# 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 * What? * I don’t get it * That’s not what I asked ### Definition request * What is pronation? * What is a cross-trainer? ### Repeat request * What did you say? * Can you repeat that? ### Partial repeat request * Size 10 what? ### Paraphrase request * What do you mean? * Can you say that another way? ### Example request * What are my options? * What shoe brands do you carry other than Nike? ### Understanding check * Delectable means delicious? * Flan is a dessert? ### Confirmation check * A pizza with pineapple and papaya? ### 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] * I didn’t hear that ## 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. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.opendialog.ai/opendialog-platform/conversation-designer/conversation-design/conversational-patterns/repair/types-of-repair.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.