Speech Technology - October 2008 - (Page 2)

EDITOR’S LETTER Editorial Director David Myron dmyron@infotoday.com Managing Editor Leonard Klie lklie@infotoday.com Senior Designer Laura Hegyi Editorial Assistant Adam Boretz aboretz@infotoday.com Don’t Get Overemotional t’s only natural that designers and developers want to show off their products’ or systems’ latest capabilities. However, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it. When creating a great speech-enabled IVR, designers and developers should not focus on dazzling customers with their systems’ latest bells and whistles (i.e., telling jokes or feigning emotion). After all, we don’t expect customer service representatives (CSRs) to tell jokes, gush with emotion, or try to become a customer’s new best friend. It’s not that CSRs can’t—they’re perfectly capable of doing these things—but when a person fakes emotion, it comes off as contrived and trite. It’s only worse when it comes from a machine. IVRs that are too friendly come off as creepy (see Moshe Yudkowsky’s column, “The Creepiness Factor,” on page 4). Focusing too much on making the IVR memorable may also get companies into trouble (see Melanie Polkosky’s column, “Contradicting a Legend,” on page 7). Doing so puts too much emphasis on the system and not enough on the customer. Instead, designers and developers should focus on delighting customers. Often, delighting customers only requires quickly providing them with value. It’s the same approach you’d suggest to a live agent. Once the customer is delighted, the company can then look for reciprocity, which is when it can act on cross-sell and upsell opportunities or retrieve valuable customer feedback. With that said, is it helpful to add emotive speech into an IVR? After all, don’t people realize they’re talking to a machine? Some industry insiders think it will help customer interactions. In our cover story, “An Emotional Mess” (page 14), by freelancer Paul Korzeniowski, one industry expert says, “By incorporating emotive speech into voice systems, human-machine interactions may become more appealing, more natural, and more effective because users will find it easier to interact with a well-mannered machine.” We packaged this story with another feature, “Emotional Intelligence” (page 20), by freelancer Jessica Tsai. This story highlights how emotion detection technology, combined with a speech analytics and workforce optimization suite, can reveal customers’ emotions, which offers tangible benefits to an organization. After reading these two features, it’s clear that it’s not as important to convey emotion in the IVR system as it is to understand and build positive emotions in customers. Proofreaders Greg Edmondson, Gayle Kesten Contributors Deborah Dahl, Donna Fluss, Meghan Goth, Alex Halikias, Nancy Jamison, Gayle Kesten, Paul Korzeniowski, Judith Markowitz, Christopher Musico, Melanie Polkosky, Jessica Tsai, Moshe Yudkowsky Editorial Advisory Board The Editorial Advisory Board of Speech Technology magazine is composed of prominent figures in research, development, and applications of speech technology. The members will assist the magazine’s editorial staff by recommending articles and column topics or prospective authors, and offering advice on technical matters and industry trends. Additional responsibilities will include critiquing the magazine’s content and design. If you are interested in participating, contact David Myron, Editorial Director, Speech Technology magazine, 237 W. 35th St., 14th Floor, New York, NY 10001, (212) 251-0608. I ADVERTISING SALES / PRINT & ONLINE La Shawn Fugate lashawn@infotoday.com • Sarah Fortney sarah@infotoday.com • (877) 993-9767 MARKETING Marketing Manager, Events & Circulation Sheila Willison sheila@infotoday.com • Director of Web Events DawnEl Harris dawnel@infotoday.com CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055 EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT President and CEO Thomas H. Hogan • Chairman Roger R. Bilboul • Vice President, Administration John Yersak • Vice President, Content Dick Kaser • Group Publisher Bob Fernekees • Publisher La Shawn Fugate INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Vice President, Information Technology Bill Spence PRODUCTION Vice President, Graphics and Production M. Heide Dengler • Ad Trafficking Coordinator Michael Hardwick How to Contact Speech Technology magazine Editorial Office: 237 W. 35th St., 14th Floor, New York, NY 10001, (212) 251-0608, www.speechtechmag.com. Subscriptions/Cancellations: Send subscription requests and address changes (please include old mailing label) to: Speech Technology magazine, PO Box 3599, Northbrook, IL 60065; or call (215) 788-5500. Subscribe online: www.speechtechmag.com. List Rental: American List Council, 1-800-ALC-LIST. Reprints: La Shawn Fugate or Sarah Fortney, (877) 993-9767, lashawn@infotoday.com or sarah@infotoday.com. Allow me to welcome Editorial Assistant Adam Boretz to the Speech Technology magazine staff. Adam recently completed his coursework for an MFA in fiction writing at Columbia University. He is a bright reporter and a talented writer, who will undoubtedly be an asset to this team. Feel free to contact Adam at aboretz@infotoday.com. Privacy Policy Occasionally we make a portion of our mailing list available to organizations whose products or services we think might be of interest to our customers. If you do not wish to receive such mailings, please send a copy of your mailing label with a request to be removed from the third-party mailing list to Speech Technology magazine Customer Service, PO Box 3599, Northbrook, IL 60065, or call (800) 248-0588 or (847) 559-7301. David Myron Editorial Director dmyron@infotoday.com Speech Technology (ISSN 1088-5803) is published nine times a year (Jan/Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, July/Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov/Dec) by Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055. Copyright © 2008 by Information Today, Inc. All rights reserved. Materials may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission. Subscription rate for subscribers in the U.S. is $20.95 per year. Single copies are $3.95. It is free for qualified subscribers. Periodicals Postage Paid at Medford, NJ, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Speech Technology, PO Box 3599, Northbrook, IL 60065. Postage for qualified Canadian subscribers is $78.95 per year and for all other qualified international subscribers is $108.95 per year. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Speech Technology accepts unsolicited submissions and will attempt to handle all manuscripts with reasonable care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for manuscripts, artwork, or photographs. Manuscripts should be mailed to Speech Technology magazine, 237 W. 35th St., 14th Floor, New York, NY 10001; or emailed to: lklie@infotoday.com. 2 | Speech Technology OCTOBER 2008 http://www.speechtechmag.com http://www.speechtechmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Speech Technology - October 2008

Speech Technology - October 2008 Contents Editor’s Letter Industry View Inside Outsourcing Interact Keynoter Highlights the Shrinking Technological World Former Hacker Tackles IVR and Biometrics ‘Press 1’ for Caller Thoughts Soundbytes Voice Vote A New Dragon Emerges Overheard/Underheard An Emotional Mess Emotional Intelligence The Case for Call Recording Unified in Care and Communications An Education in E-Learning Guest Column Standards Speech Solutions Voice Value Forward Thinking

Speech Technology - October 2008

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