How to manage audio files

Mindful Callback features a fully customizable voice experience that can be unique for any Call Target in your Organization. The Mindful IVR presents voice prompts in real time by combining many customizable audio files. You can customize audio files to convey your unique brand voice by creating custom Media Sets, which can be shared among Call Targets or used for individual Call Targets for specific lines of business.

Overview

This article covers the following steps to help you become familiar with audio files and voice prompts.

  1. Review default voice prompts
  2. Create a Media Set
  3. Configure voice prompts
  4. Apply a Media Set to a Call Target
  5. (Optional) Upload custom prompts
  6. Test the voice experience

Review Default Voice Prompts

All media prompts required to deliver the standard voice experience are pre-configured in the default media sets for your Callback Organization. In addition to browsing the media prompts in the user interface, several additional resources are available to help you keep track of the audio files in your Media Sets.

Default audio files include:

  • General Prompts: For callback registration, agent interactions, spoken numbers, and more
  • Speech Prompts: Used when Caller Input is set to Speech with DTMF Fallback (customer speech recognition)
  • Voice Scheduling Prompts: For scheduling callbacks via voice
  • Time Zone Prompts: Audio files used to speak different time zones
Tip: Callback media prompts is our spreadsheet containing the complete list of default media prompts. Download this .xlsx file for your own reference.

Create a Media Set

Click Callback > Media Sets in the sidebar menu to view a list of available media sets.

On the Media Sets page, clicking the Clone icon will allow you to clone a default Media Set. After cloning, you can configure new collections of audio files to customize the voice experience for different Call Targets.screenshot of the media sets page

Use the following steps to configure a new Media Set.

Quick Access: Callback > Media Sets

  1. Find the Media Set that you would like to use as a starting point.
  2. In the Actions column, click the Clone icon.
  3. Enter a name for the Media Set in the Name field, then save and publish your changes.
  4. Review the default voice prompts to identify any that you wish to customize.
  5. Replace audio files for any voice prompts that you would like to customize for the Call Targets that will use this Media Set.

Configure Voice Prompts

Quick access: Callback > Media Sets > Your Media Set

The Media Set page is separated into three tabs, each containing a list of customizable audio prompts. Clicking any row within a tab will expand additional information and options related to a specific voice prompt and its associated audio file.

See the following details to learn more about the information provided and the process of replacing default audio files with custom files of your choice.
Note: You can only replace default audio files when using a Media Set that you created. You cannot edit the default Media Sets. For information on how to create your own Media Set, see the Media Sets article in the reference sectionimage of the general prompts tab
  1. Prompt Name and Play icon: Click the Play icon next to the name to listen to the audio file. The name of the prompt will help you to determine its purpose.
  2. Audio type: This field displays the type of audio that is assigned to the prompt. Possible values are:
    • Default Audio: Default audio is configured for the prompt.
    • Custom Audio: A customized audio file is being used for the prompt.
    • No Audio: No audio file is assigned to the prompt and, if configured, the Text to Speech audio will play.
  3. Description: This field contains a brief description of the audio prompt. Descriptions cannot be changed.
  4. Text to Speech: If the designated audio file cannot be played, the system will read the text in this field rather than playing a file. The value is not configurable.
  5. Only played when: When present, this field indicates a specific scenario that must occur in order for the prompt to play.
  6. Default File: This field displays the default audio file that will be played. Click Download to open it in another window.
  7. Replace Audio: This button and the drag-and-drop area allow you to choose your own audio file to replace the default file. If you need to change a custom file back to the default, you can download the default file by clicking the filename in the Default File field, then configure the voice prompt to use that file.
Important: We recommend the following specifications for custom audio files:
  • Encoding format - ulaw
  • Sample rate - 8kHz
  • Bit depth - 8-bit
  • Channels - mono
  • File format - .wav (CCITT)
  • Amplitude range
    • approximately -12 db average
    • peak levels between -6 and -3 db
  • Leading/trailing silence
    • For date/time and numbers - 0.04 seconds leading, 0.01 seconds trailing
    • For all others - 0.3 leading, 0.1 trailing
Tip: If your Call Target Business Hours are configured for different time zones, we recommend updating your voice prompts to inform customers of the relevant time zone for each Call Target. To learn more, see the Time Zone Prompts section of the Media Sets article.

