reading body language during user testing_upa 2012

by Brooke Baldwin

Seems simple, no? the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by

which a person…communicates with others Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Facial expressions Hand gestures Body position Disposition

People’s verbal commentaries and introspective reports are notoriously unreliable. Subjects in a laboratory setting are often highly suggestible and may unconsciously pick up what you want to hear and oblige by telling you that.

V.S. Ramachandran, M.D., The Tell-Tale Brain

During user testing for any software product, it is common for users to subconsciously want to please the moderator. This can skew results because misleading feedback can greatly impact how software features and designs are modified.

Skew results to please the moderator Leave design flaws undiscovered

We’re predispositioned to be able to know what other people are feeling • mirror neurons - lots of years of biology

It’s empathy. Exercise your amygdala! • What’s that? Part of your limbic system that processes

emotional reactions (and the memory of emotion)

• Pay attention to your own responses

You help set the tone • Warm welcome • Still your own body • Ignore distractions • Make eye contact as

appropriate • Mirror their body position

(use good judgment)

Listen and watch • Dissonance of words &

body?

• Observe patterns; don’t rely on one gesture as evidence

Look for indications of stress

Probe when something doesn’t seem right

Have another observer taking body language notes

Video tape the session for review later

Read gestures in clusters or patterns Look for congruence of words and body

language Look for synchronicity of word and gesture Read gestures in context

Sit next to your test

participant (A), slightly

facing them.

Facial expressions research Mouth shrug = lying Chin thrust = angry Still body, ignoring distractions = interested Leaning towards = attentive to speaker Arms/legs crossed = reserved Sitting on hands or jiggling = nervous, apprehensive, or

impatient Soft comforting gesture = self reassurance when a

speaker does not believe themselves or has little confidence in what they are saying

Person is interested and focused on what the other is saying

Person does not have confidence in what they are saying when displaying a mouth shrug

Lying is a cooperative act False positive lies are much more common than

false negative (10-20x more) Look for clusters of behaviors Asymmetry – do words and gestures match? BASIC 5 Steps

• Baseline the behavior

• Ask open-ended questions

• Study the clusters

• Intuit the gaps

• Confirm

Don’t ask “why”, ask “what made you do that?”

Physical gesture and

verbal comment are

not in agreement;

asynchronous gestures

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDo

sPelotas?blend=6&ob=5#p/u/19/exkp

F2s5HOI

Anthony Weiner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLF72

BAA5F61531E81&v=L0z5k0mc5yk&feature

=player_detailpage#t=45s

Important life lesson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9YTxff3pHU

Pamela Meyer, Liespotting; TED 2011 Talk Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind Albert Mehrabian, Non-verbal Communication Joe Navarro & Marvin Karlins, What Every Body is Saying Allan & Barbara Pease, The Definitive Book of Body Language VS Ramachandran, The Tell Tale Brain Matthew Alexander, Kill or Capture: How a Special Operations

Task Force Took Down a Notorious Al Qaeda Terrorist

Thank you! brooke@brookebaldwin.com