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After a character's job description and workload have been defined by the application, it is time to create the right candidate. Character design should be completed before prompt writing and recording begin, but should have little if any influence on the application's design.
By following screenwriting methods for character development including description, a brief biography, and specific language examples, designers can create and document a persona perfectly targeted to the job, environment and user demographic of the product.
Character Description
Character description can start by defining the character of the voice, factoring in the application constraints and any branding considerations. All information about the character is appropriate in the early stages, as editing and refinements will come later. Sometimes a composite of small details defines a character. Sometimes the foundation is one broad stroke or a strong image that makes the creative connection for the designers. Describe the character physically, drawing if possible on close observation of people within the all-important social context that the design emulates.
It is useful to pick an age for the character, and decide on a name. Where does this character live? What are his or her abilities and interests? What is his or her working style? Is the character ambitious, an up and coming CEO type, or is he or she content to remain in a facilitating role? How does the character respond to problems? Is he or she a good teacher? It is hard to predict which particular attribute or trait will be the one that really connects with the voice actor, or conveys the precise visual image that convinces the client's marketing department.
The Back Story
Back story is the personal history that is used to give a fictional character an invented background. The back story includes two types of information, past events and character biography. This information may never be conveyed to the user of the speech system, but it is essential for the designers to help create the character.
A simple back story might include gender, age, regional identity, education, personality traits, past employment and current job description. Designers can go into as much or as little detail as they feel is necessary to forge a shared mental model of the character among the creative team. The back story keeps the creative team clear about the character's identity and gives the actors the material they need to know to get in character when recording the prompts.
This material is not for everyone. The full version is most appropriate for designers, producers, prompt writer and the actor. A much shorter version is enough for a broader audience. Users will rarely know the back story. In some systems, voices may introduce themselves by name, but no additional back story information is revealed.
Referents
Some voice characters are easy to adapt from their real world counterparts. An automated attendant for a company phone directory will use obvious and familiar phrases, while other more novel applications will have fewer real world examples to draw on. Certain roles for voices are much more difficult to imagine. As speech systems are increasingly applied to both domestic and public utilities, the obvious phrases and easy adaptations will no longer exist. Designers will need to devise completely new combinations of character descriptions, back story and language. Using famous actors, fictitious characters and high profile media personalities as referents can help the creative team develop their shared model of the character.
Example—the Copilot
The following example is a character description and back story written for a voice user interface (VUI) based on a Natural Language (NL) model, and used for an automobile feature control system.
Profession: Copilot Male, married, age 36 Dialect: Very clean accent-free American English The Copilot provides support to the driver. There is no competitive edge between him or her and the driver, as the Copilot likes his job and is not at all frustrated by being number two. It is a professional relationship. The Copilot is highly competent, particularly in a crisis. He is able to oversee the vehicle's controls and react quickly to external situations. Copilot's presence in the car: Invisible--------------------------------Visible 1-----2-----3-----4------5-----6-----7-----8 |
Character attributes: Trustworthy, Reliable, Competent, Confident, Intelligent, Dominant Respectful, Loyal, Resourceful, Back story details: The Copilot has an engineering background. He is athletic but not physically imposing. He runs, swims, hikes, plays squash but is definitely not overly aggressive. In the right situation, he is a shrewd risk taker. He has participated in road rallies in the past, and likes cars in general, and really likes being in this particular car. |
Interaction Triangle
How many participants are involved in a conversation with a speech system? The default assumption is two—a dramatic dialogue in which the voice of the speech system personifies the technology to the user.
In dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) command and control systems, clipped and robotic sounding (albeit human) voices were adequate considering the constraints of the technology and the resulting level of discourse.
Users, however, have become increasingly accustomed to working with richly nuanced human voices since the advent of recognizers and NL systems. Consequently, there has been a shift away from the default role of voice as personified computer towards that of voice as a mediating persona helping the user with the system and content.
Arguably, from the user's perspective, the persona and the machine are increasingly two separate entities. Persona in widely deployed speech systems are successfully doing the work of sales representatives, reservations agents, travel agents, insurance brokers, stock brokers and financial service advisors. These persona are not a proxy for the machine, but are instead fictitious persons or agents mediating the information technology on behalf of the user—hence the interaction triangle: User, Persona and System.
Branding Persona
Ideally, the design of persona should be well matched to the brand identity. Voices convey qualities and information about character. Even though these qualities might be registered unconsciously, they can be highly influential. In the first few seconds of an interaction, users will make assumptions about a range of attributes, which leave a lasting impression.
If a brand already exists, marketing or other brand stakeholders can probably supply documents that describe the identity in detail. The goal for technology design is to ensure that the personality of the system projects these qualities as effectively as possible. Often, companies will engage third party consultants with branding expertise to help in this regard. The following section examines the various attributes that contribute to the definition of personality.