Edition 42

Hello Reader,

Note: You may have received an email earlier today about Florian Bailey's episode that hasn't been published yet, but it will in the next few days. It's a truly awesome discussion about the application of service design within a 2-Star Michelin restaurant. Sorry about the email error...

Last week I delivered a keynote talk at UX Scotland, titled 'Embracing the Complexity Mindset'. It was the first time that I had spoken in person, post-pandemic and it was truly amazing. I had forgotten just how much of a buzz it was to be in the same place and same time with so many amazing change-makers.

After giving it a few days, I've reflected and wanted to share my thoughts with you.

Learning and Community​
The community in the UK is massive. There is a huge appetite for ideas that push the craft of UX and Service Design beyond it's current constraints. The talks that I could see where resonating more were more pragmatic in nature.
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My keynote was about Complexity and Design and the response was great. There were a few things that I would recommend to anyone who is writing proposals for events at the moment to consider a few things;

• Include case studies or pragmatic ideas that can be brought back and applied. People want action items. Define your learning outcomes and really try and distill things down so people can grab them.
• There is a big opportunity for practitioners to bring more role playing into their sessions. I did a small bit of audience participation with "Listening" and it was a LOT of fun.

Design and Complexity
​The Design DNA is really well suited to the emergent practices that are required to nudge the systems. My keynote I felt hit a chord, and really enjoyed a few talks that I managed to attend.

In particular, Heldiney Pereira from Monzo spoke about his volunteer work at Samaritans and found it hugely inspiring. I'm hoping to have Heldiney on the podcast in the next few months, so watch this space.

I enjoyed Alberta Soranzo who spoke about the geography of culture, which referenced The Culture Map by Erin Meyer and really showed how complex organisational systems are, and the massive role cultures play within.

Post-Pandemic​
So here's the thing. It was absolutely sensational to be 'back' and in-person. It was so strange to be in a huge room with so many people. I did however feel that people were relearning how to interact with each other. At one point when I arrived, I was standing alone, and really had to force myself to get closer to people and try and engage.

One of the impacts of events not running for several years, is there's a gap emerging in presentation skills. I've noticed it now across several conferences that I have attended that the practitioners who do this as part of their jobs, looked and felt more natural to listen to than those who were just starting out. The gulf has widened.

The last few years really have had an impact on everyone in shape or form, that will slowly start to reveal itself over time. So Design Leaders have a responsibility now, more than ever to help raise emerging talent up on our shoulders to support them.

For people looking to do more public speaking, I'd encourage them to explore communities with safe-spaces such as Toastmasters (the club version not the one off types) and/or facilitation training that includes Improvisational Skills. The place I recommend is Co-Creation School.

Until next time,

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Gerry Scullion Designer, Educator, Design Coach and Podcaster ​Like what I do? Buy me a coffee​

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