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IVR localization multilingual phone menu prompts Translation voice over voice talent

Leveraging the Diversity of New York City: How to Build an Inclusive Business and Serve a Multicultural Clientele

New York City is known for its diverse population and vibrant culture. One aspect of this diversity is the wide range of languages spoken in the city. According to a recent study, over 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.

This diversity brings many benefits to the city and its residents. It allows for a rich exchange of ideas and cultures, and it also makes the city a more welcoming and inclusive place for people from all backgrounds.

However, this diversity also presents challenges when it comes to communication. In order to effectively serve the needs of all its residents, it is important for businesses and organizations in New York City to be able to communicate in the languages of their clients and customers.

One way to accomplish this is by providing translation and interpretation services. By offering these services, businesses and organizations can ensure that their communications are clear and accessible to all. This is particularly important in industries such as healthcare, education, and government, where effective communication is crucial for providing high-quality services.

In addition to providing translation and interpretation services, it is also important for businesses and organizations to prioritize language diversity in their hiring practices. By hiring multilingual staff, businesses can better serve the needs of their diverse customer base and foster a more inclusive work environment.

Another important touch point to consider regarding language diversity is your business or organization’s phone systems and IVRs (Interactive Voice Response systems). By offering multiple language options on these systems, businesses can make it easier for callers to navigate and access the services they need.

For example, a business with an IVR system that provides upfront language preference options ensures callers are able to access the information and assistance they need in their own language. This not only improves the customer experience but also increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The availability of different languages on business phone systems and IVRs is an important aspect of effective communication and customer service. By offering multiple language options, businesses and organizations can better serve the needs of their diverse customer base and foster a more inclusive and accessible environment.

Overall, the diversity of languages spoken in New York City is both a strength and an opportunity. By recognizing and addressing this diversity, businesses and organizations can better serve the needs of all their clients and customers and contribute to the city’s vibrant and inclusive culture.

One More Thought…

Check out this press conference excerpt of the Mayor discussing the need for all hospitals to offer multilingual brochures and communications for patients. NYC Health + Hospitals offers their callers 9 distinct language preference options on their phone system’s IVR prompts.

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healthcare IVR message on hold voice talent

Voice Prompts and MOH Make it to the Great White Way

VoicePrompts+BroadwayMy adolescent nephews have never experienced a Broadway play, so for their spring birthdays my husband and I took them to see Spiderman: Turn off the Dark.  This show was in the headlines for various reasons – injuries, confusing plot, being the most expensive play ever produced, but it was an ideal way to introduce Broadway for novice attendees.

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IVR message on hold voice talent

Voice Prompt Scripts Near and Far

Guest Blog contributed by Scripts Consultant Megan Andriulli

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e-learning voice talent

eTraining

Another emerging market for Holdcom is eTraining, also known as virtual learning or just-in-time training. Holdcom supplies voices and scripts for professional businesses that need their staff to learn something new, and fast: for example, updated software or a novel technology.

Senior Script Consultant Rob Lefever created several “script tips” for a successful eTraining program. It is important to “understand your objective and know your audience. Keep the focus of your script – a good way to do this is to put yourself in their shoes, and don’t assume they know everything you know.”

Another important factor of eTraining is “keeping it simple. An eTraining script should be easy for a voiceover to record…keep it concise and to the point. Don’t forget that an important area of eTraining is situational comparisons: you want to teach them the right and wrong ways to deal with a problem so they’ll know exactly what to do and not to do.”

With more people taking courses online, eTraining will become vital to securing a company’s future.

As a side note, this is a fun “eTraining” video where a fictional character named Donny teaches his youtube followers how to “properly” use Photoshop. It’s called “You Suck at Photoshop” for a reason – he insults the viewer constantly and often breaks into rants about his ex-wife who left him, his terrible job, and more a la Office Space. It is hilarious and also very informative – it uses all the proper eTraining techniques, such as showing examples, knowing your audience, and holding the viewer’s attention.

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virtual tour voice talent

Virtual Tour Audio

Though the virtual tour has been around for a long time, many individuals and businesses have not yet incorporated audio into their presentations. I have seen many virtual tours where you are given a full 360 panaromic view of a brightly colored living room or kitchen – with no voice over to serve as a guide. What could be an informative sales pitch turns into a virtual tour of a silent, almost haunted, house.

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branding resources voice talent

Let’s Get Siri-ous About Voice Talents

Are the Voices Real

In this age of digital manipulation and reproduction, we often get questioned by customers about the source of Holdcom’s voice recordings… human or synthetic?  And the answer is… yes, they are most definitely natural, human voices…not artificial reproductions.  As a company specializing in voice over recordings for Message on Hold, IVR and multi-media narrations, Holdcom recognizes the value of using real, professional voice talents for all our productions.  And, as a business owner, you want your brand to sound genuine and personal… not computer generated.

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branding marketing voice talent

What Gender Should Your Voiceover Be?

When you’re investing time and energy into your marketing and creating new content, you want it to be effective. Every detail from the colors, used – to the voice has an effect on your audience. Choosing the right gender for your brand voice can be a tricky decision. We’ve created a list of things to consider before choosing a voice for your next video, phone recording, and radio spot.

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branding resources voice talent

Is Your Voice Over Talent Approachable as the Brand Voice?

First impressions have a lasting impact.  Everyone has a friend that when they first met, was totally unapproachable. Trust me, I know because for most of my college years, I was that friend! My friends didn’t admit this to me until about 2 years into our relationship, and we still laugh about it. The same can be true for many businesses. Not only can they can seem out of reach for consumers, but the brand can be represented by several different identities. We’re seeing trends that encourage one voice and one face for the entire brand. Take for example, Flo at Progressive. Flo is just your everyday lady. She isn’t overly fancy, she has a sense of humor, and she sounds like almost anyone. What you didn’t realize that by making Flo so “ordinary” or “normal” Progressive created a brand that is approachable and appears like a “real’ person.

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branding tips voice talent

Brand Image: A Unified Voice for Call Processing

For humans, the sense of hearing provides depth and richness to life. Likely, there are sounds that you experience that evoke a deep emotional response within you. Studies indicate that those who experience hearing loss often suffer from depression because hearing is typically integral to one’s experience of life itself.

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tips video voice talent

How to Choose the Perfect Voice Over for Your Video Production

How to choose the perfect voice for your video productionWhen you’re creating a video production for your business, there are two main areas of focus: Visuals and Audio. The visuals come naturally to most. You might feature on-screen talent, show charts and statistics, or share photos. The audio is often a bit trickier to get right. Background music for videos is very important, but so is the voice that’s being used to describe or explain the content. Too often, online marketing videos rely only on music and visuals; the spoken word is neglected or completely omitted, which means marketing departments have completely missed an opportunity to efficiently and effectively share quality content with online viewers.