IRL Experience Design

Note: This post was drafte on 5/27/2021 and finalized today.

Last week I got a lot done. This week has not been as productive.  Let’s review what’s been going on. I’m not clear on my process and the steps are getting jumbled. I’m going to discuss my development process.

My Development Process

Two common design /development processes are:

    • Design, Build, Test, Learn

    • Emphathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test

My process is similar but I need to use slightly different language to make sure I am clear on the boundaries of the work and the primary motivations.

1. Test + Learn
2. Design tests on paper
3. Build prototype in Final Cut

I’ve put “test + learn” first. Obviously you need something to test so this can’t be first. But I don’t care as much about that fact as I do about making the idea of Testing and Learning primary. These three steps are repeated in a cycle so I think the trade-off of logic for attention is worth it.

1. Test + Learn

I combine Test and Learn because much of the testing and the learning happen in parallel. Obviously there is reflection on the tests afterward, but remembering that the tests are for LEARNING helps me stay focused on what I’m trying to learn. Without that top-line reminder I can get carried away with making things enjoyable for the testers. For example, if I can see people are having fun and the test script says “stop now and ask this”, I know I’m going to be a buzzkill for the testers. Remembering that the primary focus is testing and learning is more important than making sure they have fun. (As much as that kills me to say…)

2. Design Tests On Paper

For “Design” I added the word “Tests” to make sure I design for testing, not for some final product/narrative. My aim is to ask specific questions of the testers, so I design specific and discrete things to test. 

I added the “on paper” part to design to keep me from getting into the tools. Mixing design and build is a time waster. I can “build” them on paper and save a lot of time. 

3. Build Prototype In Final Cut

Again I use the word Tests here so that I don’t start adding in things that don’t serve the purpose: TESTING something specific. Examples of getting off track include: finding the “perfect” tone or adding cool visuals or fixing little blips or mis-alignments. Unless I have a test for it, I don’t build it. Too often have I polished the look of something that just got thrown in the wastebasket because it was flawed at a deeper level.

Making The Best Use Of Time

Each stage I have been having issues making best use of time. Here’s the problems and proposed solutions. Some of these problems and solutions might seem obvious, but there’s a power in acknowledging them and bringing them into the light and I can use that power to give me the focus and energy to implement the (usually obvious) solutions.

Keep an eye on the time

Problem: I’ve been going past the time I told testers they would be there.

Solution: Set a timer. Don’t talk so much. Read a book on how to run tests like this (since I haven’t done these before).

Use the time wisely during the designing of the tests

Problem: Work time often feels like languishing because the possibilities are infinite and feel untackleable.

Solution: Timebox it. Accept that there are infinite ideas I could have. Also do not start building things.

Use the time wisely during the building of the tests

Problem: I get hung up on one tricky item that is hard to build. Or I go into too much detail.

Solution: Estimate the time needed to build each part and sum the times (instead of a ballpark guess). Only allow that much time per item. 

Use the time wisely – all stages

Problem: Keep running out of time.

Solution: Pomodoro my time. I was doing this when I was making great strides last week. I think it will help all the areas if I can keep this practice going. Also: Find a book on how to run the sort of testing that I want to run. I want to improve how I set up tests, prepare and run the testing sessions, and also talking to testers to get the best out of them.

I recently found out that the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion has been updated for the first time in about 20 years. This is a fanastic book and by all accounts a classic that has influenced and affected all other sorts of marketing and influence books, as well as how companies do business. (Check it out on my list of favorite Experience Design books).

It inspired me to write a post about how each of the seven eight principles might be used to make a better experience for visitors of The Eureka Room. These are just some of the many ways I could use the principles in my design process.

Reciprocity

When someone gives you something, you feel compelled to reciprocate.

