Summary
In our remote world, we as researchers need new ways to help our stakeholders cut through the noise to engage and digest our insights more meaningfully through thoughtful and intentional self-directed learning techniques. In this short session, we will discuss 4 key self-directed learning techniques to help you increase engagement around your insights during our debriefing sessions with your stakeholders.
Key Insights
-
•
Self-directed learning can empower stakeholders to engage with research insights on their own terms, increasing uptake and action.
-
•
Designing the context of insight sharing intentionally—considering group size, goals, and stakeholder needs—improves clarity and impact.
-
•
Emotional literacy, or checking in on participants’ feelings before sharing insights, helps prime stakeholders for better receptiveness.
-
•
Asynchronous collaboration within live sessions encourages quieter voices to be heard and builds rich discussions around insights.
-
•
Using digital tools that allow commenting directly on research reports democratizes feedback and documents conversations in real time.
-
•
Early engagement of stakeholders in framing research questions fosters buy-in and makes the research more relevant to their concerns.
-
•
Not everyone needs to read or engage with all research content; focusing on the most influential stakeholders optimizes effort and impact.
-
•
Combining synchronous and asynchronous modes in insight sharing sessions can manage Zoom fatigue and diversify participation.
-
•
Explicitly naming stakeholders' questions in research reports increases their sense of being seen and encourages participation.
-
•
Insight sharing should shift from just delivering information to designing a learning experience tailored to stakeholders’ strengths and interests.
Notable Quotes
"Change is the only constant, so designing insight sharing with self-directed learning is critical."
"Caring for people emotionally during insight sessions directly impacts their productivity and willingness to engage."
"Sometimes the loudest voices dominate, but asynchronous collaboration helps give quieter voices a chance to speak."
"I literally ask, how are you feeling right now? It’s about connecting on a human level before diving into data."
"Before sharing insights, I try to prime the room by acknowledging feelings and starting fresh."
"Sharing insights is like creating a learning space where stakeholders can use the information in their own way."
"Sending reports early and inviting comments turns the insight session into more of a discussion than a presentation."
"Everyone wants to see themselves reflected in the research questions and findings."
"Focus your research report on the three most influential stakeholders, not everyone."
"Combining synchronous and asynchronous communication within one session gets us from awareness to action."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"It helps if contributing to design ops initiatives is part of people's performance reviews or career ladder criteria."
Peter BoersmaHow to Define and Maintain a DesignOps Roadmap
October 3, 2023
"Design ops is like the design version of DevOps—taking care of optimizing processes so designers can do their best work."
Frances Yllana Kaaren Hanson Husani Oakley Dan OlsenDesignOps Exposed: What do our peers really think of us?
September 11, 2025
"I generated a Tailwind color palette with AI that took seconds, compared to what used to take me some time manually."
John DonmoyerShipping your code generation experiments to production
June 11, 2025
"Giving senior leadership a shared language for design helped product teams better communicate what needed focus and why."
Chris MosesStretching the Definition of DesignOps with Product Development
November 7, 2018
"Translation is key to earn the seat at the table."
Shan ShenTranslating UX Terms into Business Contexts
November 29, 2023
"Culture is like poetry: when it’s good, it works and you don’t quite know why; when it’s bad, it’s horrible."
Miles OrkinCreativity and Culture
November 8, 2018
"The title of the talk is a misnomer: this work isn't actually that fast and shouldn't be done without fear of consequences."
Kaitlin TaskerFast and Fearless Inclusive Research
March 27, 2023
"Engagement and impact roles bring creativity and help maintain team morale in otherwise dry operations work."
Kate TowseyThe State of ResearchOps: More Than Just Theory
June 20, 2019
"After years of fighting to be included in strategic boardroom decision making, many UX professionals are now finding themselves seated at the grown-up table."
JD BuckleyCommunicating the ROI of UX within a large enterprise and out on the streets
June 14, 2018
