Kim Chatterjee - How To Design Your Own “Empathy Walk” (and make your stakeholders live your research findings)

What can you make your audience experience in 30 minutes? Try being a single mum in subsidized housing in Chicago and see what kind of decisions you have to make to avoid homelessness. Or be a maize farmer in rural Zambia, anxious for the annual harvest, and see if he will buy your client’s health insurance product.

In this series of stories I'll show you a method that I believe should be in every research team's field kit when it comes time to story-telling and bringing your findings back into the boardroom. Come see how you can craft your own empathy walk from your research findings, and help your audience really connect with the people whose stories you are trying to tell, and the problems you are trying to make visible.

Transcript

1. How To Design
   Your Own
   Empathy Walk
   (and make your stakeholders live
   your research findings)
   (photo by mostafa meraji /Unsplash)
   

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2. Kim Chatterjee
   ux design research behaviour change
   title-fluid gofer
   method copycat
   

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3. telling
   YOUR OWN story
   living
   SOMEONE ELSE’s story
   

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4. EMPATHY WALK:
   Your own story
   a reflective way for a group to concurrently share and learn of each others’
   experiences / privilege / vulnerability
   WARNING: handle with respect and caution, can be highly triggering
   

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5. story #1 of 3
   

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6. A DESIGN SUMMIT IN RURAL THAILAND:
   how do we prepare to support our
   team members, when we don’t know
   them yet?
   

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7. college degree
   ever been divorced
   travelled to n countries
   from ethnic background
   parents no longer togeth
   own your own home
   experienced violence or
   no debt
   Take a step
   forward / backward if
   [ CRITERIA ]
   

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8. ● create criteria list to meet your goal
   ● binary criteria
   ● enough space to step forward per criteria
   ● slow, respectful pace
   ● done in silence
   ● time for reflection and discussion after
   Method:
   ● team bonding
   ● priming activity for team facilitators
   ● reflect on vulnerability and privilege
   Purpose:
   

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9. EMPATHY WALK:
   Your persona’s story
   an immersive way to let your audience experience and make the kinds of
   choices that your target persona is faced with in real life
   

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10. story #2 of 3
    

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11. IN CHICAGO:
    how does someone end up homeless,
    sleeping in the car in winter?
    

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12. MONEY GOODWILL
    $$$
    APARTMENT
    SUBSIDIZED
    RENT
    SINGLE
    ADULT ROOM
    SHELTER
    CAR
    STAY WITH
    FRIENDS & FAMILY
    It is now [ month ].
    Move to the place
    WHERE YOU CAN
    AFFORD TO PAY RENT
    YOUR OBJECTIVE:
    Keep all 3 kids in school
    and in good health
    Pay rent where you can
    afford for that month
    Last for 9 months
    

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13. At the bell (change of month),
    pay rent where you are.
    If you cannot afford it, move to
    where you can afford.
    Your eldest child is an activist and got arrested at a political rally.
    ● post bail (2 GREEN SLIPS)
    ● let her stay in jail
    Your younger daughter is suspended for behavioural issues.
    ● pay for daycare (1 GREEN SLIP),
    ● ask your neighbour to mind her (1 YELLOW SLIP)
    ● leave her unattended
    An official announcement is made in Italian. You don’t speak Italian.
    ● pay for translation (1 GREEN SLIP)
    ● do nothing
    Decision: Life Happens…
    

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14. $$$
    APARTMENT
    SUBSIDIZED
    RENT
    SINGLE
    ADULT ROOM
    SHELTER
    CAR
    STAY WITH
    FRIENDS & FAMILY
    It is now [ month ].
    Move to the place
    WHERE YOU CAN
    AFFORD TO PAY RENT
    YOUR OBJECTIVE:
    Keep all 3 kids in school
    and in good health
    Pay rent where you can
    afford for that month
    Last for 9 months
    MONEY GOODWILL
    

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15. MONEY GOODWILL
    $$$
    APARTMENT
    SUBSIDIZED
    RENT
    SINGLE
    ADULT ROOM
    SHELTER
    CAR
    STAY WITH
    FRIENDS & FAMILY
    It is now [ month ].
    Move to the place
    WHERE YOU CAN
    AFFORD TO PAY RENT
    YOUR OBJECTIVE:
    Keep all 3 kids in school
    and in good health
    Pay rent where you can
    afford for that month
    Last for 9 months
    PERSONA
    RESOURCES
    TO SPEND/
    TRADE
    COST PER
    DECISION
    COMMON
    STARTING
    POINT
    CLEAR
    MISSION
    AND
    TIMEFRAME
    EXCLUSIVE
    SPACES FOR
    DECISIONS
    DECISIONS
    + “LIFE”
    CRITERIA
    

