In November 2020 I reached out to the conversation design community with a question: What do conversation designers need in their toolkit? This idea came from Steven King’s book ‘On Writing’. He suggests that writers use certain tools every time they write — grammar, style, vocabulary, etc. — and they…

We know that writing is hugely important to conversation design. But I think there’s something else that is equally important and doesn’t get enough attention. Great writing will take you toward the final result, but the user…

Words gain new meaning when said aloud — this can strengthen the message or undermine it. With this article I shine a light on how paralanguage can impact voice assistants. Paralanguage needs to be experienced to be understood — please listen to the included audio files :) Words on a screen. Words said aloud. They are not the same. Why is…

Sound brings the world to life. We listen all day (even when sleeping). Even people with partial or total hearing loss still respond to vibrations. I wrote this article as a quick introduction to important principles of sound, and why you should care about them. …

I’m doing Jesús Martín’s VUI Challenge to sharpen my skills. Jesus has a great deal of experience to share, and I enjoy doing his course when I have the time. Keeping my writing sharp is vital for great conversation design. I spend a few hours on each challenge within my…

I got feedback! This is a follow-up to the previous article. It’s best to read that first. I got some wonderful feedback from inspirational conversation designers, including the creator of the challenge. I’m doing this challenge to improve my design process. With that in mind I want to tackle as…

Continuing to share my progress as I work through Jesús Martín’s VUI Challenge… I’ve got company! My friend Maaike Groenewegge suggested we synchronise our blogs. We’re going to release our independent designs for the same challenge together — this should mean that anyone who’s interested can compare our approaches and…