Delara Forghani

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Delara Forghani is a researcher at the forefront of human-robot interaction, specializing in how people perceive and engage with social agents as communication coaches. Her work bridges social robotics and voice-based artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on public speaking training—a domain where anxiety and skill gaps are common. Forghani’s major contributions lie in uncovering the nuanced expectations users hold for robotic and voice-agent coaches, revealing that factors like likability, perceived competence, and observational comfort are critical to successful design. Her most cited study, “What Do People Think of Social Robots and Voice Agents as Public Speaking Coaches?” (2023, 5 citations), provides thematic analyses from 168 participants, offering foundational insights into prospective user perceptions. A follow-up study (2024, 3 citations) further evaluates how people judge an agent’s effectiveness during active coaching scenarios. Though early in her career, Forghani’s work is already shaping the design of interactive coaching tools, with implications for education, therapy, and professional development. Her research stands out for its user-centered approach, directly informing how future technologies can build trust and rapport with human trainees.