Voice This! #2 On this Tuesday
Hey Voice This! Fam
It's finally here: the Voice This! Newsletter (the one with all the content). Let's be upfront here and confess that we're no experts, but we really, really like what we do. We hope you do too :)
Podcast Plug
This newsletter seriously would not have been possible without our dear Voice This! Podcast, created by our brave Millani Jayasingkam less than a year into the pandemic.
Season 1 is still ongoing and going strong! Our latest episode features Fariya Mostafa, previously the Group Product Manager at Winterlight Labs and now Product Manager at Legacy (YC S19).
Newsletter Bonus: Podcast BTS!
Fariya's episode might've actually been recorded in Dec 2020 (oops). Due to the logistics of putting out episodes in the order of the product development lifecycle, we had to delay the release until June 2022. Regardless, Fariya shares a lot of *still* relevant content with us and a fresh perspective as someone who went from Neurophysiology to Healthcare Tech.
Reading Corner
This newsletter isn't long form, but here's some content that is:
Only discovered this recently, but it's from 2018: Having a laugh? Humor and chatbot user experience design by Ultan Ó Broin.
Such a great line, "What matters is not just what words mean, it’s what they do." from: Designing Conversational Bots That Fix Themselves by Terry Lee.
Reactive, proactive, and more taxonomy in: How to categorize conversational interfaces by Jesús Martín.
Part of an ongoing thought-inviting series: Towards Sustainable Conversational AI by Julia Anderson.
Audience Q&A
This is the part of our newsletter created by you! Every issue a lucky listener will be able to get their question featured and answered by Millani and Elaine.
This week's question is about leveling up in your Conversation Design career:
"What are the senior level roles a CxD can upskill into?"
Millani: I had a similar question in my head when I first got into UX because senior levels and roles weren't as well defined as they are now. It's almost like déjà vu when I look at CxD, but even so, we can use UX as a reference and say there are senior, manager, and director roles arising in the industry.
Elaine: The short answer is it depends. If I had to elaborate, I'd say, we can take a note from other senior practitioners in the industry: there's the role of Design Manager (Cathy Pearl, Shalini Johar), Director of UX (Ann Thyme-Gobbel, Cheryl Platz), also Co-founder or C-suite executive at a startup (Sarah Andrew Wilson). Big disclaimer though: these aren't the only options! It really depends on what you like and what works for your lifestyle.
For a deeper read on different levels in UX in general, I recommend this piece: Career ladder from junior to director — guidance for UX professionals.
Thanks for Reading This!
By the way, if you want your question answered in the next edition of our newsletter, please email us at voicethispod@gmail.com or send us a question through our IG Story! We'll have an open Q&A on our Instagram every week on Thursdays.
Slay.