Make a training conversation with an avatar

An Avatar Chat slide lets your learner practise a real conversation with a talking avatar: an intake, a difficult talk, a customer who pushes back. This page walks the whole way: add the slide, set the scenario and the persona, choose the face and the voice, decide when it ends and play it yourself on a phone. At the end: the gallery of all avatars, with the new ones marked.

Learnings - a training conversation with an avatar - 9 min. You need: a learning you may change

Nothing happens to your learners until you save. You can try everything and press Cancel.

The avatar picker in the avatar conversation window: a grid of realistic avatars with their portraits and names
Choosing an avatar. Every face is a portrait you can click.

What you will be able to do

  • Add a talking avatar One slide, and your learner has someone to talk to.
  • Set the scene Who the avatar is, what it says first, what your learner must reach.
  • Pick the right face A doctor, a nurse, a builder, a client. Or your own photo or 3D model.
  • Try it like a learner Press Test conversation and talk to it.

Get this ready first

  • A learning to put it in No learning yet? Make one first.
  • Know what your learner must practise For example: "welcome a new client and ask what she needs".
  • A microphone, to try it Your learner can talk or type. You can try both.

Do it together, one step at a time

Nine steps, from the first click to playing it yourself. Every picture is the real screen.

  1. Add the Avatar Chat slide

    Put a talking avatar in your learning.

    • Open your learning and click the block where the conversation goes.
    • Press the green Add Slide button, top right. The window Select Slide Type opens.
    • Type avatar in the search box. One card remains: Avatar Chat , "Role-play with a talking avatar".
    • Click the card. The new slide appears at the end of the block, and its panel opens on the right.
    The Select Slide Type window searched for avatar: one card, Avatar Chat, Role-play with a talking avatar
    Search for "avatar" and click the card.

  2. Open the conversation window

    Find the place where everything is set.

    • In the panel on the right, find the orange box Avatar conversation .
    • It shows the avatar you chose, or No avatar chosen yet .
    • Press Edit avatar conversation. A window opens with four tabs: Avatar & voice , Conversation , Knowledge & flow and Learner screen .
    The Edit Slide panel of an Avatar Chat slide with the chosen avatar and the orange Edit avatar conversation button
    The orange button opens the window.

  3. Say what the talk is about

    Tell the avatar what situation it is in, and what your learner must reach.

    • Click the tab Conversation .
    • At the top, Start from a template : Job interview, Patient intake, Sales objection or Socratic tutor. A template fills in sensible settings for you to change.
    • Under Goal / success criteria , write what your learner must reach, for example: "The learner welcomes the client, asks what she needs and explains what happens next."
    • Tick Give the learner feedback when the conversation ends to let the learner see how it went against that goal.
    • Under Opening , leave Avatar starts the conversation ticked and write the Opening line : "Hello... they told me to come here today. I am a bit nervous, to be honest."
    The Conversation tab: four templates, the conversation mode, the goal filled in, and the opening line the avatar says first
    Template, goal and the first words of the avatar.

  4. Give the avatar a name and a mood

    Decide who the avatar pretends to be.

    • Scroll down to Persona .
    • Write a Bot name , for example Sanne .
    • Under Role , say who she is: "a new client at her first intake at Meridiaan, a little worried".
    • Under Communication style , say how she talks: "natural, short answers".
    • Choose the Emotion : Neutral , Warm & encouraging or Stern & serious .
    The Conversation tab scrolled down: the Persona block with bot name Sanne, role, communication style and emotion, and the Limits block on the right
    The persona is on the left, lower down.

  5. Choose your avatar

    Pick the face that fits the talk.

    • Click the tab Avatar & voice .
    • Press Choose avatar. A list opens: 3D avatars from the media library .
    • Look at the portraits. The nurse, doctors, police officers, mechanic and soldier are at work; the others are everyday people.
    • Click the avatar you want. It is added to your learning and chosen at once.
    • Scroll down on this page for the full gallery, with the new avatars marked.
    The avatar picker: a grid of realistic avatars with portraits and names, such as Caleb, Kevin, Katherine, Sophie, Lotte, Susan, Daan, Samuel and Henk
    Click a portrait to choose that avatar.

  6. Or bring your own avatar

    Use your own photo or 3D model, and check what you chose.

    • After you click a face, the card at the top of the tab shows it with its name and voice.
    • Want your own face? Press Upload / create new and add a photo, or a .vrm or .glb 3D model.
    • Want the same avatar and voice in many places? Press Save as character. It is then kept for your whole organisation.
    • Not happy with the choice? Press Change avatar and pick another.
    The Avatar and voice tab after choosing Realistic Susan: her portrait, her voice, and the buttons Upload / create new and Save as character
    Your avatar, in the card at the top.

  7. Choose the voice

    Make the avatar sound right.

    • Under Voice you see the voice that comes with the avatar. Press it to choose another, or press Use default .
    • Under Language , choose the language the avatar speaks, or leave Use the learner's language .
    • Use Speaking rate to go slower or faster, and Voice stability for a more expressive or steadier voice.
    • On the right, Stage & motion sets how lively the avatar moves and how close the camera is, and Background sets the room behind her.
    The Avatar and voice tab: voice, language, speaking rate and voice stability on the left, stage and motion and background on the right
    Voice and language on the left.

  8. Decide when the talk ends

    Your learner can go on when the talk is over. You decide when that is.

    • On the right, under Limits , set Max learner turns , for example 8 , and Maximum time (minutes) , for example 5 .
    • Under What the avatar does when the time is up , write the closing words: "Our time is up for today. Thank you for talking with me."
    • Under When the conversation ends , choose a Report at the end of the conversation : no report, the standard report, or your own.
    • Tick Email the conversation transcript if you want a copy sent.
    • The Next arrow stays hidden for your learner until the talk has ended by turns, by time or by a step you marked as the end.
    The Limits block with max learner turns 8, maximum time 5 minutes and closing words, and the When the conversation ends block with the report choice
    Turns, time and closing words, on the right.

  9. Try it like a learner

    Talk to your own avatar before your learners do.

    • Press Save to keep your settings, or press Test conversation: it saves first and then opens the player in a new tab.
    • On a phone you see the avatar full screen, looking at you. The microphone at the bottom is green when she listens.
    • Talk. The avatar answers out loud, in character. Under Learner screen you decide if your learner can also type, and which buttons show.
    • When the talk ends, the Next arrow appears and your learner goes on with the learning.
    A phone screen: the avatar Susan full screen, with the green microphone button at the bottom while she listens
    What your learner sees on a phone.

If something is not right

The list shows only a few faces.

Wait a moment: the portraits load one by one. Still short? Press the list again.

I want an avatar that is not in the list.

Press Upload / create new and add a photo or a 3D model.

My learner cannot go on.

The arrow comes when the talk ends. Set the turns or the minutes.

My changes are gone.

Press Save before you close the window.

The words, in plain language

avatar
A face on the screen that talks and listens.
persona
Who the avatar pretends to be.
character
An avatar with its voice, kept for your whole organisation.

Where to go next