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16. ● create physical space for decisions
    ● create persona
    ● set the timeframe
    ● create the “Decisions” list
    ● create the “Life happens” bucket
    ● plan the costs/actions per decision
    ● allocate resource tokens
    ● slow, respectful pace
    ● done in silence
    ● time for reflection and discussion after
    Method:
    ● understand motivations
    ● experience context over time
    ● see how a product/service does/not fit
    Purpose:
    

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17. story #3 of 3
    

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18. IN RURAL ZAMBIA:
    How does a rural maize farmer,
    nervous because of the dry season,
    manage their budget?
    (and would they buy your health insurance product?)
    

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21. You are a 40 year old man, living in a village 30 km from the nearest town.
    You live with your wife, 4 children and 1 dependant - the son of your deceased brother.
    Your youngest three are in primary school,
    and the first-born and the dependant are old enough to start secondary school.
    You have 5 hectares of traditional land you use
    for gardening (vegetables) and farming (maize). You do not own the title deed.
    You have village chickens, 4 goats, and a few sacks of maize as surplus.
    Your garden provides enough vegetables for your own consumption.
    Your wife sells the rest, and it is enough to manage your monthly household expenses.
    You are a member of an agricultural cooperative,
    and so far you have paid for 2 of the 10 shares you are required to own.
    

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22. Every month, you must buy household supplies like soap, cooking oil, talktime.
    Whenever the community needs help, you must contribute.
    Your objective is to reach May with a good harvest.
    At any point, you have the option to:
    ● Sell your livestock or your surplus sacks of maize
    ● Ask for contributions from community, which you may/may not get
    ● Take your children out of school
    22
    

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23. It is now [ month ].
    PLEASE BUY THE
    ESSENTIALS FOR
    YOUR FAMILY.
    YOUR OBJECTIVE:
    Buy the household
    essentials each month
    Last for 7 months til harvest
    SIGN UP FOR
    GOVERNMENT
    FARMING SCHEME
    HAVE HEALTH
    INSURANCE
    PLACE OF SHAME
    (IF YOU DON’T CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIAL EXPENSES)
    NOT YET SIGNED UP FOR
    GOVERNMENT FARMING SCHEME
    MONEY GRAIN LIVESTOCK
    

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24. At the bell (change of month),
    pay for household expenses.
    Each month, you can choose to
    buy health insurance for that
    month.
    School fees are due at specific
    months. Which children do you
    pay for?
    Neighbour’s mother passes away. Please contribute for funeral
    expenses.
    ● Contribute (1 GREEN SLIP)
    ● Do not pay, but move to section so everyone sees
    [DRAW 2 NAMES FROM BOWL]: your sons had football injuries and
    need to go to hospital.
    ● If you have insurance, pay nothing
    ● If you do not have insurance, pay 2 GREEN SLIPS
    It is time to pay school fees, Choose who to keep in school.
    ● Pay 1 GREEN SLIP per primary school aged child
    ● Pay 3 GREEN SLIPS per secondary school aged child
    Decision: Life Happens…
    

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26. SIGN UP FOR
    GOVERNMENT
    FARMING SCHEME
    YOUR OBJECTIVE:
    Buy the household
    essentials each month
    Sell your maize or goats if
    you need to
    Last for 7 months til harvest
    HAVE HEALTH
    INSURANCE
    PLACE OF SHAME
    (IF YOU DON’T CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIAL EXPENSES)
    NOT YET SIGNED UP FOR
    GOVERNMENT FARMING SCHEME
    MONEY GRAIN LIVESTOCK
    It is now [ month ].
    PLEASE BUY THE
    ESSENTIALS FOR
    YOUR FAMILY.
    

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27. “Ha, I wouldn’t buy this product either.”
    “Farmers need something different.
    What can we offer?”
    

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28. telling
    YOUR OWN story
    living
    SOMEONE ELSE’s story
    

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29. kim.chatterjee@gmail.com
    www.linkedin.com/in/kim-chatterjee
    Thank you.
    

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