Summary
What happens when your craft and your career shift and you have to adapt quickly? How do you take what you’ve learned into uncharted territory and forge new skills and new relationships? From working behind the scenes in public radio production, Emily Eagle pivoted to user experience, eventually working (also behind the scenes) on enterprise software for omni-channel retail. Public radio ethos has come in handy in the enterprise space, where the practice of listening carefully, breaking a problem into smaller parts, and telling the story of the bigger picture all help to understand complexity and build empathy for customers and employees.
Key Insights
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Storytelling and deep listening are foundational practices that translate effectively from public radio to UX design.
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Empathy in UX grows beyond feeling into respect and reflection when we engage with users’ real stories and obstacles.
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Users’ workarounds are critical signals that reveal pain points and design opportunities in enterprise applications.
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Setting the context or scene for users is essential, especially in enterprise, to explain workflows tied to physical environments.
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Ruthlessly editing and prioritizing the essential elements—'murder your darlings'—applies to both storytelling and UX design.
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Career setbacks, like losing a dream job, can open new paths when approached with openness and curiosity.
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Community and peer stories help combat self-doubt and imposter syndrome during career transitions.
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Being recognized by a mentor or leader can provide pivotal encouragement to explore new career possibilities.
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Enterprise UX is uniquely about empowering internal users — often employees — by improving their daily tools and processes.
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Collaborative storytelling with partners facilitates shared understanding and trust that drives better design solutions.
Notable Quotes
"I thrive on learning about how people overcome obstacles."
"Stories aren’t always finished products for entertainment or persuasion. Stories can be a tool for understanding while you’re in the middle of them."
"If you’re shy, you don’t talk to anybody. You’re not going to learn anything."
"There’s no going back. We need to design and write copy for thoughtful user progression."
"All obstacles are invitations to grow."
"I felt like a journalist pretending to be a designer."
"We have to murder our darlings — let go of our favorite parts for the story to grow."
"User experience is about honing in on the essentials like radio."
"Every workaround is a mini story of somebody overcoming an obstacle."
"We have the Big C and the Little C. The Big C is our customers, the Little C are our salespeople."
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