Can something as simple as watching movies—and empathizing with fictional characters—help generate more compassion and understanding in the real world?But can something as simple as watching movies—and empathizing with fictional chara…

Research + Empathy

In this next phase of the week we’ll start to step outside of the Drawing Board mindset and shift gears as a team. Keep that creative energy high by doing some much-needed research and extending the vision of the work you’re doing. It might sound scary, but this step is important! As you pair your problem with your hunches and start to think about how to research them, keep this simple idea in mind:  Whenever you can, prove a hunch with a test…

Here are the ways we use to get there as a team.

• Interviews — This should feel similar to the homework from Week 1, so continue to find people who can help you understand the problem deeper. …
• Co-Create — One simple way to keep learning is to invite others to design and think alongside you….
• Analogous Research — Are you building a website? Or maybe it’s a service or program?….
• Immersion — Maybe the simplest thing to do is to immerse yourself in your problem…

The goal of all of this outside learning is to try to get to a place where you can empathize with the people and problems more deeply.

“Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) reassure others in distress”, Research paper author Dr. Joshua Plotnik.J: Can you tell us a bit about the research you publish today?JP: How animals resolve conflicts is an exciting area of resea…

Self-compassion is an inside job. I’ve learned that if I am gentle with myself, the world becomes a gentler place. I invite you to experience it too. “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” ~Jack Kornfie…