How to Design a Conversational Flow for Your Chatbot — EmpathyBots

How to Design a Conversational Flow for Your Chatbot — EmpathyBots

So, now you are ready to create a chatbot and want to learn more about each step!

Then, what are you waiting for?

Take your first step towards it and learn to design a conversational flow for your chatbot.

In this guide, I’m going to tell you the 5-step process that you need to follow to design an effective conversational flow (with an example).

How to Design a Conversational Flow
Source: EmpathyBots

But before moving ahead, if you don’t know what is a chatbot and the step-by-step process to create it.

Then I highly suggest you to read these 2 guides,

Ok, Let’s start!

What is a Conversational Flow?

The conversational flow is nothing but a flowchart that represents an effortless progression of responses that happens in a chatbot based on conditions or values.

It is different than a conversational script. The conversational script is a set of dialogues in the conversation.

And, the conversational flow is the overall structure of your chatbot.

Now, I will tell you how to design a conversational flow by taking the example of FAQBot.

5 Steps For Creating a Conversational Flow

1. Know the Purpose and Bot Functionality

I hope that you know what it is!

If not, then refer to the 11 chatbot best practices guide, to learn in detail about the purpose and bot functionality.

To give you a brief idea, the purpose is nothing but the expectations you have from your chatbot and the functionality is how to fulfill those expectations.

Like, the purpose of my FAQBot is to answer frequently asked questions of users.

And I will fulfill it by creating prefixed question buttons that users can click on to get answers.

2. Consider All Scenarios

By scenarios, I mean that consider all possible situations that can occur during the conversation and design your conversational flow accordingly.

There are 5 main situations that normally occurs in a chatbot,

1. Greetings

This is the welcome message your chatbot has to send when users interacted with it.

You can choose to send different messages to new and return users.

2. Asking

There can be a situation when your chatbot has to ask users different questions to keep the conversation going.

Like, sending a “How can I help you?” message.

3. Suggestions

In a particular situation, you have to show users how your chatbot can help by showing the buttons or quick replies.

4. Failure

This situation can occur when users asked for something that is out of your chatbot’s scope.

In this case, your chatbot should send an apology message to users and direct them towards other possible options.

5. End

This is the end of a conversation.

Don’t end it forever. Users should feel like coming back to it.

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3. Draw an Outline

Now you know the purpose and functionality of your chatbot, it’s time to design a basic outline of it.

Simply visualize the flow of the conversation and draw it on paper or wherever you want.

This is the outline of my FAQBot,

FAQBot Outline
Source: EmpathyBots

4. Design a Conversational Flow

Now finally, it’s time to design a conversational flow.

You can use the free tool called Draw.io to design a flow (I personally used it).

Just draw the flowchart of your chatbot based on the conditional progression of responses.

This is how I have designed the conversational flow of my FAQBot,

FAQBot Conversational Flow
Source: EmpathyBots

5. Optimize

And, at last, optimize your conversational flow to give a top-notch conversational experience to your users.

Concluding Words for Conversational Flow

Conversational flow is like the foundation of your chatbot. That is why it should be strong.

Your entire chatbot’s performance depends on this.

So, take time to think, brainstorm, visualize, and follow these 5-steps to design it effectively.

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How to Design a Conversational Flow for Your Chatbot — EmpathyBots was originally published in Chatbots Life on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.


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