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Agentic AI isn't coming — it's here and already changing everything.Irina Gutman, Global Leader of AI Professional Services at Salesforce, breaks down what agentic AI really is and why it's a huge leap beyond predictive and generative AI. We get into why your first AI agent should be boring (and repeatable), and why building the tech is easy compared to rewiring your people, processes, and leadership models.Irina shares why businesses need strong guardrails, real operating models, and why AI adoption without organizational readiness is a recipe for disaster. We also talk about the skills humans actually need to stay relevant, how to spot hidden risks, and why the future belongs to companies who rethink their structure — not just their tools. Key Moments: 00:00: Irina Gutman Explains Salesforce's AI Agents03:03: Predictive, Generative, and Agentic AI — What's the Difference?05:20: How Agentic AI Thinks and Acts08:32: Chatbots vs. AI Agents: Why It Matters14:22: The 5 Building Blocks of an AI Agent18:13: Organizational Readiness: New Skills, New Roles22:26: The Right Way to Start with AI Agents26:27: Future-Proof Your AI Strategy29:53: Rethinking the Operating Model for AI32:45: Upskilling is Non-Negotiable35:14: Vendors Can Help You Be AI-Ready36:25: Rethinking Change Management for Agentic AI42:38: What's Next: Multi-Agent Collaboration48:09: Building AI Responsibly: Guardrails and Risk51:39: Real-World AI: A Standout Customer Experience –Are your teams facing growing demands? Join CX leaders transforming their AI strategy with Agentforce. Start achieving your ambitious goals. Visit salesforce.com/agentforce Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org
AI has been here for a long time — longer before the ChatGPT boom. And now that we've all seen it, it's not going anywhere.In this episode, we are joined by Celene Osiecka, Senior Director of Conversation Design and Conversational AI at [24]7.ai, as she shares how her team focuses on enhancing customer experience, reducing risk, and navigating the challenges of the tech industry through a systemic use of conversational AI.We also discuss: The delicate balance between data-driven approaches and the subjective, artistic aspects of conversation design.How AI is transforming quality assurance, helping companies streamline training and reduce costs.The roles and collaboration involved in designing effective AI-driven conversations.
Today my guests are Lisa Kay Solomon and Chris Ertel, the co-authors of the powerhouse 2014 book Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year! I devoured this book 10 years ago and I think you might enjoy it, too! Lisa Kay Solomon is currently a Designer in Residence at the Stanford d. school, where she teaches classes such as Inventing the Future where students imagine, debate and analyze the 50-year futures of emerging tech, and works closely with the K12 community to make futures thinking a mainstay of 21c core curriculum. She has also been named to the Thinkers50 2022 Radar List and is one of ixDA's Women of Design 2020. Chris Ertel is a managing director of Deloitte Consulting LLP with a specialist role designing and providing high-stakes strategic conversations for clients and priority firm initiatives, in the Deloitte Greenhouse® signature environments. Chris is an innovation strategist with 18 years of experience advising leading organizations. He holds a PhD in demography from UC-Berkeley. We talk about What it really means to be a facilitative leader, and why it's so impactful. As Lisa and Chris say in MOI: “At these critical moments, everyone will be looking at you, not for all the answers, but to help them unearth the answers together” The Five Core Principles of Moments of Impact, which can form a Design Process 1. Define your purpose (your design intent!) 2. Engage multiple perspectives (with your facilitation skills!) 3. Frame the issues 4. Set the Scene 5. Make it an experience (even an intense or challenging one!) How designing conversations is different from facilitating them: Lisa makes it clear that Conversation Design is about intent and purpose while Facilitation skills are the tool that helps orchestrate those Moments of Impact. Why Conversation Design isn't taught to leaders but should be (Lisa also tells us why it's so hard to teach, since it brings together strategy, psychology and emotional intelligence) Why Chris always coaches leaders to condense and delete content from their strategic meetings (to 10 slides!) instead of making what communications expert Nancy Duarte calls a “Procument” (something that's neither an easy to use and digest presentation or a leave-behind document!) How crucial discussing decision-making rights are - as Chris suggests many leaders want to keep their options open and wind up creating an “air of democracy without the reality of it” Why You should start becoming a junkie of learning theories The importance of balancing humor and levity with challenging-ness and sparkiness to create productive environments The importance of knowing that the “yeah buts” will come when we're hosting challenging conversations as in: yeah, but, that won't work here! or… yeah, but, what will we be able to report next quarter? Or… yeah, but who's budget is going to cover that? And so much more! If you have Moments of Impact that you need to shape, design, and lead and you *don't* have Moments of Impact on your desk - get it! Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links Get Moments of Impact! https://www.lisakaysolomon.com/about https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/profiles/certel.html A plan is not a strategy: The short video from Roger Martin we were talking about!
On this week's episode of Trending in Education, we chat with Nicolle Merrill about conversation design, AI literacy, and preparing for the impacts of artificial intelligence in the workplace. Nicolle is the founder of The Boring AI Company, where she teaches organizations about AI. But Nicolle also has hands-on experience designing conversational AI, having worked on chatbots and voice assistants prior to the release of chatGPT and other large language models. We discuss how Nicolle has had to evolve her own career as these new AI capabilities have emerged. The hype around "prompt engineering" as a new lucrative career, she notes, doesn't match reality. Prompt engineering is an important skill but not a standalone job paying hundreds of thousands per year. A big focus of our conversation is around AI literacy and skills needed to work with AI. Nicolle outlines a framework for understanding how AI works, how it's applied, and what impact it has. Critical thinking and communication skills are key. We have to get comfortable asking "dumb" questions, being vulnerable, and talking to technologists to further our literacy. Nicolle shares how she's building chatbots to actually facilitate this learning, creating "AI helpers" that workshop participants can query to learn AI concepts in an accessible way. We reflect on the need for a maker's mindset in using these tools while also being aware of potential dangers like misinformation. If you're interested in learning more, visit Nicolle's site SoBoringAI.com for AI literacy courses and resources. The future of work is here, and we all need to skill up on AI. Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on what's emerging in the learning universe.
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Mein heutiger Gast, Sarah Loigge, ist Design Lead und UX Writer aus Graz. In ihrer Arbeit bei Parkside strebt sie danach, Designprozesse mit agilen Arbeitsweisen zu verbinden und Kund*innen beim Finden Ihrer Produkt Voice zu helfen. Nebenbei unterrichtet sie UX Writing Kurse und spricht auf Konferenzen und Meetups über die Themen Inclusive Design, Conversation Design, UX Writing & AI. Sarah legt ihren kompletten UX Writing Workflow bei Parkside offen und gib euch Einblicke in Tools und Prozesse um gute und verständliche Copy zu erstellen. (01:29) Sarahs Weg zum UX Writing(06:49) Der typische Ablauf eines UX Writing Projekts(15:36) Wie AI-Tools bei der Texterstellung benutzt werden können(21:47) UX Writing effektiv testen(27:36) Sarahs Tipps für UX Writing-Anfänger Sarahs Links und RessourcenSarahs LinkedInDittoUX Writing Hub Academy CourseUX Writing Hub Flex CourseUXFocus - UX Writing auf Deutsch Online Kurs (Unterrichtet von Sarah)UX Writing Hub Figma Course (Unterrichtet von Sarah) - Nutzt den Code SARAH7246 für 15% Rabatt! Sarahs BuchempfehlungWriting is Designing - Michael J. Metts & Andy Welfle Microcopy - Kinneret Yifrah SponsorSponsor dieser Folge ist die George UX Conference. Die George UX Conference findet am 19. Oktober im Erste Campus in Wien statt und es erwarten euch spannende Talks und Diskussionen rund ums Thema Fintech, User Research, UX Design und AI. . Mehr Infos und Tickets gibts auf ux-conf.george-labs.com.Und das Beste: Mit dem Code georgeuxheroes bekommt ihr 15% Rabatt auf eure Tickets! Und wenn ihr nicht persönlich dabei sein könnt, könnt ihr euch ein kostenloses Webticket sichern. Ich hoffe, ihr fandet diese Folge nützlich. Wenn ihr auch die nächsten nicht verpassen wollt - abonniert UX Heroes doch auf Spotify, Apple oder eurem Lieblingspodcaster - ihr könnt uns dort auch bis zu 5 Sterne als Bewertung dalassen. Wenn Ihr Fragen oder Feedback habt, lasst uns doch eine Sprachnachricht auf ux-heroes.com da und wir beantworten sie mit etwas Glück in einer der nächsten Folgen. Ihr findet ihr mich auf LinkedIn unter Markus Pirker. UX Heroes ist ein Podcast von Userbrain.
