The Ultimate Guide to Conversational Design

Conversation has become the new "king" of online marketing. Customers no longer want to passively consume polished advertising claims. They want to take part, they crave to experience what your brand is about. Moreover, they want to feel an emotional connection that will solidify the "correctness" of their choice. In other words, the experience economy trend has changed the marketing landscape and brought us to the foothills of conversational design.

That's why you are here.

The talk of and interest in conversational UI design is not entirely new. However, with the increasing ease with which we can create conversational experiences has opened this topic to a much wider audience.

While we have become masters of online content, subduing the arts of SEO, readability and user-friendly formatting, creating conversations has left many business and professional writers at a loss.

For one thing, conversations don't seem to have rules. They are unpredictable, more personal and the use of colloquial language often goes against instincts when trying to create an image of authority and expertise.

So, we put together The Ultimate Guide to Conversational Design to provide a holistic resource for those interested in tackling the art of conversation and understanding the role of language in design. The guide will:

• Explore the reasons for the sudden rise of conversational interfaces (AKA chatbots);
• Define what is conversational design;
• Identify its three pillars;
• Outline the fundamental elements of conversational UI;
• Dig into the crucial steps of conversational UI creation prep;
• List the Dos and Don'ts of writing a bot conversation that engages and converts

1. The Rise of Conversational Interfaces: What Can We Learn from Texting?

Before we started using chats and messages to talk to bots, we used to talk to each other. The stats clearly show that our society has become strangely fond of texting, messaging, chatting - whatever you wish to call it. In the past decade, the number of monthly sent and received texts sent has increased by over 7.700% in the US. In fact, 97% of Americans text a minimum once a day.

Texting can be truly immersive. In fact, we are so compelled to attend to our messages that we often do so at the risk of our own health and safety while crossing a street or driving. In this, we are all guilty. According to a study by Twilio:

• incredible 82% of consumers keep messaging notifications ON;
• An average person has 3 messaging apps on their smartphone home screen and uses 3 different messaging apps per week.

Messaging, though completely technology-enabled has become a fundamental part of human experience.

Why are we so compelled to read, answer, and respond?

Erika Hall, in her book Conversational Design, argues that the attraction of texting has little to do with high-production values, rich media, or the complexity of the messaging features. Instead, she claims, it's the always-accessible social connection, the brevity, and unpredictability of chat conversation that triggers the release of dopamine and motivates to come back for more.

Consumer fascination with chatting led businesses and marketers to believe that conversation is the best model to engage and captivate our ever-more fleeting attention. They were not wrong. Coupled with a hunger for more personalized experiences and emotional connection with brands brought about by the experience economy, conversational approach has started to win over consumers all over the world.

Since conversation is intrinsic to our daily existence, the more an interface leverages its functionalities, the less you need to teach your visitors how to use it.

However, Hall further elaborates that while the experience starts on screen, the real magic happens in our minds. We consume these brief messages riddled with subtle linguistic hints and our mind translates them into personality, humor and coherent narrative.

This is why trying to be conversational intentionally is not that easy.

Conversations are immediate and painstakingly dependent on context. Hence, artificially creating a natural-sounding flow takes more insight than it's apparent at first glance.

That's why it's important to regard conversational design as its own discipline.

2. What is Conversational Design?

You can decide to adjust your website's copy to leverage conversational principles. Or, you can build a whole CI. Either way, it's important to understand the best chatbot practices and that conversation design is not a simple act of writing down text in a conversational format.

Similarly to the process of designing a website or writing a book or a movie script, it requires a complex set of skills and careful planning. Conversational UI design is, in fact, a combination of several disciplines including copywriting, UX design, interaction design, visual design, motion design, and, if relevant, voice and audio design.

Google compares the job of a conversational designer to that of an architect who maps out what users can do and achieve in a particular space while considering user's experience, needs and technological limitations. In other words, conversation design not only requires the use of natural conversational language but also creating logically sound conversational flow and its design specifications that capture the entire user experience.

Mastering the rules is the key to a successful sales and conversational marketing strategy. So, let's take a look!

3. The Three Pillars of Conversation Design

Before you go off designing chatbots, you need to get comfortable using language in conversational context. The first step towards that is understanding the three core pillars that make conversation a conversation:

I. Cooperative Principle

The cooperative principle was first phrased by philosopher Paul Grice in 1975 as part of his pragmatic theory. According to this principle, effective communication among two or more people relies on the premise that there is underlying cooperation between the participants.

In other words, instinctively, we don't just act cooperatively ourselves but we also expect this kind of behavior from others.

This is called "conversational implicature." The idea behind conversational implicature is that what we say in a conversation is hardly ever literal so we subconsciously identify the real intention of the speaker by drawing upon the library of shared "world knowledge" that underlines all our conversations.

