Empathy Workshop Activities

In pairs, one person describes a modern appliance to someone from 500 years ago

Players share things they're afraid of, and others who don't have that fear symbolically "take" that fear away.

Writing with empathy is all about inhabiting the shoes (or paws) of something that is not yourself. In this exercise, we ask participants to imagine the perspective of a fox and then write from the point of view of the fox.

People share a fear, it is received by another, and then they are asked to share the advice that a trusted mentor or friend would give them.

In most meetings, 20% of participants do 80% of the talking. Unfortunately, remote meetings amplify this lousy behavior.

Some people like to talk to think, while others need to think before they talk. Some people are shy and quiet, while others are more vocal and outspoken.

This activity helps assess participation style and adjust behaviors.

The empathy map allows you to generate a deeper understanding of one’s motivations and why. 

create an empathy map

Understand your users day-to-day. To better design for people, try shadowing them for a day. By observing someone in their own context, you'll notice details about their life - the way they engage with people, pr their routine - that you'd otherwise never see.

Understand your users through visual artifacts.

A mood board is a collage of images and texture that communicates a feeling or experience. See what inspires people by asking them to make their very own.

Learn through careful observation.

Observation and intuition are critical design tools. This exercise helps you leverage both. Find clues about the context you're designing for that may be hidden in plain sight.

Get a window in someone else's life. Gain access to the parts of someone's life you might not otherwise see by having them keep a photo diary for a few days or weeks.

Identify some of your user's key emotions.

Offer prompts in an interview to uncover people's emotions about things that might not come up otherwise and set yourself up for more engaging conversation.