Creativity and Cleanup Leading to Improved Culture E33 When it comes to improving company culture, there are a tremendous amount of resources out there to help companies. Finding which resources are the right fit for your company is the tricky part. Lucky for you, we brought together two amazing ladies that offer support that can […]
Creativity and Cleanup Leading to Improved Culture E33 When it comes to improving company culture, there are a tremendous amount of resources out there to help companies. Finding which resources are the right fit for your company is the tricky part. Lucky for you, we brought together two amazing ladies that offer support that can […] The post Creativity and Cleanup Leading to Improved Culture E33 appeared first on Business RadioX ®.
Peter has written and shared a lot about Large Language Models in recent posts and blogs. We wanted to get his perspective on various things, especially now that Voiceflow have incorporated LLMs into their tool. How can conversation designers use LLMs now? How does Peter use the LLM as a sounding board to help him craft prompts? Where might we be using them next? How can we document dynamic conversational designs (when LLMs can allow conversations to go off-rails)?Ben asked him these questions and more…0:00:00Start0:02:44About Peter0:05:44What's your favourite bot?0:06:57What Aussie lingo should bots know?0:09:36Pick 3 words to describe your career so far?0:12:03Do you draw on your former jobs for inspiration?0:14:06What's it like being the first Conversation Design Advocate at VoiceFlow?0:18:12What's the best way to incorporate VoiceFlow into a workflow?0:21:24Are you seeing more interest in conversation design now?0:23:18Where do you see LLMs being used now?0:28:52Could conversation designers become an organisation's knowledge experts?0:31:15We're all making our first steps with LLMs0:33:43It's easy to fall under the spell of an LLM and think it knows everything0:35:36Has conversation design changed forever now?0:37:08Are we over-excited or being too timid?0:40:08Now we can design conversations that are far more dynamic0:41:54Are there best practices for documenting designs with LLMs?0:44:10How does Peter use an LLM to help write the prompt?0:46:42Have you found ways to avoid 'hallucinations'?0:49:56How would a conversational system work without an NLU?0:53:32Are we about to see a new use case for LLMs?0:57:55How will this affect the work of conversation designers in the next 15 years?1:03:12Why's there not been more shocking news about misuse of LLMs?1:05:39We need to constantly monitor where this tech is going1:06:52Outro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How are ChatGPT and the rise of large language models impacting conversation designs and designers? Today, in Part 2 of our series on conversation design, we have four more experts weighing in on how the profession is changing and what designers should consider and do about it. Joining me today in a series of one-on-one interviews are: Maaike Coppens is vice president of product at OpenDialog AI, where she started as head of UX and conversation design in 2020. She was a product designer at XAPPMedia, labworks.io, and Smartly Ai. She was also a UX consultant at Applause. Maaike was my guest on episode 284 of the Voicebot Podcast in 2022. Rebecca Evanhoe is the co-author of the popular book Conversations with Things: UX Design for Chat and Voice published by Rosenfeld Media. She is a visiting assistant professor at the Pratt Institute in New York, where she teaches a graduate course in conversational UX design, was a conversation design consultant for AWS, a voice user interface designer at Mobiquity, and a writing instructor at the University of Florida. She and her co-author Diana Diebel were my guests on episode 220 in 2021. Kane Simms - is the founder of VUX World and a co-organizer of the Unparsed conference. VUX World is a strategic consultancy focused on conversational user experiences and is also the name of a popular podcast on practical conversational AI topics. Kane has a long history of work in technology transformation and as a writer before moving into conversation design. He was my guest in episode 178 in 2020. Hans Van Dam - is the CEO of the Conversation Design Institute and a co-founder and board member of the conversation design consultancy CDI Services. He is also a research fellow at RMIT University. Hans joined me on the podcast for episode 192 in 2021. Also, the Unparsed Conference on conversation design is coming up later in July 2023 in London. If you use the code VOICEBOT, you get two tickets for the price of one. That applies to the in-person and online conference tickets. Definitely try to join online if you can't make it to London. It is a great speaker lineup. You can sign-up at https://bit.ly/unparsed2023.
Daniel Stillman is a former industrial designer turned conversation designer, who wants to help leadership teams and entire organisations stop wasting their time having ineffective conversations. We spoke about the concept of Conversation Design, the Conversation OS Canvas, and the perils of "Sheep Dip" organisational transformations. Episode highlights: 1. Sheep-dip organisational transformation doesn't work You can't send everyone on a 1-hour course, not talk about it afterwards or have any kind of follow-up, yet somehow expect to sustain organisational change. Transformation takes sustained effort & you need to keep talking. 2. All conversations are inherently designed, even the ones that aren't There's an implicit design in any conversation. You should use whatever works for you, but being aware of what isn't working allows you to re-design the conversations that don't work and get better results. 3. Leadership is the ability to create the conditions for a transformational conversation If everyone's stuck, leaders can help people get unstuck by getting people to ask the right question to offer the right insight in service of what we want to create more of in the world. 4. We all have a mental OS running on a mental CPU And, like all software, and all CPUs, there could be problems with clock speed, or bugs in the system that prevent us from getting to where we want to go. Thoughtfully designing conversations allows us to iron out the bugs. 5. Active Listening is a great hack to help design conversations Getting away from the desire to respond within 200ms, not tuning people out because you're formulating your next thought & playing back people's words can really help change your conversations for the better. Buy "Good Talk" "Life is built one conversation at a time. Learn which conversations matter, how to transform those conversations, and balance them all while leading change. Human beings are conversational animals. Every day we're in constant communication with ourselves, other people and the world around us, and while not all conversations may seem important, they all have the potential to transform our personal, professional and cultural lives for the better. This book explains how conversations work and offers practical advice on how to improve the quality of our exchanges." Check it out on Amazon. Contact Daniel You can catch up with Andres on LinkedIn, or visit his website or The Conversation Factory.
How are ChatGPT and the rise of large language models impacting conversation designs and designers? Today, in Part 1 of our series on conversation design, we have four experts in the field weighing in on how the profession is changing and what designers should be thinking about. Joining me today in a series of one-on-one interviews are: Maaike Groenewege is an independent conversation designer and the creator of Convocat. She is currently the conversation design lead, prompt engineer, and NLU trainer at a U.S.-base stealth-stage startup. Groenewege has worked for 25 years as a designer, linguist, and technical writer. Tom Hewitson is the founder and CEO of Labworks.io, a webby-award winning conversation design studio and one of the leading voice-first game studios. Hewitson is a former journalist, content strategist at Facebook, and digital editor for Lonely Planet. He is also a lecturer at City University London and the organizer of the Unparsed Conference on conversation design. Peter Isaacs is the senior conversation design advocate at Voiceflow. He was previously a conversation designer at WooliesX, a division of Woolworths Group in Australia. Karen Kaushansky has been a conversation designer for 27 years. She is currently a Staff Conversation Designer at Google, and led the design for Google Watch. Also, the Unparsed Conference on conversation design is coming up later in July 2023 in London. If you use the code VOICEBOT, you get two tickets for the price of one. That applies to be the in-person and online conference tickets. Definitely try to join online if you can't make it to London. It is a great speaker lineup. You can sign-up at https://bit.ly/unparsed2023.
