Don’t assume. Find out the thinking or constraints behind choices.
“To assume makes an ass out of you and me.” Most of us have probably heard
that line a few times in our lives. It’s one of my father’s favorites, and it’s
stuck with me.
Assumptions can be one of the worst things to happen in a discussion that is
meant to be productive. When we make assumptions we begin to form our
thoughts, questions and statements around them, without ever knowing if
they’re true or not. And before you know it, the participants of the discussion
go on their way to do their work based on very different ideas and producing
work that doesn’t align with each other or reality.
When you make assumptions in a critique about what an objective or
constraint might have been, or maybe that there were no constraints and the
designer could have done anything, you begin to offer feedback that can be
less useful because it isn’t based on the real situation.
To get around this is simple. The quickest way to eliminate assumptions is to
ask about them.
Yup. More questions. Put your assumption out there and ask if it’s accurate. If
it is, continue on with your insights. If it isn’t, you may find that you need to
adjust your thinking a little.
Don’t invite yourself. Get in touch and ask to talk about the design.
Recall in the previous section that we talked about untimely feedback as one
of the types of unhelpful critique. If the recipient of the critique isn’t in a
mindset where they want and are ready to listen to the feedback and use it,
chances are it’ll be ignored or potentially cause a rift in your working
relationship with them.
If you have thoughts about someone’s creation and they haven’t explicitly
asked for your feedback or critique, get in touch with them first and let them
know. Tell them that, when they’re at a point when your thoughts might be
helpful to them, you’d be happy to share them. Give them the opportunity to
get themselves ready to listen.
Talk about strengths. Critique isn’t just about what’s not working.
As a culture and society, we have a tendency to focus on negatives, the things
that cause us problems, get in our way and that we’d like to see changed. We
often take the positive for granted. In our project meeting and design
discussions it’s often no different, we spend the vast majority of time talking
about what isn’t working. But that can be harmful. Remember that critique in
about honest analysis. It’s balanced focusing on the design and it’s objectives,
regardless of their success. It’s just as important to talk about what is working
as why, as it is what isn’t working.