OpenDialog Patterns
  • A Pattern Library for Conversation
    • A "Read Me" for this Library
    • About this Library
  • The Pattern Library
    • Openings (Inge updated this)
      • Anatomy of an opening
      • Examples of transactional openings for text-based assistants (Inge added this WIP)
      • Additional Information
    • Authentication
      • Components
      • Example Dialog
      • Using in OpenDialog
    • Information Collection
      • Components
      • Example Dialog
      • Using in OpenDialog
      • Additional Information
    • Providing Recommendations
      • Components
      • Example Dialog
      • Using in OpenDialog
      • Additional Information
    • Extended Telling
      • Components
      • Example Dialog
      • Using in OpenDialog
      • Additional Information
    • Repair (Inge WIP)
      • Types of repair
      • User request not understood
      • Example Dialog
      • Using in OpenDialog
      • Additional Information
    • Transfer
      • Components
      • Example Dialog
      • Using in OpenDialog
      • Additional Information
    • Closing
      • Components
      • Example Dialog
      • Using in OpenDialog
      • Additional Information
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  • Research Highlights
  1. The Pattern Library
  2. Openings (Inge updated this)

Additional Information

PreviousExamples of transactional openings for text-based assistants (Inge added this WIP)NextAuthentication

Last updated 2 years ago

Resources and Links

  • Academic literature

Research Highlights

Openings are likely to vary by culture, with participants in different countries having different norms. For example, in one country it may be common to skip greetings and in another callers may ask for the identity of the answerer. This could be a result of things as simple as the reliability of the phone system or whether or not people have caller-ID. The familiarity of the participants may also affect the length of the opening sequence. found that relative strangers had longer openings, while close connections used greetings and how-are-you sequences but skipped other parts.

The conversation channel can also affect openings. If the channel makes clear who the participants are (with perhaps a linked profile), then the identification/recognition portion may be skipped.

The opening pattern above has been described for “normal” conversation. Institutional forms of talk can look different, where interviews, for example, tend to start with extended preliminary talk (Heritage 2002). This extended monologue may be more for third parties than the interactants themselves. Interviews often open with the host stating the state of affairs, sharing a headline, which sets the context for the following discussion. Interviews tend to skip greetings or how-are-you’s, though they do include identifications. Interviews are structured ahead of time for the benefit of a media audience, while conversation is dynamically created in the moment. Like interviews, sometimes bots start with an extended monologue, sharing legal disclaimers, disclosing capabilities, or other context-setting. If this context is for the user’s benefit, i.e. it provides relevant background info, it makes sense to include it. But be careful, since these preliminaries can add friction to actually starting the interaction.

Sequencing in Conversational Openings
Constructing reason-for-the-call turns in everyday telephone conversation
Interactional prosody: High onsets in reason-for-the-call turns
Librarian chat openings
Telephone Calls: Unity and Diversity in Conversational Structure Across Languages and Cultures
https://josephctylerwords.medium.com/
One study