Daniel Stillman, an executive coach, and facilitator, is an authority in the field of conversational leadership. With a wealth of experience as a conversation designer and an author, Daniel has dedicated his career to enhancing the way we communicate. His book, Good Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter, is recognized for its impactful insights into communication dynamics and strategies. In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Daniel joins Barry O'Reilly to explore the importance of collaboration and how to create an environment conducive to productive dialogue, particularly in the context of leadership.Conversational LeadershipConversational leadership, as defined by Daniel, refers to an approach to leadership that emphasizes the importance of effective communication and dialogue. It relies on the power of conversation to inspire, motivate, and engage individuals or teams in a meaningful and productive manner.“You cannot have a divergent, emergent and convergent conversation truly all in one go,” Daniel quotes from Chris Ertel's book, Moments of Impact. “Everybody wants to be in the conversation, and it's not effective if everyone's in the conversation, because everyone can't talk all the time and there's only so much time we can have together.” He explores the mechanics of designing productive meetings, especially in a remote work landscape. He explains that strategic collaboration, hinged on appropriate tools and methods, is integral to making meaningful progress. Barry comments, “This idea of opening, exploring, and closing - it gives people a framework [to have conversations with].”The Nine P ModelDaniel introduces his holistic Nine P Model of Conversation Design. This includes:Purpose (the reason or aim of the conversation), Principles (the agreed norms and values to be adhered to), Process (the methods or steps to be followed), Place (the physical or virtual space where the conversation occurs), Pitfalls (potential risks or problems), Progress markers (indicators of progress), Product or outcome desired (the tangible or intangible results expected from the conversation), andPeople involved (the participants in the conversation), and Potential outcomes (the possible consequences of the conversation).Link to learn more about the Model is here.Looking AheadDaniel is looking forward to the way collaboration, conversation and AI will intersect to foster more effective communication and goal achievement. He emphasizes the significance of adapting our thought processes, referencing the "Ask/Tell" two by two matrix (more on that here) and 'triple loop learning' (more on that here) as valuable tools for changing how we approach problem-solving and action. Daniel views AI as an assistive component that can enhance our conversations and relationships.ResourcesDaniel Stillman on the Web | LinkedIn | TwitterRead full show notes at BarryO'Reilly.com
Ann is a PhD Candidate in Applied Linguistics with a concentration in conversation analysis.She combines insights from conversation analysis and human-centered design to improve human-computer interaction. Her expertise in linguistics, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, people-centered product design, and conversation design help her create meaningful experiences that empower users.Support the show by clicking on our sponser link below Promo Code: TRUELIFEhttps://www.dayapp.net/Ladies & Gentleman… You know what I despise! Talking to a robot then waiting in Hold! I woukd like to introduce you to the New Sponser of the TrueLife Podcast! There AI technology dials the company's number, goes through all the stages of interaction, then initiated a callback to you when an operator is connected! Never wait on hold AGAIN!Use PROMO code: TRUELIFEhttps://www.dayapp.net/
Giancarlo Valente ha alle spalle oltre 25 anni di esperienza professionale come Software Architect, Senior programmer, SCRUM master. Grazie al suo lavoro da Coach di Metodologie Agili, Giancarlo è diventato nel corso degli anni un punto di riferimento in Italia e all'estero per tutto ciò che riguarda il mondo tech. Oggi è co-founder e CTO di Aulab, responsabile delle strategie di innovazione e della didattica dei corsi. Aulab è una Coding Factory pugliese consente a persone che escono dalla formazione umanistica o che provengono dai settori più disparati - come commercio, artigianato, ristorazione, ma anche profili come i rider di Glovo - di apprendere in soli 3 mesi le nozioni di base dell'ambito digital e di coding, per rispondere alle richieste di un mercato del lavoro in evoluzione che è alla ricerca costante di profili tech. Sono anche nati una serie di corsi che si rivolgono in particolare a profili umanistici (il 73% degli studenti è Under 30 e il 13% proviene da questi percorsi di studio o background) per aiutare anche chi ha queste competenze a sfruttare opportunità lavorative legate alle ultime tecnologie di Intelligenza Artificiale Generativa come ChatGPT e per aiutare a colmare il divario di genere nelle discipline STEM. Anche per questo a partire da aprile si terrà la prima edizione della Masterclass in Conversation Design, un corso online pensato per chi intende conoscere gli strumenti dell'AI conversazionale e le tecniche di Conversation Design, da applicare in strategie di marketing e nella comunicazione digitale ma anche nella progettazione di chatbot e assistenti virtuali. Gli studenti infatti impareranno a scrivere e organizzare i flussi di conversazione in linguaggio naturale e utilizzare al meglio strumenti come Chat GPT. Aulab è stata inclusa per la prima volta nella FT 1000 - Europe's Fastest Growing Companies 2023, la classifica delle società a più rapida crescita in Europa realizzata dal Financial Times in collaborazione con Statista e che vede aulab tra le prime dieci realtà europee nel settore "Education and social services" . Siti app e link utili Aulab Conversation Prompt Conversation Design I libri da scegliere Descrizione professione: Il Conversation e Prompt Designer sono figure professionali in forte ascesa e sempre più richieste nello scenario digitale che ricoprono ruoli chiave nei team aziendali per la progettazione e sviluppo di sistemi conversazionali a supporto del marketing, della comunicazione e del servizio clienti. Professionalità nuove e flessibili, ideali per chi possiede background e competenze differenti, dalla scrittura all'UX design, dalle scienze cognitive alla tecnologia. Il Conversation Designer in particolare è una professione che sembra dedicata solo a profili STEM ma che invece apre uno spazio professionale importante a comunicatori e linguisti, in quanto consente di imparare come progettare chatbot e assistenti virtuali in un flusso di conversazione che sia naturale e come applicare al meglio il mix di competenze umanistiche e tecniche in strategie di marketing e comunicazione.
Sarah Loigge shares how she found inspiration outside of work and overcame impostor syndrome with the help of Star Trek.Sarah has a background in software testing and product design. But she's always enjoyed writing, so she made the transition to UX writing.She recently took on the challenge to develop the personality of a chatbot. She realized that she had no idea where to start and was hit by impostor syndrome. Tune in to learn how she got over it and at same time came up with a brilliant method to create the language of the bot.We also talked about:Using Frontitude and Ditto in Figma to manage copy and translationsWhy UX writers should consume as much art as possibleHow language learning can help UX writersInclusive writing and working with gendered languagesLinksTry our free UX writing courseUX Writing Academy Flex courseFollow Sarah Loigge on LinkedInWatch Lera Boroditsky's Ted talk How language shapes the way we thinkCheck out the poetry of Sarah Kay and Savannah Brown
Sonia Talati is A Senior Manager for Conversation Design at GoDaddy; a speaker and ex-TV anchor with tremendous experience in conversational AI. After co-founding Hereafter, a CAI startup that helps keep the memories of loved ones alive, Sonia now heads up conversation design at the world's largest website hosting company: GoDaddy.Sonia joins us to share her experience in conversational AI, as well as how GoDaddy is utilising the technology. We'll discuss the challenges that experienced conversation designers face today, and the ingredients to scaling a design practice globally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Maaike Coppens is the author of the new book Design Conversationnel published in French by Eyrolles with a forthcoming English edition. Maaike and I first met at an event in 2018 in Paris, and that provided a springboard to discuss how the priorities and expectations around conversation design have changed. One important topic we discuss is the rising focus on task completion for voice assistant applications as opposed to likeability and building affective trust. Much of this is driven by changing consumer behaviors and preferences. Coppens is the vice president of design at OpenDialog AI, the developer of the open source conversation management framework. Previously, she was a senior user experience and conversation design consultant for Accor Hotels, Applause, and XAPPmedia. She also worked as a conversation designer at voice-first game maker labworks.io and is an Alexa Champion.
