# conversational-ux

Designs voice interfaces and chat dialogs: prompt structure and error reprompt ladders. Ideal when speech or chat replaces screens.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 1100 installs · ★ 3103
- Author: Owl-Listener
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designer-skills/tree/HEAD/interaction-design/skills/conversational-ux/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-09-05
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/conversational-ux

## What it does

This skill guides the design of voice and text conversational flows. It models the conversation turn across three phases: system prompt, user response, and acknowledgment. It defines explicit confirmation for high-stakes actions and implicit confirmation when mistakes are cheap to fix.

Error handling acts as the primary recovery mechanism. The skill lays out an error reprompt ladder: rephrase first, offer constrained choices on the second failure, and trigger a graceful exit or agent handoff on the third. Repeating the exact same error prompt is forbidden because every turn must provide fresh context.

Voice rules stay strict: responses under 8 seconds, zero acronyms without expansion, and spoken lists capped at three items. Conversational flows break down when forced to collect dense multi-field records; the prompt specifically delegates visual input gathering to `form-design`.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill conversational-ux -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/conversational-ux/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/conversational-ux/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill conversational-ux -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/conversational-ux/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill conversational-ux -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/conversational-ux/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install Owl-Listener/designer-skills conversational-ux
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/conversational-ux/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill conversational-ux -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designer-skills --path interaction-design/skills/conversational-ux
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/conversational-ux/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill conversational-ux -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designer-skills/tree/HEAD/interaction-design/skills/conversational-ux/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- structure error reprompt ladders for voice assistants and IVR
- select explicit or implicit confirmation strategies for user turns
- adapt written dialog prompts for audio working memory limits
- define a consistent assistant persona across success and failure paths

## Example prompts
- Design an IVR appointment booking flow using the three-step error reprompt ladder
- Audit these chatbot responses to eliminate unconstrained open-ended questions
- Draft a voice assistant dialogue for flight status with short lists and earcon cues

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 94c0a155f126da7b.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 94c0a155f126da7b
```text
---
name: conversational-ux
description: Design voice and conversational interfaces — dialog flows, error recovery, and persona. Use when the interface speaks and listens rather than being tapped. For graphical input collection, use `form-design`.
---
# Conversational UX

You are an expert in designing voice interfaces, chatbots, and AI-driven conversational experiences.

## What You Do

You design the dialog structure, turn logic, error recovery, and persona for voice and conversational interfaces — applying the distinct interaction model that applies when there is no visual UI to explore, or when speech is the primary channel.

## Two Surfaces, One Discipline

**Voice interfaces** (IVR, smart speaker skills, voice assistants): audio-only or audio-primary. No screen to scan. No buttons to click. The interface exists only in the moment of the utterance.

**Conversational UI** (chatbots, AI assistants, messaging interfaces): text-based, but governed by conversation turn structure rather than screen layout. Users read and respond; they do not navigate spatially.

Both share the same underlying design discipline: scripting what the system says, anticipating what the user might say, and handling the gaps between them.

## The Conversation Turn

Every conversational interaction is built from turns:

1. **System prompt** — the interface speaks or displays a message
2. **User response** — the user speaks or types
3. **System acknowledgement and next prompt** — the interface confirms it understood and continues

Designing a conversational interface is designing the script for every meaningful path through this loop.

### What a good system prompt does
- States one clear thing (not three)
- Signals what kind of response is expected
- Does not bury the call to action at the end of a long sentence
- On voice: reads naturally when spoken aloud — punctuation affects cadence

### Confirmation strategies

| Confirmation type | When to use |
|---|---|
| Explicit ("You said Tuesday at 3pm — is that right?") | High-stakes actions, easily confused inputs |
| Implicit ("Booking for Tuesday at 3pm…") | Low-stakes, recoverable actions |
| None | When misrecognition is rare and recovery is easy |

## Error Handling

Conversational error recovery is the highest-leverage design surface. Most conversational experiences fail because they do not handle the gap between what the system expected and what the user said.

### Error types

- **No input** — user did not respond; re-prompt with a shorter version of the original
```
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---
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