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UX microcopy: finding a balance between empathy and humor
If I learned anything from Pixar in the last decade, it’s that life is complicated and often requires a balance of joy and sadness to make it through the tougher times (Inside Out, you get me).
Whether you’re in the writing/design field, or someone who deals with customers on an ongoing basis, the key to creating memorable experiences starts with putting yourself in your users’ shoes.
The trick, of course, is getting it right, and getting it right is usually what separates the best brands from the worst.
Empathy and humor aren’t necessarily in opposition of each other in most respects, but with microcopy, there’s a balance that often needs to be struck when the writer goes through their decision-making process.
Humor
Making people laugh is arguably one of the hardest things to do in the world. Legendary comedians like Dave Chappelle, Hasan Minaj, Ali Wong, and Conan O’Brien, are all naturally talented at telling jokes through storytelling, and it always makes them more relatable to their audience.
Humor is, of course, subjective, and when it comes to humor in UX, it can be even more so. UX writing is probably not the place you want to tell that mama joke your little cousin told you, so understanding the type of humor you need for your brand voice and tone is the first step to creating great microcopy.
Empathy
Unlike humor, empathy is pretty universal. We don’t need much to tell someone we’re sorry, or apologize when we’ve done something wrong. The act of contrition is usually enough, but finding the right words can make a difference between a positive and a generic experience.
Poor empathy results in not only in losing customers, but people generally staying away from your brand due to tone-deaf lack of awareness.
Here’s an example of getting both humor and empathy incorrect, as is the case for most forms of “confirm shaming”.
