Speaker Nonverbal Unintentionality: An OpenPose Intervention for Engineering Students

Engineering programs require students to demonstrate communicative competency with a broad range of audiences across different rhetorical situations (see Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology). For example, engineering entrepreneurs commonly seek funding for ideations and innovations using a presentation to potential investors. The presentation intends to convince investors to financially commit to the investment opportunity. Therefore, communication skills can positively or negatively impact the evaluation of the product or technology. Of particular importance is how a speaker manages physical delivery (i.e., nonverbal behaviors: gestures and movement, facial behavior, eye behavior, etc.) during presentations. This study shows how OpenPose was repurposed with a Python program to track and code novice speakers' nonverbal behavior. Results demonstrate considerable practical value for engineering students learning to establish baseline positions for managing nonverbal behaviors.