1. During the ushering. (“Ushering” is the term I use for the period that includes the experiences of arrival, entering the house, and being in the waiting room). When they walk in, give them something: a sticker, a business card, a drink, etc. Start off with hard chairs and then bring in some more comfortable ones for them. You are about to ask them to participate and you want to make sure they are as receptive as possible.
2. During the program, I can give them something to hold or wear or otherwise have the feeling of being given.
3. After the program, give them the sticker, etc if I am trying to get them to sign up for the email newsletter or give a review.
4. After they leave send them something useful via email or snailmail. Include an ask for a review or referral.

Commitment and Consistency

If you’ve made a public showing of a behavior or a written commitment, you’ll be more inclined to do things that show you are consistent with your previous behavior and statements.

1. During the Ushering. The safety form they sign at the beginning could be accompanied by a form that acknowledges this is a participatory experience and they agree to participate.
2. During the programs I already use this in ways like: I invite them to do an easy movement at a prompt. Then I can ramp up the difficulty once they are already feeling safe and comfortable doing that movement.
3. After the program: I could ask them at the beginning if they like to support small businesses. Or just thank them for doing so. Then, afterward, I can ask them to support me by rating online.

Social Proof

Or behavior is greatly affected by the behavior of people around us.

1. Before they even buy tickets I can offer testimonials and visitor #s and photos of previous happy visitors.
2. On arrival I can restate how many people participated (not just visited, but participated). I could show them pictures of happy people who have visited.
3. In the waiting room, before we enter the room, there could be a ritual that involves each person making some kind of commitment. It doesn’t have to be verbal. It could be each person deposits a coin (that I give them) into a slot to show that they are ready.
4. During programs I can model on screen or in voice-overs what to do. I can even put in a recording of a crowd saying the “catchphrase” that the visitors will be invited to say. 
5. During the program: Inviting people to do things in unison before inviting them to do it solo will help make the behavior acceptable.
6. During the program: Background laugher and cheers are always good. Both in a program and in the waiting room.

Liking

If you like someone or if you find similarlities between yourself and someone, you are more inclined to do what they invite you to do.

1. Across the board, I can make the language, colors, and marketing in a friendly tone or one that appeals to be ideal visitor.
2. When they arrive, I can have an attractive space and I can dress well and be well-groomed and attentive.
3. Compliments. Always work. Even when it’s obviously flattery.  From the first awareness to the last memory let them know you think they’re awesome.

Authority

If someone exudes intellectual, moral, legal, or other authority we are more likely to take their advice.

1. Before the visit, talk about how I’m an expert at IRL Exprience Design. The years involved, the blog, the story that says “listen to this guy – he will help you have fun”
2. In the waiting room, I can be dressed well. I will tell my story of how this has been tested and it works and show confidence that what I am doing is “going places”.
3. During the program. I generally like the narrator to take low status so that people feel safer to take the invitation. However I can still have the crazy narrator take the reins and just tell people what to do. They indulge him but also feel smarter than him. I don’t think the program needs to be authoritative directly. But it should not have technical glitches or physical flaws that are not clearly intended.
4. Follow ups. Continue to talk about how you are the expert and you’ve been working on a lot of stuff. Be sure to share the details. This will help those that want to be a part of it understand they are getting on board a winning boat.

Scarcity

The FOMO is real.

1. Before: Limited availability to visit. Limited time programs. But be honest. Maybe even make it clear that we start with or without them.
2. Waiting room: Make it clear to them that this is one moment in time. They will remember and that we have limited time on earth. Make this hour special and cherished for that it hasn’t been this before and won’t be again.
3. During: This can be used to create a sense of urgency in the program. Scarce time is the main one. But since I don’t want people to feel anxious, I need to make sure I’m useing in correctly. Making them feel FOMO during the program will mostly likely backfire. Making them feel excited about something that “doesn’t matter” is probably the best use of time scarcity.
4. Before or After the program. Let them know that they are one of the first few to experience it. Draw attention to anything they are the absolute first to experience (eg, this particular cut, this order, etc). Invite them to be a part of it… email, reviews, etc. People want to know they have just done something that matters – assure them it does.
5. After: Offer special limited stickers or pins to those people that want to support or have a souvenir. For those that sign up for the email list or pay extra. Offer the ability to sign the guest book with comments to record their visit or show they were first.  
6. After: Let them buy a pack of tickets at a discounted price for their friends to come visit. 

