When The Student Becomes The Teacher
Just days before the whole of the Netherlands went on lockdown, I spent two days in Amsterdam. I had a great excuse to be there: I was attending Robocopy’s Train the Trainer-boot camp. Believe it or not, only eight months ago, I was a conversation design-rookie. Now it was my turn to teach others about the craft of conversation design.
So what was it like to be on the other side of the classroom? I’d like to share with you my three key takeaways.
1. Read the room
My fellow trainees were from different backgrounds: they were conversation designers, product owners, call center agents, and even sales gurus. It was great because it provided a perfect reflection of an average workshop. In any workshop, there will be people with different roles and needs. How do you handle a room like that?
My advice: read the room. Who is afraid to lose their job? Who is just there for the technology? And who is looking for the goose with the golden eggs? Because you will encounter all three of them. Now, what do you do? Easy. Use their motivations as a springboard. Find the connection, and you can get even the most suspicious trainee to join in!
2. Make it weird
A Conversation Design workshop isn’t just theory; you also have a hands-on component. Many people will really have to step out of their comfort zone.
They have to create user- and bot personas, and they have to work out use cases. What’s more, is that they have to do all of this live — using improv theatre. Improv theatre?! The world of ‘yes and..’!? Those of us who aren’t born thespians might find it odd, even uncomfortable, to play the role of a chatbot. So my tip? Make it weird.
If you don’t have to be serious, act a little weird. Because it’ll make you take yourself less seriously, too. This makes doing sample dialogues a piece of cake! To show you what I mean, here’s a collection of the bot persona’s that my team created in those two days:
- Fernando. The Brazilian Influencer living in Milan, who only speaks using street slang.
- Martina. The seemingly boring receptionist with an intense passion for bouldering.
- LeMMMa. The Lean Mean Meme Machine, who will only answer in memes.
- Chadbot. A ‘bro’ who helps you lift. He shares his recipes, but it’s always chicken and rice.
3. Have fun!
The training to become a certified conversation designer takes a few days. And even the shortest version of this workshop takes up at least half a day. That’s why it’s important to have fun with each other. Here are a few tips to re-energize the group:
- Icebreakers: Some of us — I won’t point fingers — see a workshop as the perfect time to relax. Consumers, I call them. By energizing everyone from the start, you’ll make them join in.
- The Brain Game: Should the energy leave the room, e.g. after lunch, then it’s time for a game. My personal favorite: the Dancing Queen.
- Coffee breaks: Coffee breaks are holy to me. Why? Because it is at that moment that people will really say what they’re thinking. I always like to ask what they talked about, before resuming the workshop.
In stores now: your own licensed Conversation Design Trainer
As a Conversation Designer for Crossphase, my job is to make chatbots and voice assistants more conversational: let them speak the way humans speak. Crossphase offers its services to numerous corporations. And now, we’ve extended our repertoire and give training and workshops according to the Robocopy-method.
Whether you’re at the start of your chatbot journey or are a well-versed traveler, we’d love to help you take the right next step. Maybe you’ve always wanted to know more about conversational copywriting, and how it can help you save time on development. Or maybe you’re ready to improve your chatbot persona, to get more consistent content.
Whatever you need, we’re happy to help!
This article was written by Claire van Leeuwen, certified conversation designer and trainer at Crossphase.
