In truth, I was a conversation designer long before it became my job title. In 2016 I began rideshare driving in Austin, TX. I discovered one of the quickest way to lower your rating as a driver was to talk to passengers who wanted peace and quiet. But riders usually sat in the backseat: how could you read a person's mood without being able to see them? All it took was a small verbal test.

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"Hey, how's it going?" Was the only thing I said to a passenger. If they responded with anything more substantial than "good, you?" that indicated to me they wanted to talk. Ten times out of ten, I was correct.

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I didn't realize it at the time, but that's conversation design. I simple welcome message, followed by checking the user's response and proceeding accordingly. I let some riders enjoy peace and quiet, and for the rest I got to chat with hundreds of interesting people.

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I had also completed a UX Design bootcamp and was taking freelance work in addition to my full-time graphic design job. Eventually I combined all these skillsets and joined SmartAction as a Jr. Conversation Designer.

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Thank you for taking the time to hear my story. Let's get in touch!