DEC-DECtalkMarketingGuide

This document, the "DECtalk Marketing Guide" from Digital Equipment Corporation's Terminals Product Group (1984), serves as a comprehensive resource for sales personnel selling the DECtalk voice synthesis product.

The guide's primary purpose is to equip sellers with an understanding of DECtalk's applications, features, and competitive advantages. It positions DECtalk as a significant advancement in speech synthesis technology, capable of converting ASCII text into high-quality, unlimited vocabulary speech, distinguishing it from less capable competitors.

Key benefits highlighted include DECtalk's ease of installation, superior speech quality due to proprietary algorithms, and its unique ability to transform Touch-Tone™ telephones into computer terminals, effectively expanding access to computer networks.

The document provides:

• A Voice Market Overview: Defining voice technologies (store/forward, recognition, synthesis) and discussing market trends, emphasizing Digital's leading position as the only major computer manufacturer in the speech synthesis space.
• DECtalk Applications and Selling Points: A detailed list of practical applications across diverse industries (e.g., banking, electronic mail, security, education, accessibility for the visually impaired), outlining opportunities, solutions, and key selling points for each.
• DECtalk Features Overview: Explaining its three-step text-to-speech process, competitive advantages, and a detailed list of features (e.g., RS232-C port, Touch-Tone input, internal speaker, context understanding, multiple voices, variable speaking rate) and their corresponding benefits.
• Appendices: Offering valuable sales support resources such as documentation, sales tools (like demo software and brochures), product specifications, and practical tips for demonstrating DECtalk's capabilities.