Grice further explained that for a conversation to feel natural and comfortable the cooperative principle also needs to respect what he called "maxims:"

Maxim of Quantity
Means that the speaker gives the listener only as much information as is necessary to further the perceived purpose of the conversation. But not too much. Common Chatbot Error: Allowing your chatbot to share too much information in response to one conversational query. Giving the user a long chunk of text to read which feels unnatural in a conversation.

Maxim of Quality
Is about what we say, the truthfulness and quality of information. A speaker who lies or misinforms ignores this maxim. Common Chatbot Error: The information the bot provides is incomplete, incorrect and/or outdated due to poor planning or lack of maintenance.

Maxim of Relevance
This means exactly what you think it means. It's about contributing only the information that is relevant to the topic of conversation. Common Chatbot Error: In an attempt to push the sale, the chatbot offers information that is not relevant to the user's question without giving the user a chance to opt-in or out of receiving this extra information.

Maxim of Manner
Expresses the way people attempt to communicate clearly, without ambiguity. Common Chatbot Error: The information provided by the chatbot is unclear, ambiguous or contradictory leaving the user more confused.

Clifford Nass, a renowned authority on human-computer interaction claimed in his book, The Media Equation that "people tend to treat computers and other media as if they were either real people or real places." Hence, when presented with a conversation, people subconsciously follow the rules of a human-to-human conversation even if they are aware that they are speaking a software.

II. Turn-Taking

Another pillar of a functional conversation is turn-taking. Seems obvious, yet many first-time bot designers forget to give users space to actually interact.

If you have used a chatbot in the past, you might have experienced being sent a message after message without being given the chance to respond. If you are to have a conversation with the user, you must allow for it to happen. It goes hand in hand with respecting the maxim of quantity.

Peter Hodgson identifies turn-taking as the mechanism by which we resolve ambiguity and repair conversations. Chatbots are not sophisticated enough to understand subtle social cues, so the role of the designer is to make transitional prompts (such as questions) more explicit yet natural.

III. Context

Design conversations that work for the users in their context. Talking to machines is still in its diapers. So, in order to make people feel comfortable, you need to focus on the user's physical and emotional context and the kinds of conversations that can serve them in that context. For instance:

• if you are designing a voice interface, you need to take into account the social environment of the user;
• if a user is on the go using a mobile device, you should design your questions and need for answers accordingly (keep it short & to the point);
• is the chatbot assisting users in emotional distress, in a hurry?

4. Common Elements of Conversational UI

There are multiple conversational elements you can use to put the theoretical principles of conversational design into practice:

Greeting
Bot introduces itself and its function. Example: Hi, there! - Welcome! - My name is XXX and I will/can...

Ending
A natural end to a conversation to provide closure to the user and highlight the bot's social intelligence. Example: You're all set. Thank you for your order. Goodbye.

Question
One of the most effective prompts to keep the user engaged with the conversation, gather information and narrow the focus of the conversation. Example: What kind of topping would you like? - What's your name? - What size do you prefer?

Acknowledgment
Ensures user that their input has been received. Example: Okay. - Got it. - Thank you.

Informational Statement
An informational statement can manifest as general information, an overview or a menu. Every information statement should be followed by another prompt. Example: Here are the opening hours, would you like to know anything else?

Suggestion
Suggestions can be provided by your chatbot to help the user answer a question or make a decision. Example: If you want a free express delivery for your future orders, I can sign you up for our membership. Are you interested?

Apology
An important component that you should try to avoid using too often. It should always be followed by offering an alternative option. Example: Unfortunately, I don't deliver to your ZIP code, would you like to pick up your order at one of our centers closest to your home?

Confirmation
Provide users confirmation on how the bot understood their input. Example: You ordered 12" pizza with a cheese crust, pepperoni and extra onion. Would you like to make changes to your order or proceed to checkout?

Discourse Marker
Discourse marker linguistically/emotionally relates our upcoming words to what was previously said. Examples: Also - Above all - Ironically - Fortunately - As an example - In that case - In other words - Consequently - By the way...

Error
Errors happen when your chatbot cannot proceed. The way you handle errors defines the success of the whole conversation. Example: Sorry, there seems to be something wrong with your email address, please type it in again!

Buttons
Buttons are a pre-set visual element of a conversational UI. They help users to focus conversation, discover possible next steps, and take quick action.

Audio-Visual Elements
Technology-enabled conversations allow you to use a wide variety of media as part of the conversation. Audio, video, Gifs and images can be used to answer questions as well as add personality to your bot.

