Yummy Sounds

How to listen for what your user isn’t saying

Imagine you’re sitting at the kitchen table. In front of you is a homemade meal and across from you sits your guest. They’re loading their fork up with their first bite. They chew, they taste…and you hear…“Mmm…mmhmm.” (You know, in that obviously-trying-to-be-polite sort of way.)

You make it through the meal, though a bit disappointed in your guest’s response to your cooking. Even though it wasn’t the response you wanted to hear, it’s helpful to know you could use a few more Master Class cooking lessons. Amiright?

We’ve all had experiences where we interpret sounds from people as positive or negative feedback. And use that signal to inform how we respond.

And it’s no different for designers. Maybe you’ve even noticed this, too.

You’re watching a remote user test video. As they’re going through the next task, a new page loads and boom, you hear it. “Mmm…mmhmm.” Here’s your cue to dig in and find out what that sound really means.

Early on in my design career, I learned those sounds can be more powerful than any verbal feedback. It’s unavoidably honest, even when test participants are trying to bias their feedback to get a good rating from me, the researcher.

We all want to design something that’s perfect out of the gate. Something that makes people audibly or visually emote in a positive way. We’re allowed to want that, but often need a reality check. It takes a lot of effort to solve for business needs in an elegant and ethical way. That’s why design is an iterative process.

It takes a lot of effort to solve for business needs in an elegant and ethical way. That’s why design is an iterative process.

Listen closely for those un-yummy sounds and watch for those ‘yuck’ facial expressions in your next discovery session. These cues will help you target the areas of your experiences that need attention. And here’s the hard part. To understand and articulate why a person has reacted this way — you have to talk to them and build empathy. This is easy if you’re testing in person, otherwise you have to plan ahead.

Pro Tip: Schedule interviews with remote testers so you have the opportunity to ask follow up questions.

As you’re talking to your users, try the ‘5 Whys’ to begin to reveal real reason for their reaction. At the least, leverage your active listening skills to dig deep until you start to see patterns emerge. From here, you may note some changes that need to be made. And after a few rounds of iteration, you may hear the ‘yummy’ sounds, but that doesn’t mean your work, or experience you’re building, is finished.

Regardless of the sentiment, understand why people react the way they do. Again, audible and visual clues can be even more valuable than any verbal feedback. They may indicate other places where you’re falling short or failing to set clear expectations earlier in a flow. Or, perhaps trying too hard to get a positive reaction. The ability to empathize with emotional reactions can unlock your potential to make much more impactful change to the lives of your customers.