So yesterday, we had a very insightful workshop session with Abby Covert, aka Abby_the_IA, which was an exercise in telling our personal story. It was an exercise I wish I had done on a regular basis for many years and one I will add in to my New Years’ resolution/to-do list annually.
It is a worthwhile experience for anyone in any industry and people who don’t know what they want to be when they grow up. You basically have to sum your life up in a short timeframe then tell the story to other people, then they repeat back to you what they heard/picked up.
Also, you are not supposed to ask any questions, this is purely their feedback and constructive criticism of your story — it’s a surefire way of figuring out how to get the story on point. And, to keep it interesting.
The feedback from my UXDI classmates (Bettina, Andy and Graham) was that the overarching theme to my life story is that I’m curious.
On the topic of curiosity, I wonder if this activity should be done multiple times and which feedback should be taken with the heaviest weight:
1. with people you already know
- current/former coworkers and managers
- close friends
- family
- mentors/instructors/professors whose classes you’ve taken
2. with strangers
- people who don’t know much about you but know something about the industries you want to work in
- strangers in unrelated industries
- people who work in creative industries in hiring or management positions (aka your intended “target” audience).
On thinking of that more, I think the best results would be from doing that with anyone and everyone then analyzing all the results and fine-tuning. Before I go further, I have to admit I’m UXing the process of UXing. And it’s bizarre and meta, but it feels so right.
So now, to get that down to some tag-lines and/or a personal value proposition.
