Fork
Fork sets two or three of the model’s alternatives side by side. Take one whole, or build your own from parts of each: every part keeps the mark of the option it came from. On a phone the options sit behind tabs; on a wide screen, in columns.
Halden & Co asked for a 10% rent cut. The model offers three replies: firm, warm, and a trade. Take the warm opening, the trade’s answer and the firm close, and your reply shows where each part came from.
Anatomy
When to use
- When the right answer depends on judgement: the tone of a reply, the framing of a proposal.
- When people would otherwise regenerate and lose the version they half liked.
- Not when one answer is clearly right. Show it, with its premises (Premise).
Behaviour
| Action | Result | Shown as |
|---|---|---|
| Pick a part | It fills that slot in your reply | Ring on the part, tag in the reply |
| Pick it again | The slot empties | — |
| Use all of one option | Every slot takes that option | One tag throughout |
| Switch tabs | Shows another option; your picks stay | — |
Every option is split into the same parts, so parts from different options fit together.
Best practices
- Offer two or three options, each with a name that says how it differs: “Firm”, “Warm”, “Trade”.
- Make the options genuinely different, not three wordings of one idea.
- Keep the tag on every part, so the final reply still shows where it came from.
- Keep the model’s words in pigment, even after a person has chosen them.
Accessibility
- On a phone the options are tabs, moved with the arrow keys.
- Each part is a toggle button named for its option and slot: “Use Warm’s opening”.
- Your reply names the option behind each part in text, not only with a tag colour.
Specifications
- Options
- Tabs under 720 pt, three columns above
- Part
- 12 pt radius; 2 pt ink ring when chosen
- Tag
- 20 pt ink square with the option letter
- Reply
- Card with three slots