UX & The Art of Looking Stupid
Recently I had a nice chat with a developer in a technology related meetup. I asked, what he’s profession was, and he told me that he is in Dev Ops. My next question was ”Okay. So, what do you do?” I saw a glimpse of surprise and doubt on his face. Then the look transformed into gentleness, and really kindly he told me a lot about his work and where he works.
That facial expression, a glimpse of surprise and doubt, is really familiar to me. I see it now and then on the faces of people when I am gathering information for a UX-project or doing user research. That expression emerges especially when the other person thinks I should know the subject I am asking about. Usually the facial expression transforms into a gentle smile, and I get detailed explanation about the subject.
As a UX-designer my duty is to get information out of people. When I am familiar with the field or the subject already, it makes it easier for me to recognize the relevant data. However I need to behave like a newbie. That way I have the chance to hear how this particular person thinks and acts. Otherwise I am in the risk of not asking about something because I think it is self evident but in reality is not the way I think it would be.
I learned this skill, the art of looking stupid, from several internationally known scientists. No matter what field of science, I found that these respected professors often asked ”stupid” questions in team meetings and in conferences. It seemed that they didn’t care at all what others thought about them. If they didn’t understand something, they asked. Actually, they even went on asking when I was one hundred percent sure they already knew the ”right” answer. They simply wanted to hear the other person’s thoughts on the subject! They were all the time gathering precious pieces of information – by looking stupid.
So I will continue to be that cute newbie, and as a result all these kind people give me huge amounts of information that I can use in designing the next application they will fall in love with.
