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12 books to learn about voice interfaces
There's no better way to learn about voice interfaces than a good read. So we've put together a first list of reference books on speech technology and conversation design, grouped by key topic so you can choose according to your profile or role in building VUIs.
Voice interfaces: 12 books in 6 categories
Every April 23 we celebrate World Book Day, a special day to share the joy and personal growth that reading brings us. For many people reading is entertainment; for others, it’s a chance to learn and grow, professionally and personally, in new fields outside their comfort zone.
This time we’d like to give you a list of 12 books we think are useful if you want to learn more about voice interfaces. Specifically, 12 books on conversation design (VUI), communication theory, human-computer interaction (HCI), emotions and personality, and sound design (Hear & Feel).
🤖 Voice interfaces (in general)
Books, essays and opinion on the technology, experience and market of conversational interfaces.
- Ubiquitous Voice: Essays from the Field (2018), Lisa Falkson (Amazon).
💬 Communication theory
Books on how people communicate with each other, and what to keep in mind when analyzing those conversations.
- Talk: The science of conversation (2018), Elizabeth Stokoe (Amazon).
- Conversational Design (2018), Erika Hall (A Book Apart).
📝 Conversation design and VUI design
Books to understand how to design conversations for voice interfaces, or VUIs (Voice User Interfaces).
- Designing Voice User Interfaces (2016), Cathy Pearl (Amazon).
- Voice User Interface Design (2004), James P. Giangola and Jennifer Balogh (Amazon).
🤖💬 Human-computer interaction
Books on human-computer interaction (HCI) and the relationships people build with computers.
- The Man Who Lied To His Laptop: What Machines Teach Us About Human Relationships (2010), Clifford Nass and Corina Yen (Amazon).
- Wired for Speech: How Voice Activates and Advances the Human-Computer Relationship (2005), Clifford Nass (Amazon).
🙂 Emotions and personality
Books on emotions, to understand them and bring them into the design process.
- Designing for Emotion, Aarron Walter (A Book Apart).
- How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain, Lisa Feldman Barrett (Amazon, Spanish edition).
🎶 Hear & Feel
Books on the experience of sound: music and audio.
- Designing with Sound, Amber Case & Aaron Day (Amazon).
- Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination, R. Jourdain (Amazon).
- This Is Your Brain on Music, Daniel J. Levitin (Amazon, Spanish edition).
Written by
Co-founder at Monoceros Labs
Co-founder of Monoceros Labs. A computer engineer researching dialogue systems since 2009, now doing a PhD in AI at the University of Granada.
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