Unity

We want to be a part of and identify with groups.

1. Before: Set up all the “people like us do things like this” that I can in the marketing, etc.
2. Waiting room: Have posters or signs or other indicators that continue this theme of weird IRL XD. Put them in the introduction video as well. Talk about “the group” or “your group”. (Combine this with the “this is a special moment” talk to bond the group). Call them “elite” or “special”. Define the “out group” who is not interested and does not get these things.
3. During: This one I’m not as sure about how to do, since the program exists in its own world. Making things collaborative helps but that’s not exactly what this means.
4. After: Allow them to buy swag and signifiers. Allow them to write kind words in a book or on the internet. Let them take photos in the Eureka Room.

I recently tried to take the Touchpoint Template from the book Designing Experiences and attempted to create an experience with it. It was a failed attempt but I think I learned some things.

The Touchpoint Template

First, what is the Touchpoint Template? It’s Duerden and Rossman’s model of a touchpoint. A touchpoint is a specific interaction someone has with your experience. It inclues the people, places, and things involved in the interaction, the desired interactions and results and some other elements describing the experience. It gives you a a complete picture of the experience.

Here’s a screenshot of their template:

My thinking for this experiment was that if I designed using this template, then I would be sure to have all the pieces I need and I would save time and effort by being focused.

But It Didn’t Work

I had problems taking the template and applying it to the process of making an experience. The ideas weren’t really coming to me and the ideas I did come up with seemed dull and mechanical. The template was not inspiring and the ideas I came up with seemed soulless and not born of creative magic but born out of a need to fill in the blanks of the template. It was like doing a madlib and expecting a good story. It was mostly stupid, sometimes useful, never inspiring. 

It felt more like trying to create human life by collecting some body parts and sewing them together. There was no life to it. That’s not how it’s created.

I’ve had similar problems with things like the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas books. They promise (at least implicitly): just fill in the blanks and problem solved.

So what was the problem?

For one thing, the creative process is not so linear, at least for me. My ideas come from freeform writing, playing with associations, using external sources as jumping off points, talking to friends, taking breaks and drinking lots of coffee. I can just turn it on and fill out the boxes like I was doing my accounting paperwork or organizing a bookshelf. But ideation is not a logical process and much of the work is done by the unconscious work of intuition. The templates come off (to me) as an attempt to formulate the process of human creativity. Calling these templates “canvases” implies that it’s where you do creative work but I think that’s misleading.

Just because you can map a model out retrospectively doesn’t mean your model is a good tool to create the thing it mapped. It’s like diagraming sentences. Sure it will explain which words are nounts and which are verbs and do all the other classifications and relationships of words. But no one has ever learned to speak by studying diagrammed sentences. 

So are these canvases useful at all?

I’d say definitely. But probably not as a first step in your design process and not as a creative tool. Where I think they excel is by being a checklist. After you *think* you understand how it all works, try putting it into the canvas or template. Are there parts missing? You might see things like: “oh, I didn’t think about who is going to run this” or “oh, what are we doing for the transition after this to the next touchpoint?”. It helps reveal gaps.  

When should you bring it in? I’m not sure. You could use it early to perhaps prime your mind for all the parts you need to consider during ideation. On the other hand, doing that might pollute the waters or constrict the creative freedom that is sometimes needed to discover the best ideas.

Maybe you wait until after you can write a one page summary of how your whole experience works (or how you think it works). Then you can see the gaps in the experience you’re creating. For example, you might see that you are missing a missing transition. Once you realize that you can set the template aside and jump back to the creative domain to ideate a solution for the transition problem.

