Sit down, sit down, sit down for your rights (Goodbye, Rosa)
Rosa Parks died on Monday at the age of 92.
Almost exactly 50 years ago, on December 1, 1955, she refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested. She paid a high price for such a small gesture of defiance. She was arrested. She was harassed. She lost her job. Eventually, she and her husband had to leave their home and move to Detroit. But her case was brought to the Supreme Court and in 1956 segregated bus service was ruled unconstitutional.
Sure, she was not the first black person to refuse to give up a seat on a bus. But there was something extraordinarily powerful and dignified in her quiet outrage. Her decision to pay the price to resist to an unjust human law made impossible for many Americans to ignore the indecency of segregation laws.
Love your test participants more than yourself
Last week, I had a chance to conduct user interviews after quite a while. I loved any minute of it. There is nothing more rewarding (for me) than spending two hours with people I never met before (and probably I will never meet again) trying to understand the world from their point of view.
In those two hours and from the first few seconds, my attention is totally focused on the other person. I observe how they enter the room, how they look at me, and how they shake my hand; I need to understand anything I can about their personality, their level of comfort, and their communication style to be able to be in synch with them. The entire session is a dance, where I ask and listen, probe and observe, with the only purpose of gaining insight in somebody else perceptions, thoughts, and expectations. It’s always a fascinating journey.
My team had never observed a user research session before. They told me how impressed they were with my ability to remain neutral and engaged throughout the session. I looked at them puzzled and I thought, "Of course. This is the way it is. Why, is there another way to interview people?"
This made me think. Obviously, there are interview techniques you can use to ask questions and probe people to reduce bias and improve your chances to gain insight into your test participants’ behaviors and expectations. Usability 101. But I believe that the magic of understanding another person is not just a matter of technicality. It requires to suspend for a moment our ego-centered way to interpret the world and open up to a different interpretation. In a way, it’s about love.
Do you remember that time you fell madly in love with somebody? Or when your child was born? The other became the object of unlimited interest and fascination. You perceived everything the loved one did or said as something special and unique. When you are in love, you want to know everything about the other person, almost to absorb his or her essence. For just a moment, you are more interested in them than in yourself.
If you can temporarily fall in love with your test participants, and find in yourself that sense of wonder in discovering another person’s perceptions, thoughts and feelings, you will not be so tempted to superimpose your opinion, preconceptions, and biases to what you are observing. Because suddenly the person in front of you is so much more interesting than any of your own opinions.
There is something wonderful in experiencing somebody else’s world. You understanding expands, you suddenly see something you could not see before. And there is no going back.
I know that many practitioners will disagree with me. It’s obvious that research should be some kind of cold and objective data collection technique, not a sudden emotional connection with the object of your study. And "love" is a word that should never be used in a business context. But when you are trying to understand human experience, a measuring tape may not be the best tool for the job.
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