Empathy and Inclusion in Voice Design

The Future is Spoken presents Maaike Coppens as this week's guest. Maaike is an international Conversation Design Expert, speaker and co-author of the Voice UX Workbook. With a successful background in linguistics and UX design, Maaike found conversational design the perfect blend.Over the last couple of years, Maaike has worked with award-winning agencies, large enterprises, and innovative companies worldwide. Eager to be part of a team with an opinionated take on Conversation Design, Maaike recently joined Greenshoot Labs - a chatbot and applied AI agency in the UK - as their Head of Conversational UX.Tune in Now!Conversation Highlights:[02:54] The journey to Conversational UX….● Maaike explains that we are constantly flipping the coin in the wrong way when designing experiences. ● She had an academic path in linguistics. She then got deeper into UX. When conversational designing became more widespread, it was an ideal mix for her.[05:35] Linguistics as a career?● Maaike shares her perspective on choosing Linguistics as a career.● It's great to see how conversation design has helped her think differently about human to human Conversations.[08:44] The most important traits that a conversational Al must-have.● Maaike explains that being flexible and being inclusive are essential traits. She also feels that relatability is also a necessary aspect for conversational Al or voice assistant.● Accessibility and inclusivity are related, but they are not mutually exclusive.[21:34] Enabling the disabled with Voice....● She elaborates that when you are designing Voice assistants, empathy is critical. It is necessary to get those insights and research before doing any empathy exercises.● Empathy becomes very important when backed up by user research.● She still sees loads of difficulties around language proficiency. She says that instead of finding the next big thing, we should perfect the ones available.[35:05] Reality of Voice Assistants● She feels that if you adapt your human behaviour to technology, it is a sign that the technology is already broken.● The industry is more reactive than being proactive in designing an inclusive solution. When amazon launched smart speakers, they never thought about disabled people.[42:30] How can we design an inclusive solution?● Maaike divulges what the designers can do to design an inclusive solution. She further instructs to get out of the bubble.● She speaks that listening is the one vital skill that you need to have as a conversational designer.[47:02] No Al without IA(Information Architecture)● Maaike elaborates that Information Architecture is a significant part of conversational designing. It is about mapping the information available to you.● Why do we forget the basics of UX?● With the Information Architecture, researching and bringing in some of the UX processes into conversational designing can significantly change the experience.[54:50] Must Listen● Maaike's piece of advice for someone trying to get into the world of Voice.Learn more about Maaike at●      LinkedIn●      Twitter●      GreenShoot LabsIf you enjoyed this episode of The Future is Spoken Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to our podcast.Follow Shyamala Prayaga at @sprayaga This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shyamalaprayaga.substack.com