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Life (and design thinking) lessons from an investigative journalist
Tuesday, 3 September 2019
Hi there!
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on investigative writing organised by Juggernaut Books and conducted by Deepali Gupta — a finance journalist and author of the book “Tata vs Mistry: The Battle for India’s Greatest Business Empire”.
During the workshop, Deepali gave us first hand insights into what it takes to investigate stories and gather puzzle pieces from different places to complete the picture. She then gave us a fictitious story to pursue and experience the thrill of investigation.
We were shown two ‘news’ headlines about a successful entrepreneur who had just been arrested, and then asked to figure out the whole story, filling in the gaps using some of the techniques she explained.
We then ‘interviewed’ the three protagonists of the plot and wrote our stories based on the ‘facts’ we had gathered.
From the many nuggets of advise Deepali shared during the workshop, here are two takeaways that are important not only from a journalist’s point of view, but also valuable in design, design thinking, and life.
Interviewing
While interviewing the three protagonists of the plot, we got their versions of the story. There were many ‘facts’ we were able to unearth, and there were some pieces of information that we were unable to find out.
Deepali pointed out that, when interviewing, if we had paid close attention, we would have noted the words used by each of the protagonists, as well as their body language. While one was giving long-winded, vague answers, the other was giving short ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ replies. While one kept saying Sir or Madam, keeping us ‘journalists’ at a higher level, the other two were very aware of their seniority.
People are very careful about what they say, and if they have something to hide, or do not wish to reveal certain things, you cannot expect them to say it out loud. You should be on the lookout for tiny slips, and then use them to find the connecting pieces, she said. We had three stories from the three protagonists, but couldn’t piece them together because we didn’t pick up one crucial clue.
When trying to uncover latent market needs, we often conduct field research. A questionnaire helps, but we need more than just some ticks to standardised questions. We need to pay attention to the tiny clues that people provide through their responses and body language, and then follow those clues. One of the techniques designers use is called ‘5 Whys’. Ask people why they say the things they say. And then follow it up with more why’s — just as a curious child would. Digging deeper will then uncover the missing links to the story or an untapped business opportunity.
Neutrality
When writing out our stories, many of the participants invariably took the side of the arrested entrepreneur, as a victim of a larger, corrupt system.
Deepali pointed this out, and then asked us to look at the plot from the other person’s point of view. From that point of view, maybe the arrest was just unfortunate. From each of their perspectives, they were only helping other people, and within a couple of years the problem would have sorted itself out without anyone even knowing anything about any wrongdoing, let alone being arrested.
Neutrality is especially crucial while writing non-fiction, so that you do not invite legal action. Importantly, if you pick a side, you can become blind to the other sides, further endangering the truth.
In Design Thinking lingo, Deepali was asking us to be empathetic. Just as in journalism, while gathering inputs for user/customer research, we are vulnerable to bias. Some of these biases come from a lack of information, others by cultural stereotypes fuelled by our own beliefs and assumptions.
Assumptions and beliefs are part of human nature; having them proven wrong is painful, which is why they are harder to work around.
A first step in countering assumptions is recognising and accepting that we may be biased, and then actively seeking to hear the other sides with an open mind.
What lessons have you learnt from other professionals? I’d love to know. Simply hit reply!
Warm Regards,
Kasturika
Consulting Designer | Blogger | Storyteller
Digital Nomad
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