New normal, new skills to master.

Yesterday I did my first interview over Zoom. Not job interview, but for UX research. And today, I had a group Zoom as part of a brainstorming session. And wow, being a design consultant for the last 5-6 years, I thought I knew everything about how to do interviews and facilitate a brainstorming session. But doing what used to be face-to-face to what is now over video chat is a world of a difference. I feel like a junior designer all over again. 

It was humbling, yet fascinating.

In person, it’s easy to read body language, notice tiny emotional nuances, and keep the attention of whoever you’re speaking to. In the past, in a group brainstorm, you can feel the energy of the group, feed off it to build on the ideas of others. All that kind of fades away over Zoom. Everyone feels further away, and more socially distant. You got to be more explicit and instructional when facilitating a group, people have to take their turns talking, and it’s harder to maintain attention and get a feel on the group vibes. You got to invent specific screen-based tasks and activities to break up a long session, and use more collaborative whiteboarding tools. 

But I’m not complaining.

If the pandemic is going to be around for months, or even years, then these hard lessons will only point the way towards a new way of being for my job. A complete remote-ization of a designer’s role. To be remote yet not distant. Far away but far from ineffective.  

It can be scary to witness how entire industries are being upended right now. F&B, aviation, travel, entertainment, education were the most obvious and immediate ones. The second order disruptions are coming for us, like for design.

What can one do but to adapt, learn new tricks, and try to grow stronger from the process? 

New normal, new skills.