Understanding the Feelings of Your Users

User interaction with a product is a conversation; users are (constantly) talking to/with your product and reacting (emotionally) to what your product says and does.

As we guide users towards different tasks and functionalities, we want to be there for them emotionally as well. Once we know how our users are feeling (both inside and outside of the context of our product), we can shape their experience accordingly-be it through providing some help, a joke, or even a way out.

Duolingo recently added advertisements (I know, its terrible) within their app.

Not only is this generally frustrating, but there was a shock factor (the first time) as well. However, before the frustration could build up I saw “This ad helps keep education free” and exhaled. It may sound dumb but its true. It calmed me down and prevented me from reaching a breaking point (leaving the app at that moment/walking away with a ‘negative’ experience). I feel the same way each time I encounter it; I start to get annoyed (by the additional screen/effort), see the reminder, relax, and carry on with my session.

Every interaction is an opportunity to add to the ongoing conversation between your product and your users. We cannot avoid user frustration. But if we know what they are thinking and feeling, we can respond accordingly and keep the conversation going.

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It can easily be overlooked but Duolingo’s wording is pretty neat. Instead of simply saying “This ad helps keep Duolingo free,” they stress that it “helps keep education free.” No matter how many times I’ve seen it previously, that message has an impact on me as well. It reinforces the app’s value prop and reminds me that I am indeed learning.

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