So, what exactly is conversation design?

According to Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of a conversation is:

A conversation can be any type of interaction between two or more people — like sending a text message, replying to a social media comment or talking with a friend. Conversations are how humans innately communicate with one another.

Research at Harvard University shows that humans learn language from a very early age. Even before we are born, we are primed with learning language through cultural experiences and societal norms. As we continue to learn patterns of conversation, our brain rewires itself to represent native language. It is important to have a foundational understanding of human conversation when designing a conversational interaction.

Let’s take a look at an example. In 2006, Saturday Night Live produced a skit called Julie, the Operator Lady. The skit shows how an interactive voice response (IVR) system would sound in a human-to-human interaction. Pay close attention to how Julie seems unnatural and oftentimes robotic.