You have identified and prioritised your stakeholders. Now it’s time to get under the skin of those you want to have impact for by using the empathy map.
Empathy map workshop
Time needed: 1.5 hours (workshop). Time for preparation and write-up afterwards is also needed.
Preparation: Digital workshop: digital white board, meeting link, instructions on how to use the digital white-board. Physical workshop: print outs (A3 or A2) of the empathy map; post-it notes, pens; book a room and prepare it before the meeting.
Step 1. Empathise - see/hear-do
Brainstorm on what this person would typically see/hear/do every day. This will help you 'empathize' with them. Stay high level though so that this does not become one very specific person but stays representative for a group of stakeholders.
Questions to ask:
What behaviours do they have in common?
What influences them?
What kind of environment do they operate in?
Step 2. Pains and gains
Once you have a clear picture, it is time to make the connection to the things you do. Figuring this out will be key to working out what impact you may aspire to. How can you make stakeholders' lives a little better?
Questions to ask:
What hinders them in their job that you could play a role in?
Or, turn the question around and ask what things you offer that can make their lives easier, or better?
Step 3. Clean-up
Use the last five to ten minutes to clean it up. Ask the group to keep the most relevant characteristics but to take off what is less relevant.
If you have time, ask a representative from each group to give a brief summary of their findings.
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Image credit: Impact playbook (7 of 43), Europeana Estonian Presidency Event (2017). Europeana Foundation. CC BY-SA.
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