An Online Brokerage Firm: Managing More Complex Tasks

There are also times when changing the language is not enough. In this example, we wanted to ask callers how they would like to change their preferences, but the language got unwieldy.

"Would you like to have me change your preferences so that they are played at the beginning of every call, or change them so that they're played only at the beginning of the first call you make to the system each day?"

That's a mouthful ”and few (if any) callers would know how to respond to it. However, there is a simple technique to resolve this situation. The format is

"I can do [complex task a] or [complex task b]. Would you like me to do [abbreviated task a]?"

By following this format, callers hear the first option, then the second option, and while the second option is still fresh in their minds, they hear a quick reminder of the first task, and then simply answer a yes or no question.

"I can change your preferences so that they're played at the beginning of every call, or I can just play your preferences once a day, during the first call. Should I play them each time you call in ”yes or no?"

This approach reduces the cognitive load on callers and they don't have to learn a long command they may never use again.