I ♥ IDEO! I so appreciated conversational tips offered by IDEO U’s blog, 6 tips from IDEO Designers on How to Unlock Insightful Conversation.
IDEO may be one of my favorite companies of all time. I have always wanted to work for them and especially like the way they hire.
IDEO recruits people with expertise in different disciplines and groups them to produce consumer insight and design products. IDEO developed the Apple white mouse that fits so nicely into the palm of your hand. The IDEO recruiting recipe might include hiring a former ballet dancer, philosopher and an engineer and then throw a running shoe product challenge at them. The theory is that each sees the world through a different lens and discipline. When paired together to find a solution, their conclusions and recommendations are more creative and innovative because of the cross-disciplinary filters employed.
Interestingly, the IDEO hiring formula is now used by tech companies in their recruiting, but tech has raised the bar! Tech companies hire former ballet dancers who were dual philosophy engineering majors in college. Tech is more efficient and takes the one for the price of three approach to hiring talent. If you want to work in tech, being a multi-dimensional subject matter expert is a leg up.
Back to conversational tips.
Tip number six is to try to fall in love your conversational partner. By this IDEO means to be curious and empathetic about who the other is, how they got there and why they think the way they do. This means asking a lot of open-ended, non-judgmental questions. “Why do you think that matters?”, “How did you get to that conclusion?”, “Help me understand why you believe the earth is flat?”. The last is a non-judgmental way of asking for more information and their theory about a fact that you know is clearly wrong. You learn more about a person when you know why they think what they do. When you are genuinely interested in and empathetic toward others, your body language naturally enacts your authentic desire to know more. The other will bask in your deep interest, become more comfortable and human bonding and information sharing ensue. This not only bears fruitful conversation and creative insight, it is the stuff true love is made of. I ♥ IDEO!