Play/Say Action Order and Caller Experience

When creating complex workflows for Voice Calls the use of a Gather/Prompt sequence provides a nearly endless level of flexibility in collecting caller input and call flow.  Play Message and Say Message actions are often used in conjunction with Gather/Prompt sequences to instruct callers on the available options or enumerate the input options expected of the caller.  The location in which you place a Play/Say action will have a direct influence on the caller experience when navigating through the prompts of your workflow.

Placing a Say/Play Action Before a Gather/Prompt Sequence

Inserting a Play Message or Say action before a Gather/Prompt sequence will required that the caller listen to the entirety of the Play/Say before the system will begin gathering inputs from the caller.  This use case can be used to ensure that the caller hears the complete message instructions or the full breadth of an important message.  This configuration may also elicit some frustration if callers are accustomed to being able to provide prompt input prior to the complete message being played.  You may wish to include an instruction in your message to "please listen to this entire message before selecting a choice".

Note that this limitation will apply if there are multiple Play/Say actions  preceding a Gather/Prompt sequence.  ALL Play/Say actions will be played in their entirety before the system will begin accepting input.

Placing a Say/Play Action After a Gather/Prompt Sequence

Inserting a Play Message or Say action after a Gather/Prompt sequence allows a caller to begin entering values for a prompt prior to the entirety of the message being played.  This can be useful for sequences that a caller can become familiar with (ex. a known extension) or that may have standard responses (ex. press 0 for an operator).

If the caller begins to enter a response to the system and their input matches one of the Prompt values then the caller will be immediately routed into that path of the workflow sequence and any subsequent Play/Say actions in the current path will be skipped.