Human Truths

It’s easy to become lost in the tiniest nuances of a specific user need, or the unique details of a target mindset you’ve identified. Anchor your thinking back to more universal human motivations, so you can engage people at a more fundamental level.

Don’t assume any of these are the most important thing for your audience, use them to inspire directions to test or territory to explore during future research.

Use these prompts as inspiration to improve your ideas:

• People are distractable. What would people rather be doing than interacting with your idea?
• People want autonomy. How can you give your audience more freedom? How can you make sure they don’t feel manipulated?
• People value beauty. Beauty makes “the soul grow wings” (nicely put, Plato). Why shouldn’t your idea do that?
• People want to feel like they belong to a group. Can your idea help people identify with their tribe?
• People like recognition. Everything from a friendly hello to making someone feel smart.
• People want to feel safe. Does your idea help people become more secure in some way? Can it help them protect others?
• People want to make progress. How does your idea help someone become the person they want to be?
• People like to express themselves. How can your idea help someone project their personality?
• People feel love. What loves are driving your audience? What truths do you love about them?
• People play. Can you make your idea more playful? (It’s best to do this when the stakes are low).
• People are full of contradictions. The magic lives in the tensions, seek them out.