The journey of app development
Last year, I had the opportunity to take part in a three-week high school internship with IBM, where we were challenged to do something both exciting and intimidating: build an idea around integrating IBM Watson into a real-world problem.
We weren’t just learning theory. We were expected to think like product designers, engineers, and problem-solvers all at once.
The first week we had to understand how to communicate with AI effectively. The first week was dedicated to prompt engineering.
At first, it sounded simple “just ask better questions.” But I quickly realized that the quality of an AI’s response depends almost entirely on how clearly you structure your input.
We learned how to: Break complex instructions into clear, logical steps Provide context before asking for output Refine prompts iteratively Anticipate edge cases and vague responses
It felt less like coding and more like learning how to think precisely.
When it was time to brainstorm ideas, our group asked ourselves a simple question:
What is something students struggle with that AI could realistically help improve?
We kept coming back to one issue: public speaking.
As a person who is still struggling with the anxiety, the awkward pauses, the filler words, the racing thoughts. Public speaking is a skill that affects academic performance, leadership opportunities, and even career prospects. Yet, most students only get limited practice and very little structured feedback so we wanted to change that for us.
We started developing an app that would simulate real world speaking pressures.
Here is how the app worked: The app generates a random phrase or topic. The user would then have one minute to think and prepare. The user delivers a 90-second speech. The app analyzes the speech and provides feedback.
The idea of this was not to criticize the users, instead it was a way for them to use it as a way to see measurable progress in their public speaking capabilities.
We also added a section for people to learn the basics to help them to relearn the basics on how to speak in front of an audience through short and structured lessons given on the app.
TBC