Make “Speech Fitness” Your New Year’s Resolution – LikeSo™ App Trains Against Lax Verbal Habits,
Like, Totally…
LikeSo: Your Personal Speech Coach™ Adds New Features to Set Goals, Train and Prepare You for Big Moments: Job Interviews, College Interviews, Presentations, Debates, Dates–Even Your Next Conversation
Say It Media, Inc. Partners with National Speech & Debate Association as an
Official Educational Tool for Speech & Debate Coaches
Chappaqua, NY – January 18, 2017 – Speaking in public can be stressful, scary – and pivotal to our success. Thankfully, like many things in life, practice makes progress.
To kick off the New Year, Say It Media, Inc. announces new features and functionality to its app, LikeSo: Your Personal Speech Coach, to motivate, track and measure improvement in our speaking skills. LikeSo offers an engaging and effective way to train against verbal habits and practice speaking articulately, confidently, and without all of those “likes” and “sos.” LikeSo is available in the App Store for 99 cents for iOS devices.
As with any kind of training, establishing goals and tracking your progress are key motivators to improving your skills. This new update introduces the ability to set Goals and Reminders for upcoming speaking opportunities (Interviews, Presentations, Speeches, Debates, Toasts, etc.), and the ability to view results over time (day/week/month/year). Like a fitness tracker for your speech, our new scoring system uses Speech Quality Points (SQP) and a Speech Conditioning Score (SCS) to help you achieve your speech fitness goals and ultimately improve how you speak!
“Why not make 2017 the year we dedicate to being more confident, substantive and articulate speakers?” said Say It Media, Inc. President and Co-Founder Audrey Mann Cronin. “No one is born a great communicator, but strong communication skills can be the key to success. We all want to speak in a way that compels others to listen. But when we insert too many “likes,” “ya knows” and “totallys” – and race through our sentences – we lessen our credibility, water down our meaning and invite unnecessary judgment. Whether giving a presentation, interviewing for a job, meeting with a college recruiter or business partner, debating a topic, or just having a conversation, LikeSo is designed to be your personal speech coach.”
Say It Media is excited to announce our new partnership with the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA), the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school, high school, and collegiate students in the United States. NSDA plans to use LikeSo as an educational tool both inside and outside the classroom, and has contributed content to LikeSo’s Topic, Debate Team, with prompts based on current events and timely issues, all vetted by its educators and coaches.
“Communication skills are essential for empowering young people to become engaged citizens, skilled professionals, and honorable leaders in our society. LikeSo is a one of a kind tool to help students, coaches, and teachers practice their communication skills,” said J. Scott Wunn, Executive Director of the National Speech & Debate Association. “LikeSo will help our members learn to articulate their thoughts clearly and confidently and prepare students not only for competition but college, a career, and beyond. There is nothing else like this app on the market. This tool will reinforce what our coaches and teachers are working on every day, inside and outside of the classroom.”
“We are thrilled to partner with the NSDA, an organization which for over 90 years has dedicated itself to creating the next generation of leaders,” said Mann Cronin.
Along with content from NSDA, a new Topic, The College Interview, has been added with prompts typically asked by a college recruiter such as, “What would you like to study?” “What makes a great teacher?” and “How do you stand out?”
How it Works:
LikeSo offers two modes of play: TalkAbout and FreeStyle. TalkAbout is a conversation game with 12 Topics (The Job Interview, The College Interview, Debate Team, Pop Culture Favorites, Speed Dating, etc.) to practice speaking on the fly. FreeStyle is your open mic to practice for any upcoming speaking opportunities. Using voice recognition technology, LikeSo provides users with a real-time analysis of their speech fitness. The app calculates an Articulate Score grade (A+ thru Uh Oh!) based on a formula that looks at the percentage of non-filler words over total words spoken and your pace – with optimal pacing understood to be approximately 150 words per minute.
As with any kind of training, establishing goals and tracking progress are key motivators towards improving your skills. Our new scoring system uses Speech Quality Points and a Speech Conditioning Score.
Speech Quality Points:
Each time you play TalkAbout or Freestyle, you earn Speech Quality Points (SQPs) for that session. The more you practice, the more SQPs you earn. How many SQPs you receive is based on a formula that uses your percent of filler words over total words spoken, your pace, and your talk time (total minutes of speech).
Speech Conditioning Score:
Our Speech Conditioning Score (SCS) provides a way for you to measure your training, set goals and achieve them! SCS is based on a formula that looks at your SQPs over the last 30 days and provides a daily score to indicate the “condition” of your speaking. The more you practice, the higher your SCS; go a few days without practice, and you’ll see your SCS decline.
“We practice, and tell our kids to practice, so many things. How about practicing how to be a powerful, persuasive, articulate speaker?” said Mann Cronin. “As with any muscle, we need to train our tongues so our words roll eloquently off. Self-improvement begins with awareness and develops with practice. LikeSo combines the power and ease of mobile apps with the discipline and guidance of a speech coach to put you on the road to better speech.”
About the National Speech & Debate Association
The National Speech & Debate Association is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school, high school, and collegiate students in the United States. The Association provides competitive speech and debate activities, high-quality resources, comprehensive training, scholarship opportunities, and advanced recognition to more than 150,000 students and coaches every year. For more than 90 years, the National Speech & Debate Association has empowered more than 1.5 million members to become engaged citizens, skilled professionals, and honorable leaders in our society. For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.
About Say It Media, Inc.
Say It Media, Inc. was created to improve communications skills through practice with mobile apps. The company was co-founded in December 2015 by technology industry veterans Audrey Mann Cronin and Phil Lam–with assistance from its Chief Youth Officer, Audrey’s teenage daughter, Amanda. With a mission to create engaging and effective solutions, Say It Media, Inc. gives users a personal speech coach to train against verbal habits, while motivating, tracking and measuring their speech fitness. The company’s first app, LikeSo, hit #4 overall in the App Store for paid apps, and #1 in the Lifestyle category. LikeSo™ and Your Personal Speech Coach™ are company trademarks. Say It Media, Inc. is a partner of the National Speech & Debate Association. Visit us at SayItLikeSo.com, and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @ LikeSoApp.
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