Let’s have a chat…
Author: Claire van Leeuwen
Content manager at Crossphase
Published on 24 September 2019
About a million years ago man uttered their first words, and things have steadily been going downhill from there. Because talking? That’s doable. But communicating? Now that’s an entirely different story. And technology has only been making things worse. Just when we got the hang of this entire letter-writing-thing, we suddenly started sending emails. Now that we’ve finally mastered that, everyone starts sending messages via WhatsApp. And even though it’s all written text, there is a world of difference between these media.
And now we’ve got Voice, the next communications hurdle we have to clear. Because people are having enough trouble communicating as it is. Imagine all the communications mishaps that can occur between a human and a robot. There is no non-verbal communication, just binary code. No assumptions, just variables. And that leaves a lot of room for error.
That’s where Conversation Designers come in. An interdisciplinary group of digital professionals that aim to bridge the gap between techies and writers, Conversation Designers know the boundaries of the system. They also know how real people talk. But listening is what they do best. They listen to what customers really want to know, to what they would like to hear, and to what is bothering them. And they use it to write empathic copy, that makes a customer feel heard.
That’s why I, a Conversation Designer at Crossphase, attended the conversational conference. Leading researchers and chatbot pioneers shared their insights about the changing landscape of communications. Housing associations that used Voice to talk to their residents, in their own way, using their own language. Banks where chatbots answer the most important questions. Slowly, chatbots and voice assistants are becoming part of our lives. And I am committed to ensuring that this will stay fun.
Hey Siri, when is the next Conversational Conference?