The creative process is its own post (or many) but my belief is that if you start with questions like “Why?”, “Who am I trying to help?”, “How am I trying to help them?”, and “What do I want them to feel?” and then use the templates and canvases, you’ll get to better solutions faster.

Here’s the type of overly-complicated thing I’m prone to create when I don’t have to worry about profit and don’t care much about my own personal suffering. 

I live in Austin. My friends Matt and Vianca live in Austin. We are friends with a couple, Kate & Andy and Mark, who all lived in Seattle. A couple years ago Matt and Vianca planned a trip to go visit our friends and take a small road trip to Olympic National Forest, a few hours drive from Seattle.

I decided to surprise them. By “them”, I mean everybody.

To give you some idea of how complicated this plan was, first I will share the original far-less complicated plan that is also really complicated.

The “Two Wendy’s” Plan

First, I would tell Matt and Vianca that I will go to Seattle – but ask them not to tell Kate and Andy because I want to surprise them.

I would tell Matt and Vianca to go on their road trip and that I would meet them at a pre-designated Wendy’s restaurant along the way. Matt (knowing that I was at the Wendy’s) would say “oh I want to stop at this Wendy’s,” they would walk into the place and SURPRISE! I’m sitting in the restaurant casually eating a sandwich while reading the newspaper.

But (because I love to make it more surprising) I wouldn’t actually be at that Wendy’s.

When the gang walked into the Wendy’s, Matt and Vianca would not see me, panic, and text me. We would have this conversation:

Matt: Where are you?

Me: I’m at Wendy’s. Where are you?

Matt: We’re at Wendy’s.

Me: What?

Matt: Which Wendy’s are you at?

Me: The one at <address of the *next* Wendys>

Matt: That’s not the right one.

Me: Shit.

At this point I would go radio silent or ask Matt to instead go to my Wendy’s. Matt would then have to have this conversation with our other friends:

Matt: Hey guys, I’m not into this Wendy’s. Let’s go to the next one.

Everyone else: What’s wrong with this Wendy’s?

Matt: Uh…

Eventually they get in the car wondering why they have to go to a second Wendy’s for Matt. From that point, I had two ways I thought the plan could go:

A) I’m not at the second Wendy’s. I made it back to the first one they were just at and Matt has to explain why he likes that first Wendy’s better after all and they should go back there. This is funny on paper but I think Matt and Vianca would have had it by this point and would either spill the beans about my surprise or just leave me behind. I would not blame them.

B) The better and more complicated solution: I will have prepared a sign on the side of the road located after the first Wendy’s and before the second Wendy’s. The sign is for an attraction that is so weird and so enticing that Kate will demand they stop at it. Matt and Vianca will be consternated because they know I’m waiting for them at the second Wendy’s, but they will listen to Kate and rationalize it this way: “Mike screwed up and went to the wrong Wendy’s and we had to make up a lame excuse so if he has to wait then it’s his fault, right?” So they stop at this attraction and which is really just a small dilapidated building with me sitting in a lawn chair reading a paper and eating my sandwich (possibly one from Wendy’s). No one was expecting that! Everyone is surprised and super happy they have gone through all this.

So plan B is obviously the right choice, but it hinges pretty heavily on me making something so enticing that Kate will demand they stop. I also have to find a small dilapidated building and a lawn chair.

The odds seemed low, so this plan was abandoned for another one that was far more impossible.

The Final Seattle Plan

The plan I settled on was one of intrigue, double-crossing, and puzzling roadside attractions. Kate and I have an ongoing spy vs spy sort of thing, typically with her getting the better of me due to her ability to consistently go over the top. But this time I had the plan.

The Plan As Seen From Kate and Andy’s Standpoint

SATURDAY: Matt and Vianca arrive in the morning. Kate and Andy and Mark will get lunch with Matt and Vianca at the market. After lunch, all five of them drive to the edge of Olympic National Forest where they have rented a couple tents for the evening. 