Collin Carnahan is a Senior UX Conversation Designer at Workday. Collin joins us to share how he and his team implemented conversation design systems and processes into a largely development and technically driven organisation. One of the crucial elements of getting the customer experience right with conversational applications is that they're designed right. That's not to say that technical developers don't have a role to play, or that conversation design needs to trump development in all cases. It's to say that conversation design needs a seat at the big table. In this conversation, we'll discuss some of the symptoms of developer-led conversational AI initiatives, the impact that too much technical and not enough design focus has on customer experience, and the benefits of being design-led. We'll also discuss implementing a design system for conversational AI, scaling conversational applications and more insights on the benefits conversational AI is delivering at Workday.Find out more about VUX @ VOICE22 presented by Kore AI: www.voicesummit.ai and save 20% on tickets with the code VUX20 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This Week In Voice Season 7, Episode 2 Guests: Maddy Apple (CEO, Women In Voice), Alex Misiaszek (SVP, Truist), Celene Osiecka (Senior Director, Conversation Design, [24]7.ai) Stories for discussion: 1) Amazon brings "Tap to Alexa" accessibility feature to Fire tablets for the first time (TechCrunch) 2) "Alexa, Should My Company Invest In Voice Technology?" (Harvard Business Review) 3) New Buzz Lightyear Toy Includes Conversational AI and Voice Recognition (Voicebot.ai) 4) Getty Images Bans AI-generated Content Over Fears Of Legal Challenges (The Verge)
Meredith Schulz has scaled LivePerson's conversation design practice from 3 to 12 people in the last couple of years. As the Sr Conversation Design Manager, Meredith has barrels of experience in conversation design best practice and tons of learnings on what it takes to grow your team successfully. Meredith and I will be chatting about key considerations and learnings for scaling a conversation design team: process and principles, governance and management, documentation and artefacts, design and development overlap, roles and responsibilities, channels and design nuances, readiness and optimisation and much much more.Up your CX maturity in this free workshop with yours truly and Cognigy. Find out more: https://vux.world/cognigyFind out more about VUX @ VOICE22 presented by Kore AI: https://www.voicesummit.ai and save 20% on tickets with the code VUX20Check out https://www.liveperson.com/To join Conversational Collective https://www.convocollective.org/ Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
Braden Ream is the CEO of the rapidly growing conversation design platform, Voiceflow. Braden and his team spend their days working to understand how conversation designers work, and what they need. Needless to say, he's worked with countless conversation design teams and is perfectly placed to highlight some observations on what the best conversation design teams in the world do well. You'll learn the signs of conversation design maturity as well as pointers on how to improve your practice. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Daniel Stillman is a conversation designer and coach. He's the host of The Conversation Factory podcast and author of Good Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter.This is a special episode of The Informed Life: it's the first recorded in person, while Daniel and I attended and taught at UX Lisbon in May of 2022. Fittingly, it's an experiment: a freeform, less produced conversation about how we converse. In some cases, this results in less context than you may expect. In particular, you'll hear references to the names of other speakers at the conference. I've included links to their profiles in the show notes.Show notesDaniel StillmanThe Conversation Factory podcastGood Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter by Daniel StillmanThe Nine Elements of Transformative Facilitation by Daniel Stillman (includes a diagram of Daniel's conversation operating system)UX Lisbon conferenceBernadette Irizarry (UX Lisbon)Matt LeMay (UX Lisbon)Natalie Nixon (UX Lisbon)Katie Swindler (UX Lisbon)Scott Kubie (UX Lisbon)One Page/One HourNickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara EhrenreichAbby CovertDave GrayPhilip McKenzieLeland MaschmeyerWhat is the Negotiation Institute? (harvard.edu)Ladies Get PaidBrave New Work: Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization? by Aaron DignanCarl CollinsSwissmiss (Tina Roth Eisenberg)Daniel MezickRichard Saul WurmanAndy PolaineHow to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale CarnegieViktor FranklJoe RoganShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. I get a small commission for purchases made through these links.
Instacart is the world's largest online grocery service. Ayesha Saleem is the Conversation Design Manager and joins us to share how Instacart is using conversational AI, the team and resources involved, the results they've achieved and best practice tips for designing and implementing conversational AI solutions.**Presented by Deepgram**Deepgram is a Speech Company whose goal is to have every voice heard and understood. We have revolutionized speech-to-text (STT) with an End-to-End Deep Learning platform. This AI architectural advantage means you don't have to compromise on speed, accuracy, scalability, or cost to build the next big idea in voice. Our easy-to-use SDKs and APIs allow developers to quickly test and embed our STT solution into their voice products. For more information, visit: https://deepgram.com/vuxworld See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Chatbots and voicebots are quick and easy. No problem at all. That's the myth that needs to be shattered here. Many people, when they embark on their first conversational AI project, underestimate the amount of time and effort required to design, build, deploy and maintain their assistants. Matt Portillo, Conversation Design Lead at Amelia, joins us to share why conversational AI projects aren't really projects; they're long-term journeys as well as how you should prepare and the steps you should take to ensure success.**Presented by Deepgram**Deepgram is a Speech Company whose goal is to have every voice heard and understood. We have revolutionized speech-to-text (STT) with an End-to-End Deep Learning platform. This AI architectural advantage means you don't have to compromise on speed, accuracy, scalability, or cost to build the next big idea in voice. Our easy-to-use SDKs and APIs allow developers to quickly test and embed our STT solution into their voice products. For more information, visit: https://deepgram.com/vuxworld See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Where's conversation design headed? Is technology taking over, making designers redundant? Will technology like GPT-3 make a designer's life easier? How has the role of conversation design evolved over the years and what's going to change or remain in future? Join Voxable's Matt Buck and Lauren Golembiewski to dive deep into the future of conversation design.Learn more at https://voxable.io**Presented by Deepgram and Symbl.ai**Deepgram is a Speech Company whose goal is to have every voice heard and understood. We have revolutionized speech-to-text (STT) with an End-to-End Deep Learning platform. This AI architectural advantage means you don't have to compromise on speed, accuracy, scalability, or cost to build the next big idea in voice. Our easy-to-use SDKs and APIs allow developers to quickly test and embed our STT solution into their voice products. For more information, visit: https://deepgram.com/vuxworldSee how easy it is to add simple but powerful call coaching and call tracking functionality to your customer experience solutions with Symbl.ai's customizable Conversation Intelligence APIs. From calls to videos to text conversations — apply best in class contextual AI in no time by getting started for free at https://symbl.ai See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, I had a chat with Tim Kahle who shared how he got into Voice UI (VUI), how the market evolved, and where he sees Voice UI is heading to He also shared about how he launched his company just focusing on Voice.
Today's guest is Susan Hura, Director of Conversation Design Services at Interactions. Founded in 2004, Interactions provides Intelligent Virtual Assistants that seamlessly combine AI and human understanding to enable businesses and consumers to engage in productive conversations. With flexible products and solutions designed to meet the growing demand for unified and multichannel customer care, Interactions is delivering significant cost savings and unprecedented customer experience for some of the largest brands in the world. Susan is a conversational user experience designer and strategist with deep experience in linguistics, user-centered design and speech technologies. As the Director of Conversation Design Services at Interactions, Susan leads a team who creates transformational conversational experiences for customers. Previously, Susan was Program Chair of the SpeechTEK Conference (2007-2016) and founding president of the Association for Conversational Interaction Design. In the episode, Susan will talk about: How she became passionate for Conversational AI, The interesting work they do at Interactions, The role of automation and data science behind the scenes, How the team is set up for success, The evolution of speech technology, What excites her for the future of Conversational AI and Exciting opportunities at Interactions
What frameworks can we use to guide better conversations? Our guest today is Daniel Stillman, conversation designer and executive coach. You'll learn about several conversational modes, why it is important to have conversations with ourselves, how mentorship is different from coaching, and more.Download the MP3 audio file: right-click here and choose Save As.Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Podcasts.Show NotesGood Talk — Daniel's bookEpisode 224: Service Design with Eleni StathoulisHigh Output Management — a book by Andrew GroveCrucial Conversations — a popular book about conversationsYour next meeting should be silentZencastr — a podcasting recording toolMural — a popular collaboration toolThe Conversation Factory — Daniel's podcastInsiders Group — Daniel's extended resourcesFree course to explore the facilitator hatsFacilitation masterclass — for those who have prior facilitation experienceGood Talk, the free chapters Follow Daniel on TwitterToday's SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Zeplin. Designers know that clarity is just as important as creativity. That's why designers need Zeplin. Zeplin lets you organize and showcase your designs for developers and PMs. Your team will understand exactly what you want to build. No more confusing design files or endless meetings — Zeplin gives your team way more than just specs. Sign up for free at zeplin.io to see why.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here.Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.
