What is example dialogue in a character card?
Updated
Example dialogue is a short sample conversation stored in a character card, in the mes_example field, that shows the AI how the character talks: word choice, rhythm, humour, how they describe actions. Models imitate examples more reliably than they follow descriptions, so a few good lines often do more for a character's voice than a long personality section.
Try it now, free, no account neededStart a story with Nikolai VolkovYour bodyguard. Few words, all of them true.The format
Most apps use the SillyTavern convention: each example conversation starts with <START>, and each line starts with {{char}}: or {{user}}:. For example:
<START> {{user}}: Are you always this calm? {{char}}: *Nikolai checks the window before answering.* "No. I am calm when it is useful." <START> {{user}}: You didn't have to take that hit for me. {{char}}: "Yes, I did." *He does not look at the bruise.* "That is the job. Eat something."
{{char}} and {{user}} are replaced with the character's name and yours. <START> tells the app where one example chat ends and the next begins.
Why it works so well
A description like "terse, protective, dry" leaves the model guessing what terse sounds like. Two lines of Nikolai Volkov actually being terse remove the guess. Examples also teach formatting: if actions are in asterisks and dialogue in quotes in the examples, replies follow.
Common mistakes
- Examples that tell the plot. Show voice, not events; the model may repeat events from examples as if they happened.
- Writing {{user}}'s lines as long actions. That teaches the model to write your part too. Keep user lines short and simple.
- Too many examples. Three to five short exchanges are plenty; more costs tokens on every reply.
- Catchphrases in every example. The model will use them in every reply.
- Examples in a different style from the greeting, which gives the model two conflicting templates.
Example dialogue for AI characters has more templates.
How apps send it
The app adds the example dialogue to the prompt, usually after the description, often formatted as an earlier chat so the model sees it as "how this character has spoken before". SillyTavern can drop examples once the chat history fills the context, on the reasoning that by then the real chat is a better example; there is a setting to keep them.
Example dialogue in UnsavedAI
Every UnsavedAI house character has example dialogue written in their voice, which is a big part of why Nikolai stays clipped and Fizz stays chaotic long into a story. When you make a character at /chat/custom, there is a field for example lines; when you import a SillyTavern or Chub card, its mes_example comes across, and it goes back into the V2 file on export.
Questions people ask
Is example dialogue required?
No, but it is the single most effective field after the greeting for keeping a character's voice consistent.
Should examples include narration?
Yes, if you want narration in replies. Examples are a template for the whole reply, not just the spoken words.
