As a voice designer with a background in linguistics and neuroscience, Brielle sees a promising future in bringing voice-first interfaces to the forefront in her field. 

The instinctive art of conversation

Before she entered the field of voice technology, Brielle was already fascinated by language; she often noticed how people said things and thought about why they may express themselves in a particular way.

“That’s really what linguistics is,” Brielle explains. “Becoming a ‘pattern identifier’ is one of the most important things we do.”

In college, Brielle was able to observe these patterns in greater detail. She took a class dedicated to analyzing videos of every day interactions, often as straight-forward as those between a customer and a storekeeper. This experience gave Brielle a greater appreciation for the complexities of human interaction.

“There are all these amazing ways that we communicate that we don’t even think...

“Without a doubt, it’s an exciting time to enter the voice design industry”, enthuses Brooke Hawkins, a conversational designer based in Detroit, Michigan.

“The field is being shaped as it is growing,” she explains. “And a lot of the technology is new and exciting.”

An example is smart speakers, which have proliferated in recent years. With these devices, a user can search the internet for anything they can imagine. 

Smart speakers can check home security, turn on lights, or turn up the heat in a home. 

Conversational design is shaping the future

Says Brooke: “The decisions that people are making right now in conversational design are really important, not only in terms of shaping our relationships with smart speakers, but our relationships with one another.”

Many projects conversational designers work on are complicated and will appeal to anyone who enjoys a complex challenge. 

In addition, conversational design...

Sina Kahen is a positive and energetic guy. 

Only once during his podcast interview does he express exasperation. And that’s when he thinks about businesses wanting a chatbot or voice interaction interface without considering the reasons why.

Sina is a voice strategist and owner of voice strategy consultancy Vaice. Based in the U.K., Sina is big on understanding the ‘Why’ behind a business's desire to implement a voice interface.

Voice interfaces aren’t the cure to everything

“Some businesses do think that voice is the cure to everything,” he observes. 

“It kind of reminds me of when the microwave came out. It was like: ‘You don’t need an oven, you don’t need fire anymore. Just chuck it in the microwave and it will do everything.”

Sina says that many businesses think this way because the voice community initially pushed the voice-first message. Not web first, not mobile first, but voice first. 

...

If you have a left-brain-right-brain thing happening, a way of thinking that allows you to engage creatively and logically - chances are you will excel at conversational design, also known as voice interaction design.

Many people who enter that conversational design have the advantage of left-brain-right-brain thinking, although this isn’t essential to succeed in this field. .

Most of all, Curiosity is the key to success for a career in conversational design, says Rebecca Evanhoe, a conversational designer based in Brooklyn, New York. 

“Be curious and be interested in teaching yourself,” she says.

Be curious and love learning

In a recent podcast interview, Rebecca said: “An example of that is I don’t have a linguistics background. I never studied it, but it’s really important to understand how people talk to each other, so that’s something I have studied on my own.”

Rebecca’s career in voice tech began with a plane trip from...

The Digital Assistant Academy launches its first ever course in October - Voice Interaction Design. 

The Academy’s founder, Shyamala Prayaga, says its launch signifies an exciting news step forward in the world of conversational design and voice technology.

“Wherever you are in your career, you’ve decided to take a big step, learn some new skills and position yourself to take advantage of the growing opportunities in voice design,” she said. 

A standardized approach to voice interaction design

“Perhaps you want to design for some of the most well-known companies on the planet. Maybe you want to start your own design business. Whatever your dream is, the Digital Assistant Academy can help.”

There are some important reasons behind the Academy’s launch. Currently there is no standardized approach to courses available for voice interaction design. The Academy has worked hard with key people in industry to create a standardized...

The Digital Assistant Academy’s very first course, entitled Voice Interaction Design, launches in October, 2020.

This ground-breaking learning opportunity is a self-paced course with access to ongoing support. It allows you to become a Certified Voice Interaction Designer.

Demand for voice technologies has never been greater, and there is a real need for qualified voice interaction designers who can address every aspect of the voice technology design process.

The Digital Assistant Academy is founded by Shyamala  Prayaga, a voice technology thought-leader with more than 20 years experience in the industry. Shyamala has designed for mobile, web, desktop, and voice-based interfaces.

By taking the Voice Interaction Design course, you will access all of Shyamala’s knowledge and experience as a thought leader and influencer in the world of voice technology. And you will learn voice interaction design from active industry leaders and practitioners!

Pre-registration course...