Conversation designers are in high demand on LinkedIn. But what should HR look for when recruiting them? Which skills define the conversation designer? Allow me to paraphrase a great writer. One is not born but rather becomes a conversation designer. I became one too.
Anyone with a keen pen and a knack for texting can become a bot creator. Whatever your handwriting, whatever your star sign, develop these 5 skills and you might grow out to be the next big thing in conversation design.
You text like you talk
You know that one friend? The one that always sounds cross over text.
Yes
No
See u
Their texts are so minimal, you feel like calling them to ask if they are OK. You are the opposite. Your lively texts keep conversations flowing. Whether it is on Whatsapp, Bumble or LinkedIn, you text the talk and walk the walk:
No worries!
See you there in 5 min
An essential skill for a conversation designer is being able to create a text that feels like a real-life chitchat. You do not have to know screenwriting; although it helps. You just need to know that makes the text read like spoken word. It will help you to create the most human chat and voice bots.
You read moods
Aloof texter friend aside, you correctly pick up on moods like they’re quarters on the street. You don’t need a 😕-emoji to sense disappointment. You don’t require 😺 to read the excitement in someone’s typing pace. Being able to sense someone’s emotional state helps you write appropriate responses. This is essential for your bot to do its job right.
Imagine your bot needs to help a user make a claim. Chances are high that their motivation is low.
That won’t do. Their BMW crashed. They will probably need empathy before anything else.
There. Now they will feel understood and more prepared to get started.
‘How can I help?’ is your default mode
Aloof texter friend knows this side of you.
You help out so often, it is practically your default mode and a perfect skill to become a conversation designer. In their job, they assist brands and customers in achieving their goals. For someone like you, whose specialties include: pointing tourists in the right direction, helping people help themselves is highly satisfying. As a conversation designer, you can turn your calling into a career.
You love writing for brands
If you have ever written a copy, you know the excitement of writing for a client. Analyzing their brand identity. Getting to grips with their tone of voice. Creating catchy content. It is like being an actor preparing for a role. But better, because there are no dress rehearsals and you get to work from an armchair.
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Now imagine you get to design an entire bot persona for a brand. Get to decide what they sound like, look like. You get to run their creation from start to finish. Now there is a project. Brands will want bots. You will want to write for them.
You are a copy wizard (with secret membership to the Order of the Flowchart)
Your family and friends know you as an alpha. You use your creativity for the purpose of writing. It is your calling and nothing else interests you. Except…
Except maybe turning your writing into ordered structures. Secretly, you want to know how tech helps achieve that. You love flowcharts and marvel at the skills of programmers. You would like to join forces, and turn your work into a thing of digital wonder.
It is the expertise of a conversation designer to combine textual creativity with technical know-how. By teaming up with computer wizards, you create bots that both run and talk smoothly. Magical, right?
