The Importance of Feedback
It’s frustrating when someone gets distracted by their phone while we’re talking to them. We usually end up having to ask “Are you listening?” before we can continue. It’s a similar feeling when we have a Skype conversation over an unreliable connection, and have to continually check “Hello? Can you hear me?”
Talking to someone who isn’t listening is a waste of words. We hate this waste so much that it’s tempting to end the conversation if our partner is too distracted or the connection too poor for us to have a continuous dialogue.
There’s something of the opposite effect when we play games or program computers, for example. It’s easy to become engrossed, oblivious to our surroundings. The same happens when we have lively, flowing conversations: time flies.
I think the difference between these scenarios might simply be a matter of feedback. Dialogues are more engaging than monologues, especially when they involve us; real-life conversations are more giving than asynchronous chat. Because we get instant responses to our actions. Allowing us to immediately update our own understanding of a situation.
In games we receive instant feedback from a virtual or physical environment. When we program, we can see the results of our code as soon as we execute it. In the best dialogues, our replies allow us to come to a mutual understanding of each other and the topic of discussion. The effect feels so good that time seems to speed up.
When this kind of feedback is lacking, we get frustrated. Games with endless loading screens lose their players; one-sided conversations are short-lived. Monologues rarely make up the majority of a narrative. Android development feels more of a hassle than web development, because refreshing a web page is faster than resetting an emulator. When feedback comes slower than expected, time drags out.
The desire for speedy responses is universal. But could it be overwhelming, leading to informational overload? Only if we get things without asking for them. By requesting something - clicking a button, asking a question, listening to a story - we indicate that we are ready for a response. That response will not be overwhelming however fast it arrives, because we are expecting it. And faster is better because it means less waiting.
So whenever we make things, we should have one aim: make it responsive, toward us and to whoever uses it. Create sketches, prototypes, proof-of-concepts; whatever it takes to immediately show people what you mean, so they can tell you what they think. So you can have a dialogue. And then iterate.
No-one can afford to wait. Our time and attention is limited and therefore valuable. It’s up to us to reduce the waste.