For those (like myself) who
talk too much, or too little, when they get nervous in meetings

Unblah is a little "meeting-buddy"-app that helps you...
Keep track of how long you've been speaking,
Catch yourself before you talk too much, or too little
Develop a better sense of timing

Watch the 2-minute demo video here:

Unblah Features

Works great with Zoom, Teams, WebEx, Hangouts, even phone calls!
Gentle, visible "red-green traffic-light" live notification
Choose your personal goal (talk less or talk more)
Hands-free, speech-triggered countdown timer
Live timeline for in-meeting adjustments
Keep track of your "airtime" during calls
Self-contained, works without internet
Native, bloat-free macOS application
Get Comfortable Guide (15 minutes)
Getting Set Up Guide (1 minute)
Installation Guide (1 minute)

Frequently Asked Questions

I struggle with talking TOO LITTLE during meetings. Can Unblah help me with this?

Yes! Absolutely. Unblah can help you talk longer and more often. Simply install it, learn to use it and track yourself during your next meetings. The timeline of each call will help you find opportunities where you would have liked to speak up.

Don't stress yourself out just because there's some timer waiting. No one, including yourself, should pressure you to speak "just because."

Set yourself a realistic, exciting goal like "I want to take one, uninterrupted chunk of 40 seconds of airtime in my next call." Then consider your longer interjections on the timeline your personal success!

Does this app record or store my audio?
Unblah does not record or store your audio. All speech classification happens live and on the fly. This means, the app only operates real-time on the audio stream coming from your microphone to identify your speech. Every few milliseconds these audio-bytes are discarded.
Does this app send my audio into the cloud for analysis?
Nope. All sound classification is done locally and "on-the-metal." In fact, the app is fully functional, even without internet access. You could be offline and still have it listen in on a regular phone call.
Can this app "understand" (or even judge) what I'm saying?
No. The app has no concept of "words" or "sentences" or "ideas." It only operates in terms of probabilities of "Is someone talking?"
Do I need to sign-up before I can give it a spin?
Nope, there's no sign-up required. Unblah is completely self-contained and works right out the box.
Are there any in-app purchases to “unlock” the full version?
Nope. What you see in terms of features is what you get.
Is this app sending any sort of tracking/user-analytics events?
Nope. No tracking/analytics installed and not planning to.
What is the app "made" of?
It’s written 100% in Swift and Objective-C.
If it's soOoO cOoL, then WHY ON EARTH are you giving it away?

It's a personal project that I built for myself. It solves a real pain-point I noticed in my life. If you experience the struggle, I hope it helps you as well as it has helped me!

I know exactly 'the struggle' you're describing. I talk way too much (or too little.) Do you have time to talk?

Yes, I'd love that. Sharing Unblah really is an invitation to start a conversation with those affected directly. Let's talk about your personal experience. Let's talk about what works and what doesn't and why that is. Let's discuss what collaboration, meetings, communication, leadership mean and could be. Let's explore that hairball of anxiety, confidence, dominance, mental health, and neurodiversity.

I have this person on my team who talks WAY too much and never notices it. They LOVE hearing themselves talk and never shut up. Should I tell them to get this app?

First off: I believe your struggle with this person is 100% real. I fully believe their behavior is affecting you negatively.

But, my answer is a STRONG NO. Please don’t use Unblah as a proxy for a difficult conversation that sounds like it needs to be had.

Think about it: They would never use it anyways, because, as you’re saying yourself “...and never even notice it.”.

They don't have a problem.

You do.

The best thing I believe you can do today is: Lead by example. Start using Unblah yourself, share your experience, make a path they can follow if they choose to. Encourage an open conversation about "communication hygiene."

Now, coming back to the person: You can learn how to have difficult conversations: To get better at it, I can recommend “Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most” by Bruce Patton, Douglas Stone, and Sheila Heen.

Finally, if you currently do not have the resources required for the above: Ask HR or leadership for guidance on how to best deal with this situation.