The recent passing of the legendary comic Fred Willard was yet another sad occurrence in a year that has been filled with such news. Willard was a “comedian’s comedian”: Someone who entertained his peers as well as audiences. He was also, in the recollections of all who knew him, one of the nicest men in entertainment.
When it comes to his core competence – Improvisation – he was an unmatched and unstoppable. In a recent interview with Gilbert Gottfried, Actor Bob Balaban said working with Willard was like being “Run over by a truck, but a very nice truck.”
Here’s two great examples of Willard’s work, both making light of death…
While I have done a little bit of Improv in my time, I was never very good at it… But I did learn some key things about Improvisational comedy in my research. One core guideline when working with your fellow performers is “Yield and Don’t Deny.” Effectively, if your “partner” in that improv moment is “on point” and running with a premise or character, you don’t interrupt and you support the moment and add to the story. And never deny: If you want to kill any comedy energy, saying “No, that didn’t happen that way” is a sure to do it.
These improvisation “best practices” also apply to user experience design, and working with your fellow designers. Let me deconstruct and explain.
Yield
Good improv needs being in the moment, and active listening. This is equally true when it comes to user research, or facilitating a workshop, or testing a design with participants. I’ve been in situations where being “present” helped me notice a detail that I would have missed if I was distracted. I’ve also seen the opposite – when a UX facilitator is not “reading the room” during a workshop and ends up with disengaged people who don’t contribute.
So in those situations, do what I try to do: We have two ears, and one mouth. We should listen twice as much as we talk.
And when you are working with your design “partner” on a team (I’m a big believer in “peer designing,” a variation of peer developing) this is equally implacable. If you engage and support, you can make the resulting work better through supporting the direction. If you were “driving” the design, would you do things differently? Yes, but your perspective is not universal. Let your colleague lead, and provide feedback – but be constructive and positive. Many UX designers put their heart and soul into their work, and you should respect the effort and emotion that is applied.
Don’t Deny
One of the best things about Design Thinking as an exercise is it has more than a touch of improv in the process. Every time I run a DT workshop I always discuss the ground rules, and one of the core ones is to acknowledge the different personalities that are in the room. Whenever you gather a room full of people, you will inevitably have a person whose personality leans towards a “critical” perspective. The old saying “Everyone’s a critic” isn’t exactly true, but when you have a workshop you will inevitably find one there.
Which is why I use my version of “Don’t deny.” When ideas are shared, I stamp down on criticism and request that the idea be built on, not shot down. “Yes, and…” is the suggested structure: Agree to the idea and then add additional details you come up with. This is what makes good ideas into great ones – and the same thing goes for improv comedy.
This is also applicable to design reviews and providing feedback – if you have no issues with a design, look for ways you can add to or improve the work of your peers. “Yes, and…” is a great way to collaborate.
So long, Fred
Fred Willard’s death was sad news, but I and other fans take comfort that his work will continue to be there for people to revisit and discover for decades to come. And a final lesson to us all: He was still working, up until he passed away at the age of 88. An inspiration, and I hope to have a similar journey in my twilight years.
And if you want to sharpen some of your “soft skills” as a UX practitioner… Consider an improv class.