A future skill for instructional designers is designing for voice controls. I speak with Myra Roldan about conversation design for the voice user interface (VUI).
Senior Director of Conversation Design at [24]7.ai, Celene Osiecka joins us to share best practice on conversation design at scale for enterprise.Celene Osiecka is part of a rare breed of conversation designers with 10 year's experience. Although conversation design has been a practice for decades, it's only recently that the term has become solidified as its begun to reach mainstream awareness.This is in part due to the rise in popularity of chatbots since 2016, and also due to the wide adoption of voice assistants on mobile and smart speakers. However, even the early adopters of those platforms still only have 5 year's experience at best.So whenever you have the opportunity to speak to someone who has an unusual amount of experience across all kinds of conversational interfaces, you know you're in for a treat.We chatted to Celene about:The maturity of the conversation design practiceCelene's experience and about [24]7.aiExamples of new conversation design new best practicePersonality design and the role it plays in conversation designBest practice and challenges when designing in teamsThe future of the conversation design roleLinksMore information on the services that [24]7.ai offersConnect with Celene on LinkedInPresented by DeepgramDeepgram is a Speech Company whose goal is to have every voice heard and understood. We have revolutionized speech-to-text (STT) with an End-to-End Deep Learning platform. This AI architectural advantage means you don't have to compromise on speed, accuracy, scalability, or cost to build the next big idea in voice. Our easy-to-use SDKs and APIs allow developers to quickly test and embed our STT solution into their voice products. For more information, visit:Deepgram websiteDeepgram on LinkedInDeepgram on Twitter See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Conversation Design and Automation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The future of conversation designI rocked the boat a little over the last few weeks, making some statements about the future of conversation design. How technology will improve and intent-less NLU and other technology will change the role of a conversation designer. How the way we think about conversations isn't always conducive to producing great customer experiences.One company that is pushing the boundaries of conversation design is OpenDialog. It's unique approach of an intent-last mindset is nothing like I've seen before.Ronald Ashri has been instrumental in leading the OpenDialog team and approach. He joins us this week to share more on the OpenDialog conversation design philosophy, the tooling and his thoughts on the future of conversation design.LinksVisit OpenDialog.aiConnect with Ronald Ashri on LinkedInPresented by DeepgramDeepgram is a Speech Company whose goal is to have every voice heard and understood. We have revolutionized speech-to-text (STT) with an End-to-End Deep Learning platform. This AI architectural advantage means you don't have to compromise on speed, accuracy, scalability, or cost to build the next big idea in voice. Our easy-to-use SDKs and APIs allow developers to quickly test and embed our STT solution into their voice products. For more information, visit:Deepgram websiteDeepgram on LinkedInDeepgram on Twitter See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Every experienced conversation designer has been asked this question: how do I get into conversation design?Heyday's Team Lead for Conversation Design, Anna Ralph, joins us to answer that question and more as we chart her journey from copywriter to conversation designer and share how you can do the same.LinksHeyday by Hootsuite See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
What do instructional design and conversation design have in common? What skills and perspectives do linguists bring to conversation design? What are the top challenges new conversation designers face? And how can we design successful conversational interactions between computers and humans? Maaike Groenewege joins us to share all, and more!LinksConvocatFollow Maaike on InstagramConnect with Maaike on LinkedInVoice Lunch Language and LinguisticsWomen in Voice NL See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Engati is the world's leading multilingual Digital CX platform. It is a one-stop platform for powerful customer engagements. With our intelligent bots, we help you create the smoothest of customer experiences, with minimal coding. And now, we're even helping you answer your customers' most complicated questions in real-time with Engati Live Chat. Website: https://www.engati.com/ Blogs: https://engati.com/blog Check out our CX Library- CX Community page : https://www.engati.com/cx-community YouTube Interview series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL05g56Qg9-goNEUmZlGGPHWfVjQRPpwr4 SoundCloud Interview series: https://soundcloud.com/user-670584022/tracks Spotify Interview series: https://open.spotify.com/show/3G0uQwPnQib22emRi9VhUg https://www.engati.com/cx-community/models-for-conversational-ai Celene Osiecka, Practice Lead & Senior Director, Conversation Design at [24]7.ai tells us about how organizations can leverage disruptive technology and apply human-centric design to create products that help make the customer experience vision come to light Check out the 200 CX Thought Leaders to follow for 2021 - http://s.engati.com/2z9 Follow us on- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getengati LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/engati/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/getengati Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getengati/ Talk to us: contact@engati.com #EngatiCX #CX #AI
Hans van Dam is the CEO of Conversation Design Institute, a company that teaches a human-centric workflow to conversation design which has proven itself in organisations around the world. This is Hans's second appearance on the show, the first one being in episode 51 back in January.Hans explains what exactly conversation design means and focuses on its importance regarding conversational AI technologies. He shares his vast experience with training conversation designers at CDI, in order to successfully automate conversations in 2021. CDI's Conversation Design Festival is coming up on June 15th. Attendees will learn from AI Trainers, Conversation Designers and Conversational Copywriters who will share their professional experiences and give advice on optimizing AI assistants like chatbots and voice assistants.We hope to see you at the Conversation Design Festival on June 15th. Grab a ticket now using our discount code!HighlightsAvailable at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep085 Sponsor LinksManning books
Take our free UX Writing course: https://course.uxwritinghub.com/free_courseCheck out the UX Writing Hub: https://uxwritinghub.comFollow Eran Soroka: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eransoroka/Try CoCoHub: https://cocohub.ai/
Hans van Dam began his career as a copywriter for science and technology companies and that role led him to become a chatbot designer in 2014. His experience working in conversational design led to the realization that few enterprises had a standard model for conversational user experience development nor did they have any idea how to staff a team for success. In 2018, Hans co-founded the Conversation Design Institute to establish processes, techniques, and organizational standards to professionalize the role of conversation design within large enterprises. Today we talk about the present and future of conversation design and how it will shape the future of conversational experiences.
