The title of this workshop is a reference to The Artist Is Present, a performance art piece by Marina Abramovic. Marina spent months at MOMA sitting silently across from a nearly endless series of museum visitors, some of whom broke into tears. The notion of presence is a critical idea for those of us in user experience. At the risk of sounding like Yoda, presence is tied to self-knowing. During ten years of writing, lecturing and coaching on “interviewing users”, many of the questions that Steve Portigal receives are about controlling or influencing another person’s behavior. Yet these interactions with others are really about ourselves, what’s inside us, who we are. Therapists, as part of their education, must go through therapy themselves. They are expected to achieve a certain level of insight about themselves — their biases, their discomforts, and so on. While we are not therapists, we go out and study people without that level of self-insight! A lack of self-insight sometimes manifests itself as passion, commitment, or being driven by a mission. While those have their place, it’s easy to become blinded by what we can’t let ourselves see. Sometimes this shows up as discomfort at the micro level, when we react to something a user might tell us about themselves; sometimes it’s a macro issue, when we’re uncomfortable with people who hold different values, preferences, or beliefs than ourselves. And it crescendos as know-it-all douchebaggery, when we think our job is to tell other people what’s best for them — when phrases like “frictionless sharing” fall from our lips as naturally as “what time is dinner?” In this workshop, you’ll tap into a new level of personal authenticity to unlock a powerful boon. Together, we’ll explore this point of view and participate in a range of exercises to learn more about these ideas — and about ourselves.

1. 1
The Designer Is Present
Steve Portigal
@steveportigal

2. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
We help companies discover and
act on new insights about their
customers and themselves
Portigal

3. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Resources, presentations and to purchase
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/interviewing-users/
•
Use discount code: PORTIGAL

4. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Introduction

5. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Your name!
What are your
hopes/goals/expectations
for the workshop?
The organization you work for.
Who we are
(Optional) A specific
example of recently noticing
something outside yourself?

6. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleResources
Links „n more: http://bit.ly/15o6EiE
Deck: slideshare.net/steveportigal

7. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleWhat do we mean by “presence?”

8. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleWhat do we mean by “presence?”
Being aware of
your own
thoughts and
feelings…so you
can make
choices about
how to act

9. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Some Thoughts On Presence

10. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleThis is important to us

11. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleEmpathy

12. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleIn the Zeitgeist

13. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleMindfulness

14. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleIn the Zeitgeist

15. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleSelf-knowledge

16. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleMeditation (not always tied to spirituality/religion)

17. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleLet‟s do a micromeditation

18. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleSeven Attitudes of Mindfulness
Non-judging We bring our own ideas to a situation. We
can notice our own thoughts but not act on
them.
Patience Things happen in their own way and in their
own time.
Beginner‟s Mind Approach a situation having let go of what we
already think we “know.”
Trust Look to yourself – even if you make mistakes
– rather than outside yourself.
Non-striving Not trying to make things different but just
allowing them to be as they are.
Acceptance Seeing things as they are, now.
Letting Go/Non-attachment Not holding on to how you want things to be.
Adapted from Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn

19. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleIn interviews, the “exploding questions”
Coping techniques
• Wait until these issues
come up organically,
without you having to ask
• Make notes on your field
guide about what you
want to loop back to so
you don‟t forget
• Triage based on what‟s
most pressing for your
topic
• Triage based on what
makes the best follow-up,
to demonstrate listening –
e.g., emotional cues

20. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleExploding questions can lead to a flow state

21. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleValidating is judging

22. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleRing my bell

23. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleMind and body

24. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleSelf-knowledge elsewhere

25. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleSelf-knowledge elsewhere

26. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleSelf-knowledge elsewhere

27. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleWe are bound by our aspirations/inspirations
We think we know what
the solution is.
We think we know what
other people are about.
We can‟t hear them.
We design for our “vision”
not for their needs.

28. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleIt‟s Going To Be Okay

29. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Reframing

30. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleA shaggy-dog story

31. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleReframing fear
“How do I change the power dynamic when I interview
stakeholders so it's more peer-to-peer? They are
business executives and I feel like with all their
knowledge that I‟m going to embarrass myself or
they'll laugh at me.”
1. Congrats for noticing your own fear.
2. The goal is to approach interviews knowing that the
subject is your expect. You‟re already there!
3. What's the worst that can happen? Find a way to be
okay with that fear.

32. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleCognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – the reframe
How (negative) thinking affects feelings and behavior
“She was totally furious when I handed her the letter!”
[What else could be the reason for her action?]

33. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleExercise: Come up with a really bad idea
Write or sketch the worst
idea for a product, service,
feature that you can come
up with
Tweet your idea
use #Fluxible
#Presence

34. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleExercise: Hand off your bad idea
Pass your bad idea to
someone else…

35. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleExercise: Hand off your bad idea
Pass your bad idea to
someone else…
Design the circumstances
where that bad idea
becomes a good one.
Tweet your reframe
use #Fluxible
#Presence

36. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Marina Abramović

37. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleMarina Abramović: The Artist Is Present
xxx

38. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleMarina Abramović: The Artist Is Present
xxx

39. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleMarina Abramović Made Me Cry
xxx

40. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleExercise

41. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleIs it break time?

42. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Noticing

43. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleNoticing Our Users
Noticing the noticing sensation
Things that make you go “Hmm”
Your attention is grabbed
You stop what you are doing
Laugh/point/cringe
Furrow brow in confusion
Whut tha…?

44. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleNoticing helps you to notice later

45. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleNoticing helps you to notice later

46. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleNoticing helps you to notice later

47. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleNoticing helps you to notice later

48. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleNoticing helps you to notice later

49. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleBuilding Noticing Muscles
Carry a camera/notepad and use it
Thinkaloud protocol – say what you‟re
seeing
• To a friend
• To your device
Get out of your regular/comfort zone

50. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleBuilding Noticing Muscles

51. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleExercise
Group A
Sit down, close your eyes
Capture observations of other people using only sound
Group B
Observe behavior farther away, out of earshot
You may want to go somewhere else, an atrium or upper level
Capture observations of other people using only visual
Take 5 minutes, then come back and we‟ll debrief

52. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Improv

53. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleImprov is not stand-up comedy
In contrast to improv, stand-up is
• Highly scripted
• Rehearsed, with nano-second timing

54. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleImprov is...
A highly-constrained performance with
several open parameters
Elements of problem solving
Unscripted
Specifics assigned right before performance starts
“Your first idea is often your best idea”
Emphasis on playfulness over being funny
“I could never do that, because I‟m not funny”
It can be (at times) funny to watch, but not about trying to
be funny
“The funny will come”
“Don‟t let logic impede your fancy”
Cheaper than therapy

55. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Corporate training on
collaboration and creativity
Compare with popularity of
Drawing on the Right Side of the
Brain
Meeting facilitation/ideation warm-
up
Informance (from Interval
Research)
User research methods
Improv finds it way into many areas
At Pixar, when someone suggests an idea, others should
respond with “Yes, and ...” They‟ve used improv to create
the most trusting environment possible where people can
screw up.
Pixar tells story behind 'Toy Story„, SF Chronicle, 8/23/05

56. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleImprov and collaboration
Throwing an idea
Accepting offers/saying yes
Trust
Listening
Setting up the spike
Chris Miller emphasizes that your task in improv is to
make your partner look good.

57. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleImprov Dark Patterns

58. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleImprov can bring
Insights about humor
Confidence in public
speaking
Timing
Did I mention therapy?
Building skills in listening

59. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleGame: Accepting Offers

60. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleGame: Storytelling Circle (Time Permitting)

61. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleGame: Storytelling Circle (Time Permitting)

62. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Wrapping Up

63. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title styleTakeaways
What did you get out of this workshop?
How will you apply it?

64. The Designer Is Present ‹#› Portigal
Click to edit Master title style
Portigal Consulting
www.portigal.com
@steveportigal
steve@portigal.com
+1-415-894-2001
Thank you!