5. Conversational Interface Design: Where to Start

Now that you are familiar with the basic pillars and functional elements of conversational design, you can start thinking about your bot. Though, there are a few steps that need to be done before you get to the technical part:

Define the Audience

The first task on your list is defining the audience you expect to interact with your bot. Thinking of your users first will help you avoid designing the bot to fulfill your goals only. You can start by asking and answering crucial questions:

• Who are your customers/users?
• What are their problems, needs and goals?
• How do they try to solve these problems and achieve their goals?
• Which words and phrases do they use to talk about these actions/tasks?
• What kinds of situations or circumstances trigger these actions?
• What is their context?

Answering these questions helps you form specific user personas. Once you have the persona, you can define his or her customer journey. Create 2-3 specific user personas and their journeys that describe your best customers. Use real customer data, not just your impressions of customer problems and behavior.

Define the Role and Type of Your Chatbot

When defining what use cases to target and what type of bot to use, you need to consider technical limitations, level of effort required, timeline, and budget. You can opt for:

Artificial Intelligence-based Chatbot
AI bots leverage Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning to communicate with users. These types of bots give their users more freedom of interaction but require high technical knowledge and more complex script writing. Recommended to: Larger businesses or businesses with a substantial budget.

Rule-based Chatbot
Rule-based bots rely on the premise of "choose your own adventure" giving users conversationally designed options. Non-AI bots give your users less freedom but maintain you in control of the conversational flow. Recommended to: Small businesses, entrepreneurs & marketing agencies with a limited budget and low technical knowledge.

Design your Chatbot Persona

Essentially, a chatbot persona is what makes digital systems feel more human. It's there to give your customers a consistent experience. This is not optional. If you want to design a successful conversational interface, it must have a defined personality.

Think of your persona as a character in the virtual world. This character is an extension of your brand. Define your persona's tone, level of politeness, and writing patterns. Google's guide to creating a persona suggests:

• Step 1: Brainstorm characterizing adjectives (friendly, funny, competent, compassionate)
• Step 2: Cut your list to 4-6 most important adjectives
• Step 3: Define several characters that could embody this personality
• Step 4: Select the character that best embodies the chosen personality traits and matches your brand
• Step 5: Create or find a visual representation of this persona

Outline Dialogue Flow

Regardless of how tempting it may be, don't start by writing the script. First, you need a bulletproof outline of the dialogue flow. Outlining the flow means writing down the questions in a logical sequence with all possible answers and follow-ups. This way you are likely to identify missing paths and dead ends.

A linear conversational flow is a question-answer model which doesn't give any options to move away from the main subject. A non-linear conversation flow allows for conversation to take various routes, which can make the conversation sound significantly more natural but is also much harder to plan.

Start Writing Your Script

Once the flow diagram is in place, you are free to expand and perfect your script. Start with the main flow and branch out as needed.

6. Do's and Don'ts of Conversational Design

As Ruben Babu points out, chatbot conversations need to be written in a way that helps users navigate through complex systems, find out what's possible, and achieve their goals.

Do: Be Conversational
Avoid plain, impersonal statements you would never say when talking to another person.
Wrong: "The email you entered is invalid."
Right: "Actually, there seems to be a problem with the email address. Try retyping to make sure I get it right."

Do: Use Greeting and Ending — Always
No conversation ever starts out of the blue. There is always some form of greeting or initial pleasantry. Similarly, no polite conversation just stops without some kind of conclusion.

Do: Keep it Short and Sweet
You are writing a conversation, not a blog. If the customer wanted to read long explanations, they would visit your website. Break long information down into multiple bubbles. Don't write more than 3-4 bubbles per turn.

Do: Use Emoji and Rich Content (Sensibly)
Emojis and rich media allow you to make up for the missing gestures and expressions we perceive in a real face-to-face conversation. Be creative, but don't overdo it and always remember the context.

Do: Design for Multiple Channels
Strive to create independent, human-centered systems that will work on multiple channels — Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, website embedding, or chatbot landing page.

Do: Be Transparent & Allow for Corrections
Your chatbot should always keep customers informed about what is going on. Be clear and specific about the process, repeat important information, and allow users to amend it if necessary.

Don't: Teach Commands or Give Instructions
Conversational interfaces work because they feel natural and people intuitively know how to use them. If you need to "teach" people how to use it, you are doing it wrong.

Don't: Leave any Dead Ends
Ensure that every single branch has an appropriate ending and doesn't leave the user hanging. Double and triple-check that every thread is connected and/or has an appropriate ending.

Don't: Step out of Character
Always, under all circumstances keep your chatbot persona in mind. Keep writing habits and personality consistent throughout the entire conversation.

Do: Read the Conversation Thread Out Loud
Seems silly and simple. Nevertheless, it's a very important step. Read your thread aloud and get a second and even third opinion on it. Better yet, ask some of your best customers to test it for you.