Types of repair
There are many ways in which a conversation can break down, and as a result there are many types of repair. From a linguistic point of view, here are some of the most common triggers of a repair pattern. The response to each type will depend on content and use case.
General
Section titled “General”- What?
- I don’t get it
- That’s not what I asked
Definition request
Section titled “Definition request”- What is pronation?
- What is a cross-trainer?
Repeat request
Section titled “Repeat request”- What did you say?
- Can you repeat that?
Partial repeat request
Section titled “Partial repeat request”- Size 10 what?
Paraphrase request
Section titled “Paraphrase request”- What do you mean?
- Can you say that another way?
Example request
Section titled “Example request”- What are my options?
- What shoe brands do you carry other than Nike?
Understanding check
Section titled “Understanding check”- Delectable means delicious?
- Flan is a dessert?
Confirmation check
Section titled “Confirmation check”- A pizza with pineapple and papaya?
Correction
Section titled “Correction”- Self-correction: “What sizes are the boots- er- shoes available in?”
- Other-correction:
A: They’re gonna drive back Wednesday.
B:`` Tomorrow.
A: Right, tomorrow.
A: How much do the Nikes in size 7 cost?
B: The Nike Air Max in size 7 costs $100.
A:`` Oh I thought those were $80.
B: The Nike Air in size 7 costs $80.
A: Oh okay.
Hearing check [voice only]
Section titled “Hearing check [voice only]”- I didn’t hear that
Dimensions of repair
Section titled “Dimensions of repair”- User-initiated vs. agent-initiated repair (who triggers repair?)
- User-repair vs. agent-repair (who fixes the problem?)
- Repair sequencing: What if an initial repair doesn’t work? How can you combine them? Looping through different repair strategies, fallback options, scaling up to agent-transfer.
- There could be different fallback strategies. Perhaps, a definition request could be answered, but if that doesn’t work, then use the general repair strategy, and if that doesn’t work, offer to transfer. Alternatively, a user could say a general “I don’t get it”, to which you could respond with a paraphrase.