Did you know that the most successful salespeople talk for about 54% of their outreach calls? When salespeople, like yourself, spend so much time leading the conversation, it’s important to become a skilled communicator — and public speaking apps can help you do that.
Some salespeople have a natural affinity for speaking, but it can only take them so far. To become a truly skilled speaker, you’ll need to identify your weaknesses, learn rhetorical strategies, and consistently practice to progress as an effective salesperson.
To help you become a better sales professional, we’ve created a list of the best apps to help you build upon your communication skills quickly and effectively. And if you’re in a pinch, jump straight to what you’re looking for:
- Apps to Improve Speaking Skills
- Free Public Speaking Apps
Apps to Improve Speaking Skills
1. Speeko
Price: $11.99/month
Available on: iOS
Best For: Improving clarity and idea articulation in your conversations.
Speeko is a wonderful resource for any professional looking to boost their speaking skills. It records your voice and provides immediate feedback on where you articulated your ideas well, determines your tone of voice, and tells you when you’ve used too many unnecessary words to avoid disengaged or confused interpretation.
It can even critique your speech in terms of how inclusive or exclusive your wording is, which is a detail of great importance to salespeople that speak to customers with varying identities and backgrounds.
2. Ummo
Price: $1.99
Available on: iOS
Best For: Reducing the amount of filler words in your conversations.
For salespeople looking for more detailed insight into their speech patterns, there’s Ummo. This app transcribes and analyzes every word you say, giving you detailed stats on:
- Total word count
- Time speaking
- Pace
- Average volume
- Filler word frequency
- Clarity
You can also improve the app’s accuracy by turning on certain features, like “curse word detection” or “English accent.”
3. LikeSo
Price: $0.99
Available on: iOS
Best For: Reducing the number of filler words in your conversations.
No matter how many times I try, I can never break my habit of using filler words. If you also struggle to avoid “um,” “so,” “like,” “I mean,” “actually,” “hmm,” “right,” etc., try LikeSo.
This app monitors how many filler words you’re saying, and your overall “articulate score.” You can either use the FreeStyle mode on calls, or practice with the TalkAbout mode, which gives you suggested prompts.
Now we know that not everyone wants to use resources that are locked behind a paywall, so we found free apps that can serve similar features and assist salespeople in improving their speaking abilities in unique ways.
Free Public Speaking Apps
4. Activate Your Voice
Price: Free
Available on: iOS | Android
Best For: Warming up vocal cords before calls, conversations, or presentations.
Activate Your Voice is a professional speech warm-up app that strengthens your speaking voice, energizes resonance, enhances breath support, and invigorates articulation and enunciation.
It offers randomized five-minute exercises to improve diction, projection, and pitch before any speaking engagement. This exercise format acts as a wonderful tool for business professionals that are trying to have a clearer, more confident sound when they begin to pitch.
5. VirtualSpeech
Price: Free
Available on: iOS | Android | Gear VR
Best For: Practicing how to pitch in front of large or small crowds.
The problem with practicing in an empty room is that you know it’s not real. With VirtualSpeech, your practice will feel just like the real thing. This app, which works to provide hyper-realistic virtual reality (VR) settings for presenting. Pick from a large conference room, small meeting room, sales scenario, and more.
Not only does the audience move and react like at a real event, but you’ll also even hear ambient sound. After you’re done, the app will analyze your performance and give you feedback.
6. Voice Analyst
Price: Free
Available on: Android
Best For: Gauging pitch and volume when speaking.
Voice analyst is an incredibly accurate vocal pitch detection app that salespeople would highly benefit from using. This app displays your pitch, volume, or both as you speak, and shows your average minimum and maximum pitch and volume
When you speak to your customers, you want to make sure that you sound loud enough to be understood, but not excessively loud as you can run the risk of sounding obnoxious in-person or over calls.
7. Metronome Beats
Price: Free
Available on: iOS
Best For: Gauging tempo and duration needed for public speaking.
When you think of the word metronome, you think about musicians using it to track their rhythm — well that’s actually something that public speakers can benefit from tracking, too.
Oftentimes when speakers are nervous or are newer to speaking to an audience, their pace can either become too fast to follow along, or too slow to retain attention. Metronome Beats is a website and app where speakers can choose a custom tempo to practice speaking alongside. When used with a set timer, salespeople can practice hitting all the points they need in an introductory call or meeting at a pace that customers will be receptive to.
Improve Your Speaking Skills Everyday
A salesperson should always strive to improve their speaking skills, and doing so can impact their work in more ways than one. Having a confident, authoritative voice is something customers listen for, and a skill that your team respects as you grow in your field. We hope you download one of these apps to give you the skill and confidence you need to communicate and impress your customers.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in July 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
