5. Beginner’s mind “In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.” Shunryu Suzuki Sōtō Zen Spiritual Leader When technical staff at UNICEF works with their constituents, they may face language, cultural and socio-economic differences. One way to overcome these differences is to adopt the Beginner’s Mind. Beginner’s Mind refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when interviewing or observing a subject. It is often difficult for experts and professionals to put aside their expertise when they conduct usability research. Therefore, learning how to work with a Beginner’s Mind is a good tool to overcome this difficulty. The goal of developing a Beginner’s Mind is to conduct interviews or observations without interpreting what you see or hear based on your own cultural and professional preconceptions. For example, to work with a Beginner’s Mind, you should ask questions as if you knew nothing about the product or how people were using it. It is important to ask questions that you think you might already know the answers to so that you can hear people explain. Their explanation may reveal their unique perceptions about a product, which may challenge your assumptions.
The Lens of Personal Experience Observing through the lens of personal experience can lead us to misinterpret situations outside our culture. For example, on a Navajo reservation in Arizona, a teacher makes a home visit to one of her students. However, each time she drives up to the student’s home, the family hurries inside the house and closes the door. The teacher assumes that her student and his family dislike her. The Navajo family thinks the teacher is making fun of them by pretending to come for a visit and then driving off. Both parties have interpreted the situation based on their own cultural prejudices. In Navajo culture, when visitors arrive at your home, it is polite to go inside the house to prepare for the guests. According to Navajo etiquette, it is important to close the front door as you prepare for the visitors so they have the opportunity to knock on the door and be received and greeted properly. Developing a Beginner’s Mind will help you avoid this type of cultural misunderstanding.
1st edition June 2010
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