with a number of Fortune 500 companies to enhance their employees' soft skills in a more interactive, engaging way.

Press, media coverage, and conferences

We've been mentioned on sites including The New York Times, WSJ, VentureBeat, Huffington Post, Forbes, eLearning Industry, interviewed on TV for the BBC, and more.

Recognized as a leading training provider

VirtualSpeech has won several awards over the last few years, including:

  • Start-Up Learning Provider of the Year 2019 (winner) - LPI Learning Awards
  • Design Award for Excellent Communications Design (winner) - German Design Awards
  • Best Use of VR in Education and Training - VR Awards
  • Most Innovative Speech Training Platform 2018 (winner) - CV Magazine Corporate Excellence Awards
  • Featured in the Progress 1000 - Evening Standard
  • Europe Edtech 200
  • Featured training provider for training solutions in the Gartner report: Market Guide for Corporate Learning

Trained thousands of people

Over the past few years, we've trained thousands of employees, individuals, and students. Here are some of the highlights:

Meet the Team

Sophie Thompson

CEO & Co-Founder

Dom Barnard

Co-Founder

Chris Gunby

Head of Commercial

Tahlia Dowie

Account Executive

Charlie Christodoulou

Account Executive

Myles Greyson

Customer Success Manager

Matt French

Customer Success Manager

Verity Gibson

Digital Marketing Executive

Helen Hooper

Head of Learning Design

Hannah Britt

Learning Designer

Rasool Somji

Tech Guru & Fun Officer

Harvey Bellini

Full Stack Engineer

Sam Cole

Head of Development

Drew Scrimshaw

Mid-Weight Unity Developer

Cristina Rius

Mid-Weight Unity Developer

Scott Murphy

Junior Unity Developer

Will Reed

Junior Unity Developer

Cal Thorndyke

UX/UI & Visual Designer

Meet the AI Team

Hugh Mann

Our resident coach. Friendly, grounded, and encouraging. Hugh puts people at ease, especially when practising feedback or reflective conversations.

Cynthia

Polished, clear, and always professional. Cynthia’s perfect when structure and tone matter, like in formal conversations or explaining complex ideas.

Rob

Thoughtful and self-assured, Rob gives off mentor energy. Calm under pressure, he’s ideal for leadership, coaching, or confidence-building scenarios.

Keyla

Bright, expressive, and easy to talk to. Keyla lifts the tone of any conversation. Great for scenarios needing connection, or persuasive communication.

Lin

Gentle, thoughtful, and softly spoken, Lin creates space to reflect. A great choice when empathy, patience, and emotional insight are needed.

Ed

Straight-talking and reliable. Eduardo keeps things clear and on track. Ideal for focused, honest chats without the fluff.

Ken

Articulate and grounded, Ken brings a calm, steady presence to conversations. He also represents visible disability to support inclusive, real-world training.

Andy

Clear, composed, and reassuring. Andy’s someone you’d want in your corner during tricky conversations like performance reviews, sensitive chats, or anything needing a steady hand.

Jada

Poised, empathetic, and emotionally attuned. Jada’s voice helps people feel heard. Ideal for trust-building, feedback, or sensitive conversations.

Fatima

Fatima’s voice carries warmth and rhythm, making her perfect for conversations that benefit from empathy, calm clarity, and cultural awareness.

Aiden

Upbeat, relatable, and honest. Aiden’s our youngest avatar, great for casual chats, youth-focused scenarios, or mentoring-style conversations.

Contact us to learn more about our training