The Elements of Voice First Style

Chapter 10. The Elements of Starting

You get only one shot at making a good first impression.  

With voicebots, such an impression is formed by users and conveyed by VUI designers with the conversation’s opening sequence. The following sections give you tips to help you craft an effective opening prompt.

Be Brief

Belabored, verbose opening prompts confirm the worst stereotype of the dumb, overbearing voicebot. If you force users to listen to 30 seconds of instructions, information, and disclaimers before they can take the first step toward solving their problem, you will not only have started on the wrong note but would have given the user a whole 30 seconds to change their mind and terminate the conversation. Every single word in your opening prompt needs to be indispensable. If you can get rid of a word without losing meaning or effectiveness, do it.

Use an Audio Icon

A well-crafted, distinctive, pleasant audio icon—or, even better, an audio icon that the user is familiar with and is likely to associate with the brand that the voicebot represents—played at the very start of an interaction is not only an effective way of signaling to users that they are interacting with a voicebot and not a human, but also a good way of communicating to users that the voicebot was designed and crafted with care. The implication is that the brand they are engaging with cares about its customers and will work hard to ensure that customers are satisfied. This starts the interaction on a positive ...