No Strangers to Digital Things, Meet the Authors of "Conversations with Things"

Attend VOICE Global for a live chat with co-authors Rebecca Evanhoe and Dianna Deibel

Have you ever stopped to wonder how we interact with digital products and the thought process behind the developers and creators behind them? Rebecca Evanhoe, conversational designer, visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute, and Diana Deibel, design director, Grand Studio, are experts in understanding how people talk to technology. Together, Rebecca and Dianna co-authored the book “Conversations with Things: UX Design for Chat and Voice” to discuss the use of ethical practices in conversational design.

Pay attention to the digital things around you

Published in April 2021, “Conversations with Things” shares how to ensure conversations are designed to be practical, ethical, and human-centered -- rather than unhelpful and frustrating,offensive or biased.

According to Rebecca and Diana, it’s important to pay attention to human interaction, context, and the digital things around you when designing for voice. In fact, the authors believe that trust in the inclusivity and adoption of greater accessibility in voice needs to grow. We also need to discuss context in regards to memory, emotion, ethics, and data privacy when creating for voice. “Conversation is innately human, and so the exclusion of someone feels more potent than if it’s in a purely technological state,” says Diana.

Hear directly from the women who literally wrote the on UX for voice

Are you a design practitioner involved in creating digital products or a developers who have built voice or chatbot projects but may not be familiar with advanced design? Join the authors, and Modev CEO Pete Erickson, live at the virtual VOICE Global event, June 15-16, 2021, for an in-depth discussion featuring best practices for conversation design, including actionable examples in voice and more. Check the agenda here and join in on the conversation.