Prompt Tips

Here are a few guidelines to follow when you are developing prompts for your speech recognition system:

Completed Integrations:

1. Never disguise the system as being a real person.
2. Ensure that prompts elicit a predictable response.
3. Offer the needed information at the right time, and try not to frontload the application with too much information.
4. Never use "Press or Say One" style prompts.
5. List options from specific to general — so that users do not choose a general category when a more specific one will be offered later.
6. Allow more time for difficult tasks: the pace of the recorded prompts dictates the pace at which the callers will respond.
7. Keep the caller in the transaction by saying "first...next...finally" or similar transition words, in the appropriate places.
8. Insert pauses in your prompts to allow experienced callers a turn–taking option to interrupt and move forward in the application.
9. Provide audio "rewards" at the completion of difficult transactions, such as "great, wonderful, excellent..."