Introducing Noni

We?ve been working very hard on the group support chat. It became clear that we needed to be very proactive about the culture that we want to create. We immediately thought of listener tips, but listener tips that would be specific to the group support chat.

The tips are good, but they still feel a little removed. They kind of feel like a distant heads up or reminder from the system. They feel kind of impersonal. So, we started thinking, how can we make tips more relational and warm?

That is when it hit us...we need a 7 Cups of Tea persona - a type of representation of who we are and what we stand for. That is when we thought of Noni.

Noni means grandmother, best friend, and healing plant. Noni should be seen as a type of 7 Cups presence. She is informed by our community and is as an extension of us as a listener community. She behaves, listens, and speaks in ways that are consistent with our values. For now, Noni will simply be the new deliverer of listener tips across our one on one chats and in our group support chats. She?ll also greet people when they enter the room and ask people to introduce themselves to the broader group. As we roll out topic based rooms, Noni will deliver tips that are specific to that particular issue. For example, in the anxiety group support room Noni will deliver a tip like this:

?Your body cannot be anxious and relaxed at the same time. It is impossible. If youare anxious, then you can practice deep breathing to manually relax your body.This will help to decrease your anxiety. You can learn more here.?

Eventually, Noni will be used with alerts, mindfulness tips, and, if you want, reminders for appointments or other goals that you might have. For now, however, her main focus is on reinforcing a kind, welcoming, and non-judgmental culture that is consistent with our values and an extension of our community.

Please share your thoughts below. Thank you!