7 Using conversation tools to add meaning and usability
This chapter covers
The first six chapters of this book provided you with the knowledge you need to build a skill that is more feature-rich and more polished than 90% of the skills available to users. This chapter helps you go further, such as using SSML to aid in understanding and usability, or using discourse markers to imbue meaning and make more natural responses.
7.1 Discourse markers
“Well, we can go back to the car and wait there.”
“Got it. Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.”
Discourse markers are little parts of speech that have a huge impact, but that don’t get much attention. They’re probably not something you learned about when studying grammar, and yet they add to the meaning of conversations. These are words and phrases such as “okay,” “well,” or “got it,” that link thoughts together and manage the flow of communication. They are used in written and verbal communication, but certain markers are more conversational and others are more geared toward writing.