Your tools are solid. Your process is tight. But when a stakeholder pushes back, a workshop goes sideways, or a PM challenges your work, none of that matters. What matters is how you respond. Nikki Anderson joins me to talk about improv, structured play, and how to stay sharp when the messy stuff hits. |
What if the most important skill in your UX career has nothing to do with design?
An executive once told me "this is not your best work" in front of a room full of people.
My instinct was to defend myself. To explain my decisions and push back.
Luckily, I didn't. But a lot of us do.
Because here's the thing... it never works.
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You could argue for an hour and not change a single mind. What actually works is a lot less satisfying in the moment, but a whole lot more effective:
Accept the reality. Then get curious.
⇢ "Why do you feel that way?"
⇢ "What about this situation could have changed things for you?"
⇢ Not "you're wrong." Not "here's my defense." Just... a question.
This is the core of what improv teaches you. And it turns out it's one of the most useful skills you can have as a UX professional.
This week, Nikki Anderson joins me to break down how improv principles like yes, and, structured play, playground rules, can change how you show up in stakeholder meetings, design critiques, and all the messy moments in between.
Here's what we get into:
- Why "yes, and" isn't about agreeing with everything
- How to stop reacting and start investigating when things go sideways
- The case for structured play in a world obsessed with efficiency
- What design critiques and improv troupes have in common
- The one exercise that helps ICs focus on what they can actually control
"Nothing, relatively speaking, is an emergency. It's okay to slow down and take a second."
If you've ever felt thrown off when a meeting goes sideways, this one's for you.
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You iterated, pivoted, circle-backed, and made it out of Q4 (barely).
You’ve earned a Merit-ish Badge!
Choose from four sets:
​• Soft Skills, Sharp Tongue
• Cult of Figma Initiation
• Pixel Pusher Survivor Kit
• Field Notes & Frayed Nerves
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They don't teach this stuff in school
Learn the things they left off the syllabus.
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