- So Maggie, you said you are working with Jackpots, like in a lottery
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mind Body to Lead ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Become a VIP - https://www.mindbodytolead.com/VIP How to find your purpose in 2021 and beyond. Today I had the pleasure of bringing back Bernard Schokman onto The Mind to Lead after 12 months from our previous conversation. Which you can catch here - https://www.mindbodytolead.com/episode2 Bernard always thought his dream was to become a farmer or a vet. It seemed like an appropriate dream given his love of plants and animals. However, it seems that life had other plans for him. Bernard commenced his career with a solid decade of designing, coding and testing on a multitude of tech-stacks. "I was never a gifted technologist, but I was always creative and could find a way to design and code any solution. It was oddly and nerdishly satisfying." Bernard caught fire when he stepped into Design Thinking. While delivering one of the very first UX Design Courses in Australia, Bernard found himself designing a user research workshop for discovery and insight, and at the time the software design process desperately needed acceleration to keep pace with development. And that's when it happened; the spark that he was missing ignited - "I'm a Workshop Mechanic!!!" Bernard still loves applying the design principles to workshops and research. He always finds it oddly satisfying to watch as designs unfold with discovery, insight and unexpected outcomes. He thinks (in a way) he's kind of like those designs, "I'm mouldable and adaptable while still keeping my principles intact." Applied Design Thinking is a total fascination for Bernard. It's all "Conversation Design". - How to make the horse drink the water. At the core, however, Bernard is a father to three kids and a partner to a wonderful woman, "and that's what it really comes down to". Bernard likes to learn, and he loves good conversation. He'll bend over backwards to help someone and also understand the value in standing back. "Balance." Questions I asked on today's podcast with Bernard: (2:30) What has been happening over the last 12 months since we spoke last on the podcast? (5:25) How would you define "purpose" and what does it mean to you? (9:50) People coming to you lost and not sure where to turn. What are the first steps that people should do? (13:20) Are we too busy comparing ourselves to others? Why are we living in a society where we are looking for external things to fulfil us? (17:15) Do you find a difference between people who have found their purpose and who haven't? What trends are you seeing why people are coming to you to find their purpose? (20:20) People know who they are. They have the confidence to go after their purpose. What is the next step? (24:00) Surrounding yourself with positive, like-minded people. (26:20) What action do you advise people to take once they have found their purpose and they're in the right community? (29:57) For someone who wants to transition careers who feel stuck because they have mortgage and kids etc. (35:40) The more experience we have, the more we learn. (37:45) What does success look like to Bernard today - is it the same, or different? Connect with Bernard Linkedin: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardschokman/ 30-minute Zoom with Bernard - A 30-MINUTE ZOOM CALL | Feel free to reach out and book a zoom with him if you ever need any support, guidance or advice with those tricky workshops. "We can get it done together. No strings" https://calendly.com/moshpit/our-zoom-meeting Connect with Georgie Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/georgielhubbard Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/georgielhubbard
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mind Body to Lead ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Become a VIP - https://www.mindbodytolead.com/VIP How to find your purpose in 2021 and beyond. Today I had the pleasure of bringing back Bernard Schokman onto The Mind to Lead after 12 months from our previous conversation. Which you can catch here - https://www.mindbodytolead.com/episode2 Bernard always thought his dream was to become a farmer or a vet. It seemed like an appropriate dream given his love of plants and animals. However, it seems that life had other plans for him. Bernard commenced his career with a solid decade of designing, coding and testing on a multitude of tech-stacks. "I was never a gifted technologist, but I was always creative and could find a way to design and code any solution. It was oddly and nerdishly satisfying." Bernard caught fire when he stepped into Design Thinking. While delivering one of the very first UX Design Courses in Australia, Bernard found himself designing a user research workshop for discovery and insight, and at the time the software design process desperately needed acceleration to keep pace with development. And that's when it happened; the spark that he was missing ignited - "I'm a Workshop Mechanic!!!" Bernard still loves applying the design principles to workshops and research. He always finds it oddly satisfying to watch as designs unfold with discovery, insight and unexpected outcomes. He thinks (in a way) he's kind of like those designs, "I'm mouldable and adaptable while still keeping my principles intact." Applied Design Thinking is a total fascination for Bernard. It's all "Conversation Design". - How to make the horse drink the water. At the core, however, Bernard is a father to three kids and a partner to a wonderful woman, "and that's what it really comes down to". Bernard likes to learn, and he loves good conversation. He'll bend over backwards to help someone and also understand the value in standing back. "Balance." Questions I asked on today's podcast with Bernard: (2:30) What has been happening over the last 12 months since we spoke last on the podcast? (5:25) How would you define "purpose" and what does it mean to you? (9:50) People coming to you lost and not sure where to turn. What are the first steps that people should do? (13:20) Are we too busy comparing ourselves to others? Why are we living in a society where we are looking for external things to fulfil us? (17:15) Do you find a difference between people who have found their purpose and who haven't? What trends are you seeing why people are coming to you to find their purpose? (20:20) People know who they are. They have the confidence to go after their purpose. What is the next step? (24:00) Surrounding yourself with positive, like-minded people. (26:20) What action do you advise people to take once they have found their purpose and they're in the right community? (29:57) For someone who wants to transition careers who feel stuck because they have mortgage and kids etc. (35:40) The more experience we have, the more we learn. (37:45) What does success look like to Bernard today - is it the same, or different? Connect with Bernard Linkedin: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardschokman/ 30-minute Zoom with Bernard - A 30-MINUTE ZOOM CALL | Feel free to reach out and book a zoom with him if you ever need any support, guidance or advice with those tricky workshops. "We can get it done together. No strings" https://calendly.com/moshpit/our-zoom-meeting Connect with Georgie Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/georgielhubbard Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/georgielhubbard
Carmen Martinez and Paulo Azevedo combine her linguistics and ethnography skills with his computing and product skills to create computer interactions that feel almost human. Carmen Martinez Paulo Azevedo Carmen and Paulo collaborate to design conversation experiences for FlixBus, a company that helps millions of travelers around the world book bus travel. It's hard to create natural-feeling conversations between humans and computers, but they get better at it with every product launch. We talked about: Carmen's background as a conversational UX expert and Paulo's as a product owner, data scientist, informaticist, and developer their collaborative process in designing conversational experiences Paulo's moment of insight when he realized that his developer team would benefit from having a human-centered researcher and designer on the team how they align human and computer approaches to conversation design how complicated a seemingly simple task like providing a bus stop location is in a conversational interaction design the eye-opening challenges of helping digital conversationalists interact appropriately with humans the wide range of technologies that underlie conversation design how they use ethnographic and other research methods in their conversation design process, and how data from real human users feeds into their ongoing research the huge differences between graphical user interfaces and voice user interfaces the challenges of figuring out what you don't know when their are conversational misunderstandings the importance of having a language person on your conversational design team how conversation design is still a work in progress Carmen's Bio Dr. Carmen Martinez is a Conversation Analyst and Ethnographer of Communication working in Conversational Artificial Intelligence at FlixBus. As an expert in human-to-human conversation, she contributes to a cross-disciplinary team by automating customer service interactions, modelling both text- and voice-based human-to-machine conversations, and developing visual solutions for graphical and multimodal conversational agents. She is the author of “Conversar en español: un enfoque desde el Análisis de la Conversación” published by Peter Lang Berlin. Connect with Carmen on LinkedIn. Paulo's Bio Paulo Azevedo is an IT professional based in Germany, where he's spent the last few years working on AI and machine learning projects at different capacities. He's done data analysis, software development, developed machine learning models, and lately has been focusing on agile project management. Since March 2017 he's been working at FlixMobility, a German mobility startup with operations in 30 countries, where he was responsible for the strategy and implementation of voice platforms. Connect with Paulo on LinkedIn. Video Here's the video version of our conversation: https://youtu.be/71phD4niFkk Podcast Intro Transcript When you talk to Siri or Alexa or interact with a support chatbot, you probably don't give a lot of thought to the work that went into creating those conversational experiences. Carmen Martinez and Paulo Azevedo do think about that work - because they do it all day. They design conversational experiences for FlixBus, a company that helps millions of people book bus travel in countries around the world. Carmen and Paulo combine their linquistic and computing skills to get closer every day to conversational experiences that feel human. Interview Transcript Larry: Hi, everyone. Welcome to Episode Number 83 of The Content Strategy Insights podcast. I'm really happy today to have with us, Carmen Martinez and Paulo Azevedo. They work at a company called FlixBus in, I guess you're all over Europe, but you're both based in Germany, I believe. Well, welcome to the show, Carmen and Paulo. Carmen, you're a Conversational UX expert there. Tell us a little bit more about what that entails and how y...
In this episode, we interview Vittorio Banfi, Botsociety CEO, and co-founder. We talk with Vittorio about the new Botsociety2, a brand new approach to conversation design tools. We also talk about conversation design patterns and the future of conversational AI.
