reading body language during user testing_upa 2012
DESCRIPTION
Presentation for usability professionals at UPA 2012 about how to read body language during usability testing as a method to uncoverTRANSCRIPT
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! [email protected]