SUNDAY: Check out of the campground, then drive back to Seattle.

The Plan From Matt and Vianca’s Standpoint

FRIDAY: Matt and Vianca were aware that I would fly in the day before them and stay at Mark’s.

SATURDAY: Matt and Vianca know that I will surprise Kate and Andy while they are all having lunch in a restaurant downtown and then I go along with them on the rest of the trip.

But, of course, I had to go the extra mile and so I hatched another layer between just me and Mark. 

The Plan From Mark’s Standpoint

FRIDAY: I fly in, Mark picks me up and I surprise Kate and Andy that night. I tell them that Matt and Vianca DON’T know that I’m coming and that I’m going to surprise Matt and Vianca by showing up tomorrow at lunch downtown.

SATURDAY: Kate, Andy, Matt, Vianca, and Mark are having lunch. Each couple is expecting me to show up and surprise the other couple. Guess what? I don’t show up. Each couple is wondering where I am and the lunch gets long and awkward because neither side wants to ruin the surprise. Mark relishes the moment. Eventually Mark says “let’s go” and they resign themselves to going back to the car they’ve parked in a garage.

The Plan From My Standpoint

So there is how things are supposed to work. And there are how things actually work. 

FRIDAY (How it was supposed to work):

I arrive and hide out at Mark’s. Mark sets up dinner with Kate and Andy and drops me off in an alley nearby so he can pick them up. Mark brings them to the restaurant in a few minutes and texts me they have arrived. I casually stroll in. Surprise! Then I tell them I’m going to surprise Matt and Vianca at lunch the next day.

Simple, right?

FRIDAY (How it actually went down):

I arrive and hide out at Mark’s. Mark sets up dinner with Kate and Andy and drops me off in an alley nearby so he can pick them up.

Then it falls apart. Already.

I wait in the alley for over an hour. I was already feeling a bit tired and under the weather which didn’t help me in this whole endeavor. I receive a text from an unknown sender. It is a photo of me sitting in the alley.

Fuck. I’ve been double-crossed.

(Note: I was going to put the photo in this post, but in a fine work of espionage, the image and text thread seem to have been deleted from my phone.)

I walk around trying to find this person but it’s clear they left long before they sent it. Is it Kate? Mark? Some other person? I don’t know.

Even though we are going to get pizza, I’m starving so I go get a sandwich and wait for Mark to text me that they are in the restaurant.

Finsihed with my sandwhich and still not having heard from Mark, I walk around the neighborhood, ducking in and out of alleys and businesses. Then I see Mark and Andy walking down the street. They don’t see me and I duck into a stationery shop. Where is Kate? Shit. I take Mark and Andy’s photo from behind them and send it back to my mysterious texter. Two can play this game. 

Then I rush around the block using the alleyway and duck in the restaurant they will be eating at. They aren’t there. I wait at the bar. Finally they show up. Kate is with them now. What is going on? They don’t see me way over at the bar. I play it cool. I’m sure I don’t look cool. I don’t feel cool, either. I feel tired. I ask the bartender to take a photo of them with my phone so that I can text it to the mystery texter.

Finally I go to the table and surprise them. They don’t look super surprised. Fuck. The waiter comes up to me and gives me an envelope. I have a sinking feeling. I open the letter. It’s a card. There are photos – PRINTED PHOTOS – of me sitting in the alley. It’s from ?? I play it cool. I’m sure I’m not cool. 

The waiter comes. I’m so flustered that I conflate the pizza toppings and salads sections of the menu. I order a pizza with chickpeas. The waiter has either given up on figuring us out or, from the look of him, is too high to care. We have dinner and I explain the plan about surprising Matt and Vianca tomorrow. But at this point I have no idea who knows what. Afterward, we walk around and then I go back to stay with Mark.

