Presentation at Bristol UX 2014 by Gordon Plant and Carole Court.

1. 1
Product Voice:
When a product speaks,
what voice do you hear?
Gordon Plant & Carole Court
@gordonplant
@cazlovam

2. 2
User Experience always has two actors…

3. 3
…the words in the UI are one half of the dialogue…

4. 4
…but the actors can’t see each other
I s my
s it e
o n l in e?

5. 5
Imaginary dialogues where the actors can’t see each
other are not uncommon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009LOJG8I
Commentary:
Texts from Dog
imagines conversation
between a dog and it’s
owner.

6. 6
Texts from Dog
http://textfromdog.tumblr.com/
Commentary:
The dog and the owner
don’t have to be made
visible through drawings
or images – all we need
is the voice of each and
we can imagine the rest
because we all know
something about dogs.

7. 7
Polite but evil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwBmPiOmEGQ
Commentary:
HAL, the computer in
Kubrick’s 2001 A
Space Odyssey, is
polite but this does not
prevent it being evil.

8. 8
Polite but evil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwBmPiOmEGQ
Commentary:
When Dave is stuck
outside of the
spaceship, HAL even
says ‘sorry’

9. 9
Polite but evil
Script excerpt from 2001 a Space Odyssey
Dave : Hello, HAL. Do you read me, HAL?
HAL: Affirmative, Dave. I read you.
Dave : Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
Dave : What's the problem?
HAL: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
Dave : What are you talking about, HAL?
HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
….
Dave : Alright, HAL. I'll go in through the emergency airlock.
HAL: Without your space helmet, Dave? You're going to find that rather difficult.
Dave : HAL, I won't argue with you anymore! Open the doors!
HAL: Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.
Commentary:
So HAL, the system, is
really polite as it tries
to kill Dave, the user.
Like most frustrated
users, Dave starts to
loose his temper when
the system refuses to
respond.

10. 10
Polite but evil Commentary:
But what if the
Spaceship was
controlled by Google
Plus instead of HAL?

11. 11
A different voice
Script excerpt with Google+ in the role of HAL
Dave : Hello, Google+. Do you read me, Google+?
Google+: Yeah I got you Dave!
Dave : Open the pod bay doors, Google+.
Google+: Aw snap! The Pod Bay doors can’t be opened.
Dave : What's the problem?
Google+: That’s all we know
Dave : What are you talking about, Google+?
Google+: Opening the Pod Bay doors would not be cool right now.
….
Dave : Alright, Google+. I'll go in through the emergency airlock.
Google+: Check out this video on why you’ll need a space helmet.
Dave : Google+, I won't argue with you anymore! Open the doors!
Google+: Hey, I’ve got more videos. And Maps! And Apps!
Commentary:
The user’s words are
the same but by
changing the voice of
the system we can
reveal a different kind
of product. This
product is still evil and
still polite but it’s
certainly not HAL.

12. 12
ARCHETYPES, CHARACTERS, VOICES
Commentary:
Developing a
consistent voice
means understanding
the character that’s
speaking. And we think
that’s easier if we start
with a grasp of
Archetypes.

13. 13
Archetype
• Archetype: “a collectively-inherited
unconscious idea, pattern of thought,
image, etc., that is universally present
in individual psyches”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetype
Archetypes in Branding:
A Toolkit for Creatives and Strategists
ISBN 978-1440308185
http://www.archetypesinbranding.com/
Commentary:
Archetypes in
Branding is a great
resource and I highly
recommend you buy a
copy. It come with tear-
out cards you can use
in a variety of ways.

14. 14
Archetype
Archetype
Character
Dialogue
Voice
Commentary:
We see an archetype
as the top level, the big
idea that surrounds the
other concepts that
can help develop a
great product voice.

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Exercise introduction
Using archetypes for a single step dialogue
Archetype Core desire
Innocent Get to paradise
Everyman Connecting with others
Hero Prove one’s worth through courageous acts
Caregiver Protect and care for others
Explorer Freedom to discover self through travel
Rebel Revenge or revolution
Lover Intimacy and experience
Creator Create things of enduring value
Jester Live in the moment with full enjoyment
Sage Find the truth
Magician Understand the fundamental laws of the universe
Ruler Control
Source: http://www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html

16. 16
Workshop #1
Payment failure
1. Choose an archetype
2. Write the dialogue a customer will see if their credit card fails whilst
attempting to purchase an item from your commerce site
3. Background info:
– When a card fails, the card issuer does not say what the cause of the failure
was
– In some cases, the transaction may work if if the card holder tries again after
a few minutes

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Workshop #2
Festival tickets
1. Choose an archetype
2. Imagine you are designing a site that allows users to buy tickets for
festivals
3. Write the dialogue a customer will see when they create an account and
buy a festival ticket
4. Background info:
– Some festivals sell out fast
– Some festivals limit the number of tickets to less than the number of friends
you may have
– Some festivals require pre-registration to establish identity

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CONTEXT AND TONE
s o met hin g
r eal l y bad
happen ed an d w e
hav e n o id ea
w hat it w as
Commentary:
We mostly want systems to
speak the truth to us and we
want to hear the truth in an
appropriate tone of voice. This
is especially true if it’s bad
news.

