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Enhancing the Natural Conversation Experience Through Conversation Analysis – A Design Method

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HCI International 2023 – Late Breaking Papers (HCII 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14054))

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Abstract

As Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) become increasingly embedded in a wide range of activities in our everyday life, it falls to the conversation designer to ensure that the user experience is a satisfactory one. Embedding qualities of natural speech in the design output is considered one way to achieve this. Conversation Analysis (CA), the study of naturally-occurring talk and interaction, has been proposed as a useful tool in developing VUIs. However, little practical advice is currently available for how conversation designers can leverage CA for improving the VUI user experience. Drawing on a collaboration between Conversation Analysts and conversation designers, this paper outlines a step-by-step workflow of conversation design procedures that allow designers greater opportunities to link the study of natural talk with the conversational design output. This enables designers to build on general insights from CA as well as specific instances of human-human interactional data, modelling the VUI design on naturally-occurring patterns for carrying out equivalent interactional activities. In the examples, we highlight such features as word choice, intonation contouring, stress, and pitch, to show how naturally-occurring interactional data can provide a platform on which to develop the design of a conversational agent.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    There are other genres, for example verbatim theatre and post-dramatic theatre, which do draw more closely on the features of actual social interaction.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by a British Academy Innovation Fellowship (IF2223/230141).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Spencer Hazel & Adam Brandt

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  1. Spencer Hazel
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  2. Adam Brandt
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Correspondence to Adam Brandt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Open University of Japan, Chiba, Japan

    Masaaki Kurosu

  2. Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan

    Ayako Hashizume

  3. Aaron Marcus and Associates, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Aaron Marcus

  4. World Usability Day and Bubble Mountain Consulting, Newton Center, MA, USA

    Elizabeth Rosenzweig

  5. Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

    Marcelo M. Soares

  6. Coventry University, Coventry, UK

    Don Harris

  7. Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK

    Wen-Chin Li

  8. Soar Technology Inc., Orlando, FL, USA

    Dylan D. Schmorrow

  9. Katmai Government Services, Orlando, FL, USA

    Cali M. Fidopiastis

  10. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Pei-Luen Patrick Rau

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Hazel, S., Brandt, A. (2023). Enhancing the Natural Conversation Experience Through Conversation Analysis – A Design Method. In: Kurosu, M., et al. HCI International 2023 – Late Breaking Papers. HCII 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14054. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48038-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48038-6_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-48038-6

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