(Sidenote: chickpea pizza is neither gross nor remarkable).

SATURDAY (Plan A – How It Was Supposed To Work)

Mark and I get up early. I rent a car. Matt and Vianca fly in that morning, rent a car, pick up Kate and Andy and take them to lunch.

Mark will meet them at lunch. He suggests a garage to park in and meets them there. After the five of them are in the restaurant, Mark texts me details on where the car is parked and what it looks like. I find it and leave the first of the notes on the car’s windshield.

Meanwhile everyone have a very awkward lunch since each couple is waiting for me to show up and surprise the other couple. No one wants to leave. Mark enjoys watching it play out. If my friends text me, I ignore them. Mark finally demands they get in their car and go. Everyone is worried I’ll be left behind on this trip but says nothing.

My friends get back to their cars and there’s a note on the dashboard about me being kidnapped. (At this point they all confess they knew I was going to be there.) Here is the note:

They take out their phones and go to craigslist where I have created a real post for “Used Manatees”. (Manatees is a sort of running joke with Kate. She once tricked me into calling a real manatees hotline and asking some dumb questions because I thought it was a friend pretending to be a manatee hotline. Manatees are also something that is probably not searched for much on craigslist which reduced the possibility of it getting flagged and taken down before they found it. )

The Craiglist ad says:

I’ve left information at courier’s office if you want to buy the used manatees.  721 3068 To pick up the package you must ask them: “Is this a dairy queen?” Yours Truly, “James” (Dairy Queen is also sort of an inside joke with our group. But asking whether a place is a Dairy Queen is not.)

If you used the decoder, it spells out “bigcatmessenger”.  (“Big Cat” is a nickname they have for me.)

It’s also the name of a courier service located not too far from the market where they had lunch. They will decide to google “big cat messenger”, find the location, then drive over and find a couple notes I had left (I had called the company trying to get them to hold the notes for me, but they were too confused by my plan and not open on the weekend anyways).

One of the notes left would lead them to the first clue. It also mentioned Google Hangouts. If Kate were to open up Google Hangouts, there was a message waiting for them from James the letter writer. This would be my way of communicating with them if they needed help with the clues.

While they were down at Big Cat Messenger’s office, I would be in a rental car getting on the Ferry to lay out clues ahead of them at various locations and would eventually meet up with them toward the end of the journey.

But the night before this plan was to take off, Mark tells me he has to stay in town and can’t come with us. He can only go to lunch with us.

Shit.

I’ve just been betrayed by him (I assume) for the Kate and Andy dinner surprise. Can I really trust him when he says he’s not joining us for the trip? I get paranoid.

So I change to pre-planned plan B, which is a much more terrible plan…

SATURDAY (Plan B – How It Was Supposed To Work)

Dear reader, are you still following this story? If not, let me know and I will work to make it clearer. For now, onward…

As in Plan A, Mark and I get up early. Matt and Vianca fly in, pick up Kate and Andy and park in a garage downtown that Mark suggests. But I don’t rent a car this time.

For this plan I will be coming with my friends for the journey.

I hope.

I say “I hope” because we’ll have big problems if Mark actually IS joining us because the car barely seats five and I would make six. I decide we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Mark drives separately, dropping me off first near the garage they will park in. When they arrive at the garage, Mark meets them and gets the license plate and texts it and the location to me. After they are gone, I go and leave the notes on their car. Then I take an Uber down to Big Cat Messenger service.

At Big Cat Messenger Service I wait on the sidewalk under a pile of blankets as if I were a homeless person. When my friends show up, I will be “unconscious”. They will “wake” me. I will say in cliche’d “Wha.. what happened?” Notes of clues will be “found” by my side. Mark is the one that has been kidnapped instead of me. Maybe he would show up after all on the trip. Maybe not. I had no idea.

Hopefully, at the very least, Mark would not still be with them when they discovered he had been kidnapped.

