Listen to what people say. As well as what they do not. (suggested principle)

Dana Montenegro
Jul 15, 2022
It's always important to pay close attention to what users/customers say (and what they do).  But sometimes stopping and noticing what is NOT being said can be equally as revealing - what themes do they not gravitate to, and what language are they not using?  Was there something you expected to arise but didn't?  This might tell you what is really important.  Or, it might tell you that the way the problem is framed is too narrow or too broad and pushing them to miss something that might have otherwise come up.  It can even help you think about what they might be uncomfortable bringing up in conversation but might reveal itself in their actions. 
Like 1
Daniele Catalanotto
Jul 16, 2022
Thanks a lot Dana for sharing this smart principle :) 

Question to go further

I'd love to explore this topic deeper with you and maybe then include it in the next book in the Service Design Principles series. So let me ask you:

Do you have a personal story or example that shows how you used this principle and what it made possible?

Alternative titles

Here a few alternative title ideas, as the title often helps to give a renewed focus to a principle:
  1. Listen to what people don't say. Observe what people don't do: to long but gets the idea across.
  2. What people don't do or say matters: less formulated like an advice but at least shorter.
  3. Observe what people don't say or do: already better length wise.

Excited to start this co-creation round with you :) 

And thanks again for sharing this with the community :) 
Daniele Catalanotto
Aug 13, 2022
Hey there,
I've built on the idea shared by Dana to create a first draft of a Service Design Principle.



A Service Design Principle that can help you discover what people need but can't express.
This principle is inspired by an idea shared by community member Dana Montenegro.

It’s dinner time, an excellent occasion to check in with your partner to see how the day was. She says: “Fine...?”. She stops there and watches her plate.

You are smart. So, you understand that she had a bad day, but she doesn’t want to talk about it right now.

Later, when the time is right, you check in again. This time she shares with you the frustration she has at the moment at work.

What your wife doesn’t say reveals something. And as a smart partner, you use this to help your wife in the best way possible.

I feel that sometimes we aren’t that smart when we ask questions to our customers. They say: “all is fine”, but we don’t pay attention to what they don’t say.

We stop there.

Sure we already pay close attention to what users, customers or employees say. And we already observe what people do (1). But we could be smarter service people.

It’s as if, after checking in with your wife, she says: “Fine…” and you leave it there. What happens? After a few days, she complains: “You never listen! You don’t care!”

You might say: “But honey, you always say you are fine!“

“But I’m not, you dumb ass!”.

We should be as smart partners for the customers, employees and people we serve as we are with our wives or husbands.

To do that, we could reflect on what your customers don’t say or don’t do is a smart service design move.

It can help you think about what people might be uncomfortable bringing up in conversation but might reveal itself in their actions.

Knowing what people don’t do or use in a service or product is also a great way to reduce complexity.

If a feature of your service or product is mostly unused, it might be interesting to remove it to simplify the experience.

So today, what if you take a minute to stop and notice what people don’t say, don’t do or don’t use?

That might tell you what is really important and also what you could remove.

Footnotes

(1) See Principle 061: Don’t Ask. Observe Behaviors from the book Service Design Principles 1-100.


Daniele's personal notes

  • This is the first draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • Once adapted, even more, this principle could be part of the book "Service Design Principles 201-300"
  • As always, feel free to share comments, feedback or personal stories to improve this principle.
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 19, 2022

The second draft of this Service Design Principle: 

Notice what people don't say and don't do.


It's dinner time. You ask your partner:" How was your day, honey?". She says: "Fine...". . She stops and watches her plate.

What your wife doesn't say reveals something.

She had a bad day but doesn't want to talk about it right now. So, later, you check in again when the time is right. This time she shares with you the frustration she has at work. A deep conversation starts that ends with her saying, "I love you".

I feel that sometimes we aren't that smart when we ask questions to our customers. They say: "all is fine", but we don't pay attention to what they don't say. We stop there.

It's as if, after checking in with your wife, she says: "Fine…" and you leave it there. What happens? After a few days, she complains: "You never listen! You don't care!"

We should be as smart partners for the people we serve as we are with our wives or husbands.

To do that, reflect on what your customers don't say or don't do.

It helps you discover what is uncomfortable for people to bring up in conversation right now. From there, you can adapt your way of checking in. For example, you can come back later to check in, ask your question differently, or observe the customers' actions to learn.

Knowing what people don't do or use in a service or product is also a great way to reduce complexity. For example, if people don't use a feature of your service or product, you could remove it to simplify the experience.

So today, what if you take a minute to stop and notice what people don't say, don't do or don't use?

Daniele’s notes
  • This is the second draft of this principle.
  • I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 20% compared to its first draft.
  • I've changed the title to be shorter and kept the two elements of observation and listening.
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 31, 2022

The third draft of this Service Design Principle

During dinner, you ask your partner:” How was your day, honey?”. She says: “Fine...”. . She stops and watches her plate.

What your wife doesn’t say reveals something.

Something is off, but she doesn’t want to talk about it now. When you ask again later, she tells you she got in a fight with her mom. Then, a deep conversation starts that ends with her saying, “I love you”.

We should be as smart partners for the people we serve as we are with our wives or husbands. Our customers say: “all is fine”, but we ignore what they don’t say or don’t do. We stop there.

Additionally, knowing what people don’t do or use in a service or product can help us reduce complexity. If people don’t use a feature of your service or product, you could remove it to simplify the experience. So let me ask.

What’s something that people don’t tell you or don’t do that could reveal something interesting?

Footnotes

A big thank you to Dana Montenegro for sharing the service experience that inspired this principle with the co-creator community.

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the third draft of this principle.
  • I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 42 % compared to the previous draft.
  • I’ve added a conclusion question to help the reader turn this principle into action.