Oliveira, MariaAlmeida, Raquel Simões deGomes, Paulo VelosoDonga, JoãoMarques, AntónioTeixeira, BrunoPereira, JavierSimões de Almeida, RaquelMachado Veloso Gomes, Paulo SérgioRucha das Dores da Costa Donga, João PauloPereira da Silva Marques, António José2025-05-082025-05-082024-10Oliveira, M., Almeida, R. S. de, Veloso Gomes, P., Donga, J., Marques, A., Teixeira, B., & Pereira-Loureiro, J. (2024). Effectiveness of virtual reality in reducing public speaking anxiety: A pilot study. Proceedings XoveTIC 2024, 371–376. https://doi.org/10.17979/spudc.9788497498913.52http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/30052Public speaking anxiety (glossophobia) is a manifestation of social anxiety that affects a significant portion of the population, jeopardizing performance in academic, professional, and social contexts. This pilot study examines the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) as a therapeutic tool for reducing public speaking anxiety. Over six VR simulation sessions, the physiological responses of 30 participants, including heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity, were monitored alongside psychometric assessments. Results demonstrated a significant reduction in HR and improved self-efficacy. These findings recommend combining VR with traditional therapeutic approaches and emerging neuroscience-based methods, such as neurofeedback, to create more personalized treatment interventions.engCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Public Speaking AnxietyGlossophobiaVirtual Reality (VR)conference paper10.17979/spudc.9788497498913.52