In short
- Say the option, then the key. Callers listen for their own word before they listen for a number.
- One idea per sentence, and keep menus short.
- Write error prompts that change on each retry.
- Let callers pick a language in that language.
Put the choice before the key
Callers scan for their word. Saying the option first, then the key, lets them stop listening once they hear it. Compare: "For billing, press three" with "Press three for billing". In the first, a caller who hears "billing" knows what to do before the number arrives.
If your platform accepts speech, a menu of plain words ("sales, support or billing") is shorter still. Write for what your platform supports.
Keep sentences and menus short
People hold a handful of items in memory while they listen. Long menus push the first option out of mind before the last is read. Put the most common choices first, and move rare ones into a second level rather than lengthening the first.
Cut politeness that does not help. "Please listen carefully as our options have changed" tells the caller nothing.
Say numbers, times and names the way callers do
Write numbers as they are spoken, not as they are typed. A time written "09:00-17:30" has several ways to be read aloud, and the right one differs by language. Agree how phone numbers are grouped, how currencies are said and how dates read before anyone records.
Where a prompt joins recorded parts, such as a name or an amount, listen to the joins. A good sentence can still sound broken at the seam.
Write error prompts that help
The first error prompt can repeat the question more simply. The second should offer a different route, such as an agent. A prompt that says the same sentence three times gives the caller nothing new to act on.
Keep error messages calm and short. Blame the system, not the caller.
Multilingual menus
Start with a language choice spoken in each language, so that callers do not need to understand the first one to proceed. Adapt every prompt for its language and market rather than translating the original, because word order, formality and the way numbers are said all change. Use the accent your callers have.
Name every file with a prompt ID and keep one voice per language across the whole set, so that the menu sounds like one system.
Test on a real line
Listen on a handset, then in a car with the hands-free on. Phone audio is narrower than studio audio, and some voices lose clarity on it. Test every language, because a prompt that fits in one language may run twice as long in another.
