The element of cooperation in every conversation
Understanding the cooperative principle for conversation design
A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to work on the initial chatbot flow for an interesting client. Without divulging too many details, the client has asked me to come up with a voice and tone guide for how their chatbot would sound.
I wasn’t sure where to start.
But after checking my old friend — the internet — and my newer friend — ChatGPT — I had a couple of directions. It turns out that Google has a lot to say on the subject of conversation design, including an amazing talk that I watched a couple of times over (and I recommend you give it a little time and attention, too).
The cooperative principle - a must-watch!
What’s the cooperative principle?
In communication theory, there’s a concept proposed by philosopher H.P. Grice called the Cooperative. Principle. It states — in its most basic form — that “Humans naturally expect there to be an undercurrent of cooperation in every conversation”. With four conversational maxims to help you construct human-sounding conversations, it’s a great starting ground for designing your chatbot flow.
A note here, with the push to H2H (human to human) content writing in every field, understanding the Cooperative Principle is a really good starting point for any writer about to draft… well, anything.
Here are the four conversational maxims:
Quantity: Provide as much information as is needed, but not more than is required.
Quality: Strive for truthfulness; do not provide information that is false or unsupported by evidence.
Relation: Be relevant; the information provided should be pertinent to the discussion.
Manner: Be clear, avoid ambiguity, and be orderly in your speech and presentation.
Spell it out for us, oh, content coach…
If you’ve ever gotten feedback from an editor, manager, or peer, you probably have a good idea of how to implement these maxims into your day-to-day workflow. I’m the type who needs things spelled out a little clearer, and if you’re like me, here’s what you need to know:
Quantity: When writing, make sure you provide enough detail to convey your message effectively, but not so much that it overwhelms or distracts the reader. This is all about the balance of telling people what they need to know but not overinforming them.
Quality: Strive for accuracy and credibility. This means verifying facts, citing sources, and presenting information that is true to the best of their knowledge. The best way I ever found to explain this was in the words “When someone tells you it’s raining, stick your head out of the f***ing window and confirm it.”
Relation: Everything you write needs to be relevant to the topic or story. This means avoiding unnecessary tangents that don’t contribute to the overall message or story.
Manner: Clarity is crucial. The best advice I ever got was “keep it eye-level. Talk to readers like they’re humans — because they are”.
How to apply this to conversation design
Mapping out a conversation design flow is not easy, but a great rule of thumb is to imagine the conversation you would have with a user if they were on the phone with you. This will help you spark communication flows like:
Hi, I’m <Name>; what can I help you with?
I see. Let me check with the team here, could you hang on a minute?
That sounds frustrating. I want to try to help.
While working on the abovementioned client, I also came across these smart tips to help shape your conversation. Frankly, I love them and use them in my everyday work
Tip 1: Acknowledge the user’s input
A bot should respond to what the user asks by signaling it has heard the customer’s input (I understand…, or I hear you…) and then smooth the transition to the bot’s response (…how can I help you move forward?). While it’s a good idea to keep your writing eye-level, try to ensure you don’t sound too abrupt. A bot shouldn’t feel like a bot.
Tip 2: Use discourse markers
These are absolute gold when designing a conversation flow. Adding in words like “Right”, “Okay” and “Now let’s” link the conversation sections, making it feel more human.
Tip 3: Ask questions and follow-ups
An interjection of questions like, “Does that answer your question?” or “Should I show you more?” is really helpful in keeping the conversation going.
Tip 4: Don’t bury the lede.
This is generally a good rule for writers, and when it comes to conversation design or content design (microcopy/UX writing), it’s especially important because space is so limited.
Disclaimer alert: I’m no conversation design expert. But I know a lot of shit about a lot of shit!
Writers are curious by nature. I certainly am. And when we find great information and resources, we usually want to share them.
That’s why I have a little list of conversation design style guides you may find useful when creating your next flow: