Voice through the eyes of the blind

Voice designers: NOW is the time to make the world inclusive

What would happen if a Voice Conference starts with an introduction of a blind person coming on the stage? And that person would tell everyone about the struggles (s)he has on a normal day?

I believe the audience would be uneasy at first.

After 2 minutes, realization starts to set in.

At the end of the story, everyone will have a new view on the voice world.

The above scenario is exactly what happened on OpenVoice Amsterdam, when Ellen Kok came on the stage. She is a consultant on the re-integration of people with functional disabilities at Phoenix. Ellen is legally blind and opened up my world with her story.

Ellen Kok being interviewed at OpenVoice Amsterdam — Photo credits: Mirabeau

Reality

She explained that she is using internet radio, because that tells her which station is playing when she turns it on.
To continue to explain that you will need very helpful neighbors, because that same radio is ‘locked’ somewhere in the menu multiple times per week. Without sight, there is no way to get it back out of that menu.

Washing machine

Even something as mundane as turning on the washing machine is a challenge, and it only works because of the routines that Ellen has in her life.
“Those beeps when you select a washing program are completely useless feedback. Why not getting some kind of voice-feedback to know what program I have selected?”, she wonders.

My mind started to reel, when the complications of the blind opened up before me during her talk. Of course, we are all very much aware about these problems on a basic level. But be honest: Are we as voice designers truly acting on this knowledge?

“Those beeps when you select a washing program are completely useless feedback. Why not getting some kind of voice-feedback to know what program I have selected?” — Ellen Kok

Seeing Ellen on stage and hearing her story through her own voice, broke through my rational outer shell and hit me in my emotional core.
These are the problems that we can design voice solutions for!
And with voice-interaction getting more mature, the possibilities to make a real difference are increasing exponentially.

Independence

The main point that Ellen made, is that she wants to be independent.

What would you do if you were stuck in this menu and you could not see?

When an interaction or feedback goes through a display, that makes her dependable on others straight away.

She does not want to ask for help when her radio is stuck in a menu.

She does not want to guess what washing program she has selected.

Ellen simply wants to be independent, like you and me.

Sexy or Brave?

What does this mean for all of us that work in the Voice Space?
We are currently building amazing solutions for more comfort in cars.
But why are we not working on voice feedback of a washing machine?
Multi-modal is getting a big thing. It expands our possibilities to create amazing experiences. No wonder that the solutions where Voice and Display are combined, are coming at us at high speed. It’s hot and sexy!

The difference between Voice-only, Voice-First and Voice functionality

But can we find a way to design with voice-first in mind, and resist temptation of going for multi-modal straight away?
Can we let displays be a valuable extension of our offerings, but focus on making our services available through voice-only first?
In other words:

Are we brave enough to look through the eyes of the blind?

It means a lot more work in designing and testing in the beginning. Designing for voice with a screen gives us so much more flexibility in controlling the complete interaction. But by choosing that path, we are excluding a big group in society. A group that always is left behind.
Now that voice technology has arrived, we can actively support this group better than ever. How would a voice-first solution look like for ordering something at your favorite online shop?
What does a voice-only solution look like for what your company is offering?

Failure or Success?

We as a Voice Community have failed if we do not take this opportunity to make the world better. We have been given the power to improve peoples’ lives. Let us not waste this chance, but let’s work together to create a more inclusive world.

I am looking forward to voice initiatives from you, that focus on inclusion. Solutions that will enable Ellen and millions of others around the world, to become part of ‘our seeing world’ with the power of using voice alone.
Let’s do this together!

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Originally published on my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emiellangeberg