I will join them in their car on the adventure to find Mark.

The change of plans means I’m not going ahead of them in my own car so I’ll have to figure out on the fly how to get the clues into the right places before they see them somehow. I know this seems unlikely to be accomplished but like I said, Plan B was terrible.

SATURDAY (How it Actually Happened)

At first the plan goes well.

Mark and I get up early. He has told them to park in a certain garage. He drops me off nearby. When they arrive, Mark meets them and gets the license plate and texts it and the location to me. After they are gone, I go and leave the note on their car.

Then I take an uber down to Big Cat Messenger service.

Then it starts coming off the rails.

It turns out there’s some pot fest going on in that area of town. For the next 2.5 hours a stream of stoners walk by me in this industrial district and l (the homeless man) get more looks of pity than I ever before in my life.

I could only image how much pity I would get if they knew how terrible this plan was.

I wait.

I wait and wait and wait and wait. And wait.

It was 2.5 hours after I thought they’d be there. I guessed that Mark had left them long ago and they were exploring some. None of them knew that I was waiting for them so no rush, right?

I was worried they had gotten on the ferry and now I was marooned down at Big Cat because I had jettisoned the rental car part of the plan.

Or did they know and were they planning something? I was getting paranoid.

I texted Andy using a fake gmail account I set up purporting to be Mark. I needed to figure out if I had been left behind in Seattle.

He said they were on their way. Finally. When they arrived, two of them were stoned out of their minds and didn’t even notice that I don’t usually lay under blankets on sidewalks in towns I don’t live in. The group was way behind on their schedule and the driver was eager to go. The mood was not surprise. It was impatience and irritation.

They got me in the car but with no more enthusiasm or inquiry than a bus driver picking up a passenger on their daily route. “Oh hey Mike, get in.” The end.

I could tell that we would never get all these clues done. 

And then we got to the ferry which had the longest line the locals had ever seen. It was the end of the summer it appeared that everyone had procrastinated their trips.

What was supposed to happen from here:

The first clue would lead them to this Dairy Queen. (Another inside joke, where Kate once sent me on a wild goose chase). They would look across the street and see a Subway (another inside joke) and then go over to the Subway. They would ask the people working there if the Subway (being in full view of the Dairy Queen) was a Dairy Queen. The Subway workers would then hand them the next note:

What actually happened from here

We ended up zooming past the DQ before I even realized it. I reached into my pocket, grabbed the note and said “oh what’s this!” as we drove onward. I hunched over my phone sent a message from James via Google Hangouts to the person sitting next to me as I suggested everyone keep an eye on Google Hangouts.

James said he had changed his mind and gave the next clue.

The next note would require some mental leaps. See if you can figure it out:

At that location, they have to ask the workers if it is a Dairy Queen. At which point they workers give them the next message:

This one was also whizzed by because we were talking and I was flustered and tired and still sore from sitting on the pavement for hours. I revealed the clue as before. This one I insisted they figure out because I knew they would like this place and I wanted to check it out.

If they figure this one out then they would find this message at that location:

These last two locations were off the beaten path and we didn’t have time, but I let them try to figure out the clues for fun. Matt turned out to be the star puzzle solver.

That final hint depends on them remembering another inside joke.

That is where I’ll be waiting for them. The end!

Lessons Learned

1. To do the whole route would have taken maybe 8 hours. We only had 3-4.
2. Be careful who you invite on a double-cross.

Things I’m Proud Of

1. This thing actually almost worked. I would love if someone else would try it out on their friends.
2. I was able to find clues that google wouldn’t solve right away. That was exceptionally challenging. I might write a post just on that.
3. I was willing to lay on the sidewalk for almost 3 hours as part of an elaborate joke.

Spoilers

You can see a map of the answers to the clues here.

One of the things I learned in Priya Parker’s fantastic book “The Art of Gathering” is how you might stretch an event that is an hour long into a guest experience that lasts for many hours, days, weeks or longer. And potentially it could take less money, effort, and time to do so.

