studio52@ivr

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6 Best practices to Improve IVR with
Multi-language Facilities

• Studio52 encourages these time tested industry
  best practices for IVRs with multi-language
  options
• Native Speakers
• Even the best-trained voice talent has trouble
  sounding credible in a second foreign language.
  It would be best if you employed native speakers
  for all voice prompts and IVRs. They are aware
  of cultural sensibilities and can help your
  organization prevent embarrassing mistakes that
  harm your corporate reputation irreparably.
• Standard Script
• We recommend a standard script in a spreadsheet
  format for each language required, and that
  format maximizes the chances of highly accurate
  output throughout the editing, formatting and
  recording processes. There is the unification of
  the communication and distribution processes
  across multiple voice talents.
• Use professional Voiceover Talent, not internal
  resources.
• Professional voice over artists have the talent
  to pronounce all words correctly and maintain a
  high-quality level. They keep a consistent pace,
  style, energy level and pronunciation throughout
  the life of the IVR system. You can always risk a
  poor user experience with internal resources if
  they lack the required training to provide quality

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• voiceovers. Lastly, be careful that a
  professional and credible services firm vets the
  voice talent.
• Ask for multiple demos first.
• The best thing about professional voiceover firms
  is that they have multiple voice talents for a
  single language. Once you evaluate multiple demos
  first, it ensures that your choice reflects your
  brands style, level of energy and formality. You
  can check for subliminal perception after
  listening to multiple demos.
• Bilingual talents add a lot of variety.
• Bilingual talents are skillful and can speak two
  languages without a noticeable change in accent.
  They can employ the same style of intonation and
  pace across languages. The coaching and feedback
  you provided will be acted on and is
  administratively smoother. In the event of
  script changes, clarifications of pronunciations,
  it is administratively softer to work with
  bilingual talents. A bilingual talent is more
  likely to identify translation errors and
  grammatical hiccups in a script.
• Validation of hard-to-pronounce words with
  internal users
• We always recommend reviewing with internal users
  before sending a voiceover script to a
  professional services firm. Translators may not
  have the requisite knowledge of
  industry-specific phrases and terms. Besides,
  some firms work with a dedicated phone line for
  recording pronunciations. Native speakers can
  call into the specified extension at least twice
  to register suspect phrases.
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