Using exported messages in phone calls

The utterances created in SentenceShaper can be used on the phone! That is, you can prepare utterances before starting a phone conversation, and intermingle these utterances with "live" speech during the conversation.

Why?

Creating speech ahead of time can be useful because the time pressure in a phone conversation can be intense. Information that can be prepared ahead of time on SentenceShaper includes:

• The user's address, phone number, full name, email address, or directions to his or her home
• Explanations of the user's language difficulties and requests for help in conducting the call ("I have aphasia -- I can think fine but it is hard to talk", "Please speak more slowly", "Would you please repeat that?", etc.)
• Explanations of complicated matters such as medical or house repair problems
• Personal speech such as congratulations, jokes, etc.

Pre-recorded utterances can be played during a conversation in which the user is also speaking spontaneously. Depending upon the exact setup and the nature of the phone conversation, the listener may not even be able to tell which speech is "live" and which is recorded. This potentially addresses the awkwardness that many people with aphasia feel about the use of communication aids.

How?

There are different ways to do this. All of them will require some trial and error experimentation on your part, to see what works best for you. We will be very interested in hearing about your experiences, so that we can learn what works for you, and what kinds of uses are most desirable and worth supporting directly within the program.

On a landline

The most straightforward way to play a SentenceShaper-created utterance over the phone is to open SentenceShaper, find or create the utterances you want to use, and then dial the call on a landline in front of the computer's speakers. When you want to use your SentenceShaper speech, just hold up the phone in front of the speaker and play your utterance.

On a cellphone

On a cellphone, you can use the procedure above (hold the cellphone up in front of a computer running SentenceShaper and play the utterance into the phone), or you can export your spoken utterances to the cellphone (see the section on transferring exported mesages to handheld devices). Then start a conversation on the phone and simply play the mp3 files, which are now on the phone, during the call.

With Skype

If you use Skype on your computer, there are two options.

The first approach is the procedure described above... start a Skype call, then play a SentenceShaper utterance, either from your Export Folder or from within SentenceShaper, on the same computer you are using for Skype.

The second approach is to use a Skype plug-in program named "Pretty May Call Recorder" (there may be others which work well). The advantage of this approach is the potentially better sound quality of the recordings. If the same computer and microphone are used to create the recordings and to engage in the Skype conversation, then the listener may not even be able to tell which speech is live and which is recorded. As noted above, this potentially addresses the awkwardness that many people with aphasia feel about the use of communication aids.

Note: Although one purpose of this program is to record phone calls (not relevant here), Pretty May also allows you to click on a list of mp3 files while you are talking on a Skype call. The mp3 file is played into the Skype call directly.

Below are some skeletal instructions about how to set up to do this...we will assume here that you are already familiar with Skype.

Instructions for using Pretty May to play SentenceShaper mp3s during a phone call

1. Install Skype.
2. Install a free "add-in" program called the Pretty May Call Recorder. You can download it from: http://www.prettymay.net/PrettyMay_Recorder_Extra.sparc
3. You will begin by finding your exported SentenceShaper utterances, in the Export Folder you will have set up from within SentenceShaper. Follow Pretty May's instructions on how to to find the mp3 files you will want to play.
4. Follow the instructions in PrettyMay for playing these mp3 files during a Skype call.
5. At the beginning of each call, Pretty May will ask whether it can start up and/or whether you would like to record the call. You can say "No" to the recording.

More detailed descriptions and support will be provided in forthcoming SentenceShaper updates. Please check this Export section of our website for new developments, and feel free to contact us (but not our distributor) with questions or suggestions.