Writing for chatbots – Microsoft Style Guide | Microsoft Docs

Source: Writing for chatbots – Microsoft Style Guide | Microsoft Docs

Thanks to Johanne Lavallee for sharing this on LinkedIn.

There are a few good pointers in here as we start looking towards the future, and from none other than one of the big sources, Microsoft. So much of the advice here is just good technical writing, after all. Plain language, and clear and concise writing is important all the time!

What do you think of these guidelines? Did Microsoft miss anything? Include your thoughts below.

–TechCommGeekmOm

Author: TechCommGeekMom

Danielle M. Villegas is a technical communicator who currently employed at Cox Automotive, Inc., and freelances as her own technical communications consultancy, Dair Communications. She has worked at the International Refugee Committee, MetLife, Novo Nordisk, BASF North America, Merck, and Deloitte, with a background in content strategy, web content management, social media, project management, e-learning, and client services. Danielle is best known in the technical communications world for her blog, TechCommGeekMom.com, which has continued to flourish since it was launched during her graduate studies at NJIT in 2012. She has presented webinars and seminars for Adobe, the Society for Technical Communication (STC), the IEEE ProComm, TCUK (ISTC) and at Drexel University’s eLearning Conference. She has written articles for the STC Intercom, STC Notebook, the Content Rules blog, and The Content Wrangler as well. She was very active in the STC, as a former chapter president for the STC-Philadelphia Metro Chapter, serving and chairing on several STC Board committees, and most recently was the STC Board Vice-President before the organization closed.. You can learn more about Danielle on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemvillegas, on Twitter @techcommgeekmom, or through her blog. All content is the owner's opinions, and does not reflect those of her employers past or present. View All Posts

One thought on “Writing for chatbots – Microsoft Style Guide | Microsoft Docs”

Hi! My name is Larry. I’ll be commenting on your blog today.

I like a lot of what Microsoft has to say here. Being clear from the start that the customer is talking with a bot — that’s huge. For me, nothing damages my trust as much as when a company misleads me about the nature of my interaction with them. Also, knowing when to hand off to a human — that’s also very good, although the article is a little short on specifics of how to know. Finally, remembering whose side you’re on — that’s the best advice of all.

If writers follow these rules, then chatbots will have a bright future.