Empowering Headspace Video Coaches with Virtual Sapiens AI Role Play

Background

In today’s digital-first world, video communication has become the cornerstone of professional and personal interactions. For Headspace, a leader in the wellness industry, empowering their video coaches with effective communication skills is critical to building rapport, fostering trust, and ensuring impactful coaching sessions, human-to-human.

To achieve these goals, Headspace partnered with Virtual Sapiens, using our Presence Portal, a cutting-edge AI-powered solution designed to enhance virtual presence and communication effectiveness while providing realistic Role Plays for coaching interaction practice. 

Objectives

To assess the impact of the Presence Portal on Headspace’s video coaches and Headspace Training Institute (HTI), our platform:

  1. Measured improvement in virtual presence and communication scores.
  2. Analyzed improvement patterns based on number of assessments completed.
  3. Certified coaches who demonstrated mastery in virtual communication.

Partnership Overview

The project involved an even distribution of coaches across the following groups:

  • Headspace Video Coaches: Experienced professionals conducting virtual coaching sessions at Headspace.
  • Coaches-in-Training (HTI): Individuals training to become certified health and wellness coaches across the globe.

Each participant engaged with the Presence Portal across a period of 2.5 months. They were instructed to obtain their Certificate of Virtual Presence Readiness which involves scoring ‘high’ in every behavioral metric via repeated Video Q&A and Role Play practice sessions. 

Included in their analysis were nonverbal, vocal and verbal metrics that influence perceived trustworthiness, rapport building, energy, expression and authority. 

Insights

“I thought that virtual sapiens did a great job of providing good feedback and ideas about how to enhance our camera presence for coaching sessions. It was very accurate and easy to use. I felt like it validated things I thought I did well and challenged me in productive ways, especially in hand gestures.” – Headspace Video Coach

The results underscore the critical role of continuous skill development in virtual communication. Key takeaways include:

  1. Repeated Engagement Drives Significant Improvement: Both groups fully engaged with the platform with 97% of users repeating attempts and practice sessions, improving their scores. 
  2. 15% Average Improvement Captured: Repeated usage of the platform correlated with greater improvements (average improvement 15%) in virtual presence, as evidenced by Video Coaches’ increased assessments and higher scores.
  3. Training Bridges the Gap: Coaches-in-training showed significant progress, moving closer to the benchmarks set by experienced video coaches.
  4. Certification Validates Expertise: The certification process provided a clear pathway for participants to demonstrate their proficiency and readiness to excel in virtual coaching roles. 80% of Headspace video coaches achieved their certification.

Importance of Effective Communication for Video Coaches

“I was blown away by how it was able to tell me my filler words, my posture, and my background needed improvement. It was also “easy” in the sense that I was able to talk about things that were interesting and it didn’t feel like I was talking to a recording. I would love to do it every so often as a video coach so I can see how I am improving and how I can continue improving.” – Headspace Video Coach

Video coaches serve as the face of Headspace, connecting with clients to deliver meaningful guidance and support. Effective communication skills are vital for:

  • Building Rapport: Establishing trust and connection in a virtual setting.
  • Maintaining Engagement: Ensuring clients feel heard and valued throughout sessions.
  • Demonstrating Adaptability: Thinking on their feet to respond to client needs dynamically and authentically

Conclusion

This partnership with Headspace demonstrates the transformative potential of Virtual Sapiens’ Presence Portal for Coach training. By equipping video coaches with the tools to refine their virtual communication skills, Headspace has reinforced its commitment to delivering exceptional, human experiences in an age of proliferating AI. 

If you lead a coaching program and are interested in supporting your coaches with personalized coaching and practice opportunities, please get in touch!