How confident do they sound?

You'll hear 12 short clips of people speaking off the cuff, in English. For each one, rate how confident the speaker sounds. It takes about 8 minutes.

The one question

How confident does this person sound?

1 – 2Nervous. Unsure, hesitant or shaky, like they'd rather not be speaking.
3 – 5In between. Mostly fine with some wobble. Pick 4 if it's neither.
6 – 7Confident. Sure of themselves and in control.

How to rate

  1. Listen to the whole clip. Each clip plays to the end before you can rate it, and it can't be skipped. Headphones help.
  2. Rate how they sound, not what they say. Ignore accent, grammar, audio quality, and whether you agree with them.
  3. Go with your first impression. There are no right answers, and nobody is checking you against a key.
  4. Use the whole scale. Most people land somewhere in the middle, and that's fine.
  5. If you know the speaker, tick “I know this person”. We'll leave that rating out.
  6. Now and then we'll ask what made them sound that way. A few words help, but it's optional.
  7. A clip may come round twice. Just rate it again as you hear it.

The clips are for research on a speaking-practice app. Please don't download or share them.