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Establish tone
Different user greetings:
– Howdy Gordon!
– Welcome back Gordon
– You last logged in at 12:52:31 on 12-04-2014
– Your Majesty, it is our humble pleasure to welcome you once again
Commentary:
When someone greets us, the
greeting carries additional
information that establishes the
tone of the conversation to
follow. The first three here are
real, the last imagined.

20. 20
A PRODUCT WITH A CLEAR VOICE CAN
ANSWER ANY QUESTION
http://freddiesjokes.com/
Commentary:
Mailchimp is a great example of a
product that has a well developed
product voice based on a clear
archetype. These jokes might
appear to be simple but it’s really
very challenging to create
something as good as this.

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Choose a suitable tone for
the context
Context User’s feelings Tone
Publishing (email
campaign)
Busyness, stress • Provide a little comic relief, but don’t annoy
or distract busy users with over-the-top
humour or too many extra words.
Success message Relief, Pride, Joy • Pat these users on the back for getting a
campaign out the door.
• Feel free to be funny.
Failure message Confusion, stress,
anger
• Be calm.
• Don’t use exclamation points or alarming
words like “alert” or "immediately.”
• Be serious. Don’t joke around with frustrated
people.
Source http://voiceandtone.com/
Commentary:
Mailchimp knows when to stop
joking. Their Voice and Tone site
gives some good advice about
how to vary the tone of voice to
match the context.

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Hierarchy of needs
Engaging
Consistent
Appropriate
Clear
Users understand
and can complete
tasks
Users are not
offended
Users are not
surprised
Users are enjoying
dialogue
Commentary:
We can say that a voice is
clear if we can
understand it. We can say
a voice is appropriate if
we can understand it and
we judge it to be in
keeping with our
expectations. If a voice
avoids surprising us, we
can say it is consistent. If
we enjoy the voice then
we can say it is engaging.

23. 23
Voices everywhere
Commentary:
All of this applies to all sorts of
products and Innocent is a
great example of this. This
label from a drink has a very
clear voice that is an integral
part of the brand.

24. 24
ANSWERING QUESTIONS
Graucho Marx

25. 25
Product conversations start
with questions
Question
type
Explicit question Implicit question
Who? Who are you? Should I trust you?
What? What do you do? What can you do for me?
When? How long should this take? How long will this take me?
Cost? How much does this cost? How much will this cost me?
Commentary:
When users first meet a
product, they often have
questions that need to be
answered before the dialogue
can really begin.

26. 26
What?
Who?
How
long?
How
much?
Commentary:
Pinterest is an example of product that answers the most
common questions right up front.

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The three functions of dialogue
1. Move the story forward
2. Reveal the character
3. Impart important information
http://allwritefictionadvice.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/revealing-characters-through-dialogue.html
“Readers want to know about the traits and
behaviour of characters. They want to know
how your characters tick.”
A J Humpage, http://allwritefictionadvice.blogspot.co.uk/
Commentary:
The Pinterest sign up
process meets all the
requirements for dialogue.

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Move the story
forward
Impart information

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Reveal character

30. 30
Want to save this Pin for yourself?
Go ahead and Pin it

31. 31
You collect your Pins on boards
so everything’s nice and organised

32. 32
Psst.
Don’t forget to confirm your email. Just look for the message we sent you.

33. 33
FORMALITY
Commentary:
Our expectations or
formality change
depending on the context.
When I engage in a
commercial transaction, I
usually expect an
appropriate degree of
formality the varies
depending on the
importance of the
transaction.

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Formality in the business /
customer relationship
• Many languages use different pronouns to denote formality or familiarity
when addressing people (the T–V distinction). This also applies in
common phrases such as "How are you?".[2] The use of an
inappropriately familiar form may be seen as derogatory, insulting or
even aggressive. Conversely, forms that are inappropriately formal may
be seen as impolitely snobbish[3] or distant.
• Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette_in_Europe
Commentary:
In England, we don’t
commonly use formal
modes of address when
speaking but other
cultures have different
rules.

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Formality is cultural
www.debretts.com
Commentary:
In English culture, there are still some
circumstances where formality is required.
Although most of us don’t meet the Queen very
often, Debretts provides ample evidence that an
understanding of formal modes of address is still
considered essential in some dialogues.

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Summary
• Writing good dialogue is a core part of creating a good
experience for the user
• Writing clear, appropriate dialogue can be hard
• Archetypes can give us a starting point to create a character
• A character can give us way to understand and create a
dialogue
Commentary:
We think that using archetypes can help with
process of developing a a voice for your product.

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END
@gordonplant
@cazlovam
Thanks to:
Jon Waring at Three Sixty
Margaret Hartwell and Joshua C. Chen