Designing voice conversations requires new skills and new ways of thinking about how people interact with your digital product. Rebecca Evanhoe and Diana Deibel are experts in this new approach to interaction design. Like many content strategists, they are learning on the fly. And they are constantly studying the steady stream of research in their field. They'll share their discoveries in a book, Conversations With Things, in the spring of 2021. Diana Deibel Rebecca Evanhoe We talked about: Rebbeca and Diana's backgrounds the differences between designing for voice interfaces and for graphical interfaces the higher expectations that people have for conversational voice interactions some of the challenges of designing for voice interactions: navigation, lack of standardization, lower impatience thresholds in voice interactions, etc. how conversation design fits in the UX field the principles and concepts that underlie conversation design: personas (of the voice agent), prompts, training data, etc. the implications for user trust in systems that use AI (artificial intelligence) conventions around the transition from AI-driven bots to human agents in a conversation system the ethics of conversation design practices to instill trust in voice interfaces and allay user privacy concerns racial and gender and geographical biases that can creep into conversation design the rapid evolution of the research that underlies conversation design the challenges of managing the content associated with conversation design the value of the contributions of humanities disciplines to conversation design the need for more diverse perspectives in conversational design, and the need to try harder in accomplishing this Diana and Rebecca's Bios Diana Deibel, Design Director at Grand Studio in Chicago, is a Brazilian-American award-winning writer and VUI designer with a background in fictional dialogue. She has designed multi-channel voice-first products, chatbots for healthcare, insurance and HR operations, smart speaker skills, and large IVR systems. She is a national speaker and VUI consultant who has set up voice practices for Fortune 100 companies, among others. In addition to conversational design, she has written and produced for a variety of networks and creatives including “Animal Planet” and “Blue Man Group”. She co-created two TV pilots, now in pre-development with One Bowl Productions, and has had several plays produced with the Modern-Day Griot Theatre Company in Brooklyn (under the name Diana de Souza). She loves learning, puns, and leading workshops on dialogue to help others find their voices. Rebecca Evanhoe, author and conversation designer, has been developing technology that you talk to since 2011 at companies like Amazon Web Services, Mobiquity, and Shadow Health. She has created virtual patient characters for chat-based learning games, bots for fun and service, and interactive experiences for Alexa and Google Home platforms. Along with her experience in voice and conversation, she earned an MFA in creative writing. She teaches conversation design as a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute, and she leads workshops in a variety of writing genres, from creative to technical to UX. Her fiction can be found in the O. Henry Prize Collection, Harper's Magazine, Vice, NOON, and Gulf Coast, among others. Books Mentioned in the Podcast Conversations With Things (their new book, coming in 2021) Weapons of Math Destruction Algorithms of Oppression Video Here's the video version of our conversation: https://youtu.be/MTd8LMejX8k Podcast Intro Transcript Most of the content and interaction designers that you encounter in the content strategy field come from design, copywriting, journalism, and similar careers. In those fields, content presentation design happens in a GUI - a graphical user interface.
In this episode, we interview Greg Bennett, Conversation Design Lead at Salesforce. We talk to Greg about Applying Linguistics to Conversation Design, understanding the connection that makes user experience inextricably linked to language and cultures, and how to build empathy with users through ethnography and linguistics.
In this episode, we interview Jess Thornhill, Head of Games User Experience at Volley, managing games including Song Quiz, the number one game on Amazon Alexa. We talk to Jess about designing voice games and creating award-winning Alexa skills and Google apps, digging into her knowledge in voice experiences creation, that dates back to 2016, and analyzing the rise of speech technology in gaming.
On this episode, we'll talk to Vineet, Principal Conversational Experience Designer at Oracle, about managing scale for enterprise chatbots, including how to construct and present a unified bot personality, identifying use cases handled by an enterprise bot and the most appropriate modalities for those use cases, the importance of documenting to achieve consistency across stakeholders and more.
In this episode, we interview Hilary Hayes, conversation designer at Facebook, UX researcher, and Alexa Cup Canada Champion. We ask Hilary about building a career in conversation design through emerging tech and research, utilizing her training in industrial design and design thinking to shape the future of voice design, where the voice experience ecosystem is going, and more. We also took questions from our global conversation design community about getting into conversation design, transitioning from other fields into voice, and finding helpful resources to get started in the field.
This is part two of a double episode on deep listening. I speak and listen to Oscar Trimboli, the author of "Deep Listening & Breakthroughs", professional speaker, leadership coach and facilitator.In part two of the show, Oscar applies the topic of deep listening to facilitation. We explore what it means to listen deeply in a workshop context. Oscar elaborates how we can learn to hear the unsaid and how we can design for breakthroughs by giving the unsaid space to be addressed and expressed. Don't miss the part when Oscar shares golden advice to all leaders and what he says that will avoid participants to come late to any future meeting.Click here to download the free 1-page summaryDon't miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Feeling inspired by the conversation in this episode? We can have our own - take a seat at my virtual table as part of a Mastermind Group. Questions and Answers (Part II) [2:12] How can we hear what is unsaid?[9:28] To what extent do you really need to sense the unsaid, couldn't you just 'fake it'?[11:10] What does it take to get participants to steak out what everyone thinks?[13:55] What reactions do you get from leaders when you instruct them to always reply last?[17:17] How do you facilitate the shift of energy before a breakthrough? [24:18] Would you divide them into smaller groups or leave the organisation up to them?[27:23] Do you still draft the afternoon agenda of any workshop?[32:32] What would be your advice to a team leader or manager to have better meetings? [39:50] What do you want the listener to take away from our conversation? Links to check Oscar's business website listeningmyths.comThe free guide of the five myths of listening Design and manage your workshop agenda with Session Lab (affiliate link) Check out our featured SessionLab user Rein Sevenstern from Experiential Learning Connect to Oscaron LinkedIn
In this episode, I talk to Daniel Stillman, a conversation designer and host of the podcast “The Conversation Factory”. We talk about the difference and similarities between facilitation, conversation design and coaching. And, we talk a lot about power dynamics and how you deal with them and take them into account when designing group conversations that shall solve a problem. In the show, Daniel and I discuss a lot about the circumstances that determine our choices of exercises – depending on the purpose of a workshop, group dynamics, and stakeholder groups. Don't miss our arguments related to the “Fishbowl Conversation” that led us to explore how to evaluate which exercises were appropriate in specific situations. Click here to download the free 1-page summaryDon't miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Feeling inspired by the conversation in this episode? We can have our own - take a seat at my virtual table as part of a Mastermind Group.Questions and Answers[1:43] What's your story? How did you turn from a BA in Physics into a conversation designer?[5:48] How did the experience of power dynamics impact you and your style of working in designing conversations?[10:43] Is there actually a line between being a conversation designer, a facilitator, moderator and a coach?[25:24] So what's according to you the most effective way to make a decision with a large group?[27:54] To what extent do you believe does the facilitator has a responsibility to protect the group from their decisions being highjacked by the p[roblem-owner?[29:43] What is the key skill according to you, since you are also teaching facilitating managers, what is the key skill that they should learn first?[30:46] Can you learn that? Can you teach that?[33:24] According to you, what makes a workshop fail?[37:48] So how much time do you usually spend on understanding the participants before him?[40:53] I would be curious to hear how you define the experience in the context of a conversation.[43:21] What's your favourite exercise?[46:49] If someone fell asleep after a minute, just woke up and doesn't have time to listen to the entire show again. What do you want them to remember?Related links you may want to check out:Daniel's conversation with Robert Bordone (Podcast,The Conversation Factory)Timothy Gallwey “The inner game of Tennis”Barry O'Reilly “Unlearn” Conversation OSThe Fishbowl Conversation (Exercise)Knowle's principle of andragogy Daniel's book: "The 30 Second Elephant and the Paper Airplane Experiment: Origami for Design Thinking"Our sponsor Session Lab (affiliate link) Other shows we mentioned: Rein Sevenstern on How to create experiences for your audienceConnect to Daniel: on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter @dastillman