Apply a Media Set to a Call Target

Once you have saved your custom Media Set, you can apply it to as many Call Targets as you would like. Some of your Media Sets may be designed for only one Call Target. For example, you might use custom voice prompts for a VIP Billing Call Target, and standard prompts for all others. Alternatively, some Media Sets may be shared among multiple Call Targets. For example, you might choose to share a Media Set for multiple Call Targets in your Customer Service department.

To apply a Media Set to a Call Target:

  1. Open the Call Target page and edit your Call Target.
  2. On the General tab, open the General section.
  3. Use the Media Set dropdown menu to select a Media Set to apply, then save your changes.
image of the media set dropdown menu
Note: Rather than assigning a Media Set, you can alternatively choose to apply one of three default media collections to your Call Target:
  • Default English
  • Default French (Canadian)
  • Default Spanish (North American)

If you choose to apply one of the defaults, you will not be able to customize the voice prompts with your own audio files. For any customization, you will need to use a Media Set.

(Optional) Upload Custom Prompts

In addition to the default audio files that can be replaced, there are a few voice prompts that are intended to use custom files only. These prompts are only played in specific scenarios based on the way your Organization is configured.

One such custom audio file is the Custom Callback CID Audio file, found at General Prompts > Registration. You will need to upload a file here if the Use Custom CID Audio setting is enabled for the Call Target using this Media Set.

Custom Metadata Prompts

The Custom Metadata Media section is another example. When configuring an Audio or DTMF metadata item, you can select Custom Prompt from the Prompt dropdown menu to use your own audio file to prompt customers for their input and provide that input to agents. If you do, you will need to upload two custom audio prompts for the metadata item.

Use the following steps to upload a custom audio file for a metadata item.

Quick access: Media Sets > Your Media Set > General Prompts tab

  1. From your Media Set, within the General Prompts tab, locate the Custom Metadata Media section.
  2. Click the row associated with the customer prompt that you would like to replace. The customer prompt will be named your_<metadata item name>. The row will expand to present additional fields.
  3. Repeat the previous step for the associated agent prompt. The agent prompt will be named agent_<metadata item name>.
  4. Upload your custom audio file by following the on-screen instructions.
  5. Click the Play button to preview your audio file after the upload is complete.
  6. Save and publish your changes.
Note: Custom metadata media prompts only become available to edit once Custom Prompt has been specified in the Prompt dropdown menu for a Metadata item.

For more information on how to apply custom media to a metadata item, see How to add or edit metadata items.

Test the Voice Experience

It is a best practice to test the voice experience from a customer and agent perspective after making changes to Media Sets, especially when uploading new custom audio files.

Use the following steps to test the voice experience for specific audio changes.

  1. Identify the exact place in the voice menu that you wish to test. If you used the spreadsheet or additional articles provided in this guide, consult your notes to assist with this step.
  2. If the changes are live in a production environment:
    1. Call the phone number associated with your Call Target. You can find this number on the Call Targets page.
    2. If you need to test agent-specific audio, prepare your agents to receive the call and note their experience with any voice prompts that you have changed.
    3. Navigate through the voice menu until you reach the audio prompt you wish to test. Listen to the prompt and note down the results.
  3. If the changes are not yet live in a production environment, use the Call Target testing procedure outlined in How to Set Up a Call Target.
    1. Navigate through the voice menu until you reach the audio prompt you wish to test.
    2. To test an agent-specific audio file, request and accept a callback as the customer, then answer the call as the agent.
    3. Listen to the prompts in question and note down the results.