Listening Deeply.

October 03, 2002 | 0 Comments

I came across this little bit about listening today.

I’ve worked in many situations and it seems the most successful are those where the people involved really listen to each other - and I don’t mean listen for the person to stop talking so you can speak - but really listen to what they are saying and where they come from. Sometimes it’s obvious that what someone is saying isn’t what they are really saying, you know what I mean?

Donna makes a good point in relation to design:

This is perhaps more important than all of the design techniques that I know. If I wasn’t able to listen deeply (and many, many people can’t), I might be able to make a usable site, but it wouldn’t be one that addresses needs that the users don’t even know they have.

I know I need to work on listening - I imagine we all do. I think it’s a skill that you need to cultivate and really work on. Hearing and understanding what people are telling you can really make your life easier and I can see how this would not only make for better IAs and designs - but an easier working process as well.

It’s like Chris Rock when he does his bit about coming home to your wife. He says - “You’re wife wants to talk to you. But she doesn’t want to talk, talk. She wants you to listen, listen.”

Listening. It’s not just for design and IA - it’s for everything.

Filed under: IA and Usability