Persona Development & Storytelling for Business Growth

Erin Liman | Innovation is Social | erin@innovationissocial.com | @liman

source: wegotthiscovered.com

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Leadership is the art of inspiring others to make a story come true

via @araskin

businessstrategy

tech

organizationaltransformation

experiencedesignBusiness Growth Designer

Strategic Storyteller

The Language We Use Shapes the Way We Think

source: IMDB.com

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[played short video on linguistics]

Why is language important?

 You Don’t Always Get What You Want

pains > requirements “holey” solutions no satisfaction

2008

image; MultiCultClassics

 JILL BOLTE TAYLOR: “MY STROKE OF INSIGHT”

Number skills Math/Science skills Written language Spoken language Objectivity Analytical Logic Reasoning

Intuition Imagination

Creativity Emotion

Synthesizing Subjectivity

Music/Art

 Different Hemispheres, Different Ways of Processing Information

a-ha: story is the vehicle that brings

pains, motivations and solutions to life

marketing story

customer pain story

product story

>

>

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 What If we Use And Preserve the Customer’s Language?

 stories guide product development

• Stories provide a visceral understanding of the customer problem

• They guide micro-decisions for ux and dev • They clarify roadmap prioritization decisions

stories are sticky

compelling stories are about change

Figure out the current story

tell a new story

Figure out the current story

tell a new story

so, how do we create the new story?

3STEPS

TO CREATING THE NEW STORY

COLLECT “AS-IS” STORIESIDENTIFY PATTERNS & FLOWSRE-FRAME, TELL A NEW STORY

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COLLECT “AS-IS” STORIES1

immerse yourself by walking in someone else’s shoes, and learning their language

José Avillez (Chef) Portuguese Men in High Heels for Women Rights

to discover someone’s explicit and implicit needs so you can test your understanding of these needs with your prototypes (interventions)

Why Gain Empathy?

capture stories.how do we gain empathy?

basic story spine te

nsio

n

time

once upona time…

and every day

until one dayand because of that

and because of that

until finally

and ever since that day

exercise: sentence at a time story

1 once upon a time…2 and every day…3 until one day…4 and because of that…5 and because of that…6 until finally…7 and ever since that day…

how to we discover what’s meaningful to

the people we’re solving for?

WISH

WANT

NEED

PAINFEAR

CONS

CIOU

SUN

CONS

CIOU

S

depth = meaning©  2016  Innova-on  is  Social,  LLC

te

nsio

n

time

introduction, frame

build rapport

“sunny day”

“rainy day”

resolution

reflection

wrap-up and thank

collect stories using the story spine

Challenges

Motivation &/or Rewards

End-to-end “service” especially the last mile

“Magic wand”

Identify Key Themes to Focus Research

Getting help

What’s happening when things just “flow?”

If/when they need to collaborate

What to Capture While Interviewing/ObservingCAPTURE: – JOB TO BE DONE – PROCESS – EMOTIONS – ENVIRONMENT – PARTICIPANTS

BE SURE TO GET QUOTES!

COLLECT STORIES IDENTIFY PATTERNS & FLOWS

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COLLECT STORIES 12

pains, insights, motivations, workaroundsIDENTIFY PATTERNS & FLOWS

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persona examples

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lifeless persona

37Source: Kate Rutter, Strategic Sketcher at Intelleto

actionable persona

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present research, audible + visual personas for meta-synthesis

synthesizing insightsLOOK FOR PATTERNS: – JOB TO BE DONE – PROCESS – EMOTIONS – ENVIRONMENT – PARTICIPANTS

CLUSTER QUOTES

credit: Village9991

persona = composite portrait of a user or stakeholder

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synthesis:Identify patterns in fears, pains and workarounds.Create rough personas.

analogous researchBrainstorm: who else faces similar challenges?How do they approach it?Use these insights to inspire your “to be” story.

trends

observations

stake

holder sto

ries

quantitative d

ata

analogo

us situations

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analogus inspiration

COLLECT STORIES IDENTIFY PATTERNS & FLOWSRE-FRAME, TELL A NEW STORY

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collaborative storytelling / bodystorming: “AS-IS” & “TO BE”

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identify key story “beats”

experiment with the order of plot events to see what has the most impact

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Then Add Color (backstory, descriptions, etc.)

wikipedia //hdfreefoto

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storyboard panel exampleWow! This could be a huge deal. I’m going

to need help to go after this one.

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embed stakeholder language so story affects emotions and resonates with different audiences?

Package your story for Virality

adopt a prototyping mindset

Prototype the problem(s) / “as-is” Validate the problem is worth solving Prototype the new story / “to be” Validate the value proposition & story Prototype how the value will be delivered

1. Step into the perspective of the key persona (hero). 2. Walk through the storyline, one step at a time, from trigger to

resolution. 3. Brainstorm ways to get your hero into trouble. Show how the

hero overcomes the challenge(s), and what happens as a result. 4. Add context (backstory, environment, etc.) to evoke empathy.

Include details to help the listener visualize what they hear. Make the story sticky by helping listeners relate it to their own experience.

5. Step back and simplify. Then, simplify even more. 6. Tell the story. Revise. Repeat.

director’s tips

re-incorporate stakeholder language remove marketing-speak and corporate jargon

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Thank you!

Erin Liman Business Growth Designer Innovation is Social, LLC

twitter: @liman linkedin.com/erinliman innovationissocial.com