How is this possible? Anticipation and preparation.

Preparation

Imagine a two hour potluck, where guests are asked to bring a dish to share with others. Those guests that love food and love to cook now get to daydream and plot what surprise they might bring. They might get to experiment with a new recipe they’ve been wanting to try it. As they plan for the potluck they play and replay a scene in their minds of guests enjoying their dish and complementing them on their efforts.

For a certain type of guest this anticipatory phase of the event is extremely enjoyable. The host (to the delight of the guests) has extended the memories of the meal and the experience of the potluck well beyond the scheduled two hours. And the guests (to the delight of the host) have saved the host time and money in preparing food for everyone.

Another example of anticipation extending the event is Halloween. Or a costume party. Certain types of people love the opportunity to plan and make costumes. Some people will get hours of enjoyment putting their costume together – with relatively little cost for the host.

When is Christmas? It’s not the 25th for everyone. For many it starts in early October when the decorations first start hitting the stores. 

A vacation might last a week or two. But the experience of exploring vacation options and planning the vacation can literally last years.

(Note: that experience extensions only work if the guest is a fit for the experience. If you don’t enjoy cooking or potlucks (like me), you don’t feel anticipation, you feel dread and annoyance. (“why can’t we just order pizza…”). Usually these people will do everyone the favor and not attend, but keep in mind that there can be social pressure or other reasons that someone might feel compelled to attend despite disinterest in such anticipations.)

Anticipation

Even if nothing needs done, made, or bought, you can extend the experience simply by planting the seeds of anticipation.

For The Eureka Room I’ve purposely made a mysterious looking website and not given too many hints as to what actually happens or what it actually looks like. I also have some press out there that fails to describe it, merely stating “You just have to go. I can’t explain it.”  

For a certain type of person this is extremely intriguing. They get to wonder and imagine what sorts of things they might experience. If they’ve booked a showing, their anxiety and/or excitementment will be heightened until they get to see it for themselves. 

When they tell the story of their experience it won’t begin with “Well we showed up to The Eureka Room and…”. It will be “I found this thing and had no idea what it was. It looked really interesting but kind of sketchy maybe. I wasn’t sure about it but my partner wanted to go. They had to talk me into it but I said if I get killed it’s your fault” Etc etc. 

Their story is their experience and their experience starts when their anticipation starts.

(Followup: since I wrote this post I’ve discovered that my mysterious website was turning off some potential customers. Instead of anticipation, they were just puzzled and unsure what to anticipate.. I have since updated the website to include more information that I hope creates better expectations, lowers confusion, and elevates anticipation).

Anticipation vs Waiting

It’s important to keep in mind the distinction between “anticipating” and “waiting”. Knowing that something is going to happen doesn’t mean you are anticipating. Unless you are feeling some excitement and have some expectations, it’s not anticipating: You wait at the DMV. You anticipate The Eureka Room; You wait for the bus that takes you to work. You anticipate the bus that takes you into the national park. 

Just because someone is waiting for something they want and feeling anticipation doesn’t mean they will feel anticipation indefinitely. You go to a nice restaurant you’ve been wanting to eat at for ages. You order something that sounds fantastic and then anticipate that delicious meal coming out of the kitchen. Well.. for about the first 20-30 minutes. Slowly the anticipation transmutes into “waiting”. 

If you are going to design anticipation into your experience, whether it be days-long anticipation for the event to begin or leaving them hang for just a minute during a story you are telling, bear in mind there is a limit to where the anticipation turns into waiting.

It’s hard to create an experience that doesn’t have some amount of waiting. See if you can identify the times people are “waiting” and brainstorm ways you can turn it into “anticipating”. Simple things like adding a count-down timer or having a hype-person or allowing guests to mingle and talk with each other about what is about to happen can make “waiting” into something fun.