Have you ever wondered why Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant talk the way they do? Who scripts their dialogue? How do they come up with jokes? And why do they all sound female?
This 60-minute workshop will offer an introduction into the world of voice design and offer participants the chance to script their own dialogue. We'll cover elements of psychology, sociology, linguistics, and human behavior to delve into the opportunities and constraints of voice-enabled technology.
The session will include:
- An overview of voice, tone, and crafting personality
- The limits of current speech technology (command and control, error pathways)
- How to create engaging dialogue and win user trust through the hero's journey
- A 30-minute interactive session for participants to design their own script
At the end of the session, users will walk away with a thorough understanding of the basics of conversational UI.
- A working group could be developed on how to create better dialogue for chatbots and virtual assistants. The group could examine the impact of language, culture, gender and bias in designing voice and creating better ways to address issues around the inherent biases involved in voice design.
- A slack channel where voice and UI designers could exchange information about voice would be helpful, both professionally, and for those seeking to learn more about dialogue design. This channel would be greatly enhanced by participants from all backgrounds: screenwriters, engineers, UX designers, psychologists, linguists, etc.
This session is adaptive to large and small numbers. A smaller number of participants would mean a more intimate setting to delve into certain topics longer, or spend more time creating and practicing dialogue with one another.
A larger audience would involve calling on individuals to encourage open participation and questions; some participants would be selected towards the end of the session to share their dialogue and the audience would be invited to share feedback.
Effie-Michelle Metallidis is a former journalist turned conversational UI designer based in Los Angeles who has co-founded several start-ups and is also a screenwriter.