Buckle in, ladies and gentlemen, for some straight talk about the future of work, the nature of the universe and the power of changing systems to change behavior. Today I'm sharing a deep and rambling conversation I had a few months back with Aaron Dignan, author of Brave New Work and founder of the Ready, an org transformation partner to companies like Airbnb, Edelman and charity: water. He is a cofounder of responsive.org, an amazing community of like-minded transformation professionals. If you haven't checked out their conference, it's great. I co-facilitated some sessions there last year and I can highly recommend it. You should also check out the episode I had recently on asking better questions with Robin Zander, who hosts the conference. http://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/2019/4/23/robin-p-zander-asking-better-questions I owe a debt of gratitude to Aaron. It was his OS Canvas, published in 2016 on Medium, that got me thinking differently about my own work in Conversation Design and led me to develop my own Conversation OS Canvas. His OS Canvas clarified and simplified a complex domain of thinking – organizational change – into (then) just nine factors. In the book it's evolved into 12 helpful prompts to provoke clear thinking and to accelerate powerful conversations about how to change the way we work – if you are willing to create the time and space for the conversation. Aaron doesn't pull any punches – as he says, “the way we work is badly broken and a century old”. And he figures that “a six year old could design a good org, you just have to ask the socratic questions.” His OS Canvas can help you start the conversation about changing the way you work in your org and his excellent book will help you dive deep into principles, practices and stories for each element of the OS. You'll find in the show notes some deep-dives on the two core principles of org design from the book. The first principle is being complexity Conscious. The second is being people positive. For more on complexity – dig into Cynefin (which is not spelled the way it sounds). And for more on people positivity, there's a link to Theory X vs Theory Y, a very helpful mental model in management theory. Another powerful idea that I want to highlight is Aaron's suggestion that we all have our own “system of operating” or “a way of being in the world” which is “made up of assumptions and principles and practices and norms and patterns of behavior and it's coded into the system.” Aaron goes on to say that “people are chameleons and people are highly sensitive to the culture and environment they're in. And the system, the aquarium, the container tells us a lot about how we're supposed to show up. And over time it can even beat us into submission. And so we have to change the system and that's hard to do when we're reinforcing things that we ourselves didn't even create,” From my own work on conversation design, it's very clear to me that communication is held in a space, or transmitted through an interface – the air, the internet, a whiteboard. The space your culture happens in is one very key component of how to shift your culture. Check out my episode with Elliot of Brightspot Strategy for more on changing conversations through changing spaces: http://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/2017/7/24/elliot-felix-of-brightspot-strategy-on-changing-conversations-through-changing-spaces Changing your physical space is easy compared with shifting power and distributing authority more thoughtfully in your organization. To do that, we need to shift not just our org structures, but our own OS: we need more leaders who can show up as facilitators and coaches rather than order-givers. And that takes, as Aaron points out, a brave mindset. If you want to become a more facilitative leader of innovation and change in your company, you should definitely apply before August to the first cohort of the 12-week Innovation Leadership Accelerator I'm co-hosting with Jay Melone from New Haircut, a leader in Design Sprint Training. It kicks off in NYC with a 2-day workshop in September, runs for 12 weeks of remote coaching and closes with another 2-day workshop. We'll have several amazing guest coaches during the program – a few of which have been wonderful guests on this very show: Jim Kalbach, author of Mapping Experiences and head of Customer Success at Mural and Bree Groff, Principle at SY Partners and former CEO of change consultancy NOBL. http://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/2018/2/5/jim-kalbach-gets-teams-to-map-experiences http://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/season-three/bree-groff-grief-and-change Show Notes The OS Canvas Medium post that started it all for me: https://medium.com/the-ready/the-os-canvas-8253ac249f53 The Ready https://theready.com/ Brave New Work https://www.bravenewwork.com/ Complexity Conscious: Cynefin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework Being people positive: Theory X vs Theory Y https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_X_and_Theory_Y Capitalism needs to be reformed: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/04/05/capitalism-needs-to-be-reformed-warns-billionare-ray-dalio.html The Lake Wobegon Effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Wobegon Game Frame https://www.amazon.com/Game-Frame-Using-Strategy-Success/dp/B0054U5EHA The Four Sons as four personalities at work in us: https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/passover/which-four-children-are-you MECE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MECE_principle Fish and Water: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/97082-there-are-these-two-young-fish-swimming-along-and-they The Finger and the Moon: https://fakebuddhaquotes.com/i-am-a-finger-pointing-to-the-moon-dont-look-at-me-look-at-the-moon/ also from Amelie! https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/am%C3%A9lie Zen Flesh, Zen Bones https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Flesh-Bones-Collection-Writings/dp/0804831866 Agile https://agilemanifesto.org/ Open Source Agility: http://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/2017/6/23/dan-mezick-on-agile-as-an-invitation-to-a-game The Heart of Agile http://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/2017/7/19/alistair-cockburn-on-the-heart-of-agile-jazz-dialog-and-guest-leadership Lean https://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm Open https://opensource.com/open-organization Information Radiators http://www.agileadvice.com/2005/05/10/bookreviews/information-radiators/ Asking better questions: http://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/2019/4/23/robin-p-zander-asking-better-questions Loss in Change: http://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/season-three/bree-groff-grief-and-change Mapping experiences: http://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/2018/2/5/jim-kalbach-gets-teams-to-map-experiences
Zach Johnson is CEO and co-founder of Xandra, a conversation design studio. Earlier in his career, he was CEO at SPARK Bureau and Atmail. Way back in the 1990's he was with iXL in Boston and Germany during the rapid rise of the web. He is a graduate of the New School and today splits time between Australia and New York. Xandra has worked on some of the highest profile Alexa skills available today including Westworld The Maze, The Sponge Bob Challenge, and Sesame Street.
Today I talk with Matt Mayberry, Head of Business Development at Boundless Mind. Boundless Mind popped up on my radar when their awesome and free ebook on Behavioral Design shot up to #1 on Product Hunt. I'm thrilled Matt came on the show and shared his story. His own passion for behavioral design came from his experiences watching critical patients resist changing behaviors that would save their lives. Even with death staring people in the face, changing deep seated behaviors is hard! Behavioral Design was something I was aware of as a UX designer but was by no means an expert. Behavior design researchers like BJ Fogg and his behavior grid was something that inspired me early on in my UX career. Since then, behavior design is something I infuse into my innovation consulting: Big change takes a big impulse. Smaller changes are easier and can snowball with the right motivation and momentum. Sitting down with Matt helped open up some new avenues to think about how behavior design is everywhere you look! Boundless mind is fascinating: They serve two sides of the challenge, for companies seeking to change behavior AND consumers wanting to reboot their addictions. The Boundless API helps companies find the optimum timing for motivating rewards and the app Space breaks that timing cycle when you need some freedom from the apps that grip your brain. We talk about how choice architecture in the real world can help shape behaviors, from organ donation rates in Germany vs Austria to how supermarkets get you to wander the whole store and buy more than your intended. Giving people too many choices makes choice harder: Architecting or limiting choices is a form of behavior design. Pulling back, Matt places *all* design into behavioral design: Industrial, UX, Service and Conversation Design *all* seek to shift behavior! One big take away I had was how small acts of mindfulness can have a big impact. Matt's CEO keeps a database of how people in his organization take their coffee and other preferences. The idea of keeping a Delight Database is amazing. While the ideal of behavior design might seem like manipulation, in the end, it's about understanding what will delight people and giving them more of what they want, at the right time. I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did making it! Key Ideas: Delight is Delight: Our Brain Lights up based on the timing, not the size of the reward There are three types of rewards: Rewards of the Self, Rewards of the Hunt or Rewards of the Tribe (more here: https://www.slideshare.net/nireyal/hooked-model/83-3_types_of_VARIABLE_REWARDSTRIBEHUNTSELFHabitforming) Rewards are *not* incentives: The "hit" from expected Incentives get dampened over time, variable rewards do not. Choice Architecture is simple way to bring behavior design into your work: Just Ask Thoreau! https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8203-i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude Show notes and Links: The Behavioral Design backstory: How a 1930's Harvard Student laid the ground work for Modern Phone Addiction: More about BF Skinner https://www.boundless.ai/blog/how-a-1930s-harvard-student-laid-the-groundwork-for-modern-phone-addiction/ Bj Fogg's Behavioral Grid http://www.behaviorgrid.org/ BJ Fogg's Behavioral Model http://www.behaviormodel.org/ Learn more about Boundless at: https://www.boundless.ai/ Read the ebook: https://www.boundless.ai/ebook get Space at: youjustneedspace.com http://youjustneedspace.com Find Matt Mayberry (if you Google him, you'll find there are several very famous people named Matt Mayberry!) twitter.com/mattmayberry medium.com/@mattmayberry Much Much More on Behavioral Design, persuasion, and habits. Hooked by Nir Eyal https://amzn.to/2KPZgKs Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg https://amzn.to/2jKSM3c Predictably Irrational by Dan Airely https://amzn.to/2I7Y4V2 Nudge by Richard Thaler https://amzn.to/2rub6C3 About Matt: Matt Mayberry is a Behavior Designer and Head of Business Development for Boundless Mind, a persuasive and behavioral technology company using Artificial Intelligence to drive behavior change in technology products. You can find his sporadic 140 character short-term writing here http://twitter.com/mattmayberry and his 1400 character longer form writing here http://medium.com/@mattmayberry.