38 / Asking a few more questions with genuine curiosity

Hello my friend! 👋

Last week, I was in Melbourne for a work trip, and it took me the whole weekend to settle back in. That’s why I only got around to sending out the Newsletter on Monday. Interestingly, this reminds me of a chat I had with an Uber driver in Melbourne. The driver was a devout Muslim who prays five times a day without fail. I was curious about how he managed to keep up with his prayers for decades without missing a single one. He mentioned that there were times when it was utterly impossible to pray due to timing or circumstances, but as long as he made up for it a little later, it was all good. Kinda like how I just sent out the Newsletter a bit late 🙂

Speaking of Uber drivers, I made a point to strike up conversations with every driver I rode with on this trip, which is a bit of a stretch for an introvert like me. Normally, I’d sit quietly without knowing what to say, but this time, I found that just leaning in a bit, asking a few more questions with genuine curiosity, usually got them talking. They were willing to share a lot of their thoughts and information, even if it didn’t always align with my own views, which turned out to be a great way to learn about the local culture or different perspectives. Like the Muslim driver I mentioned earlier, he was initially cautious and reluctant to discuss religious topics. However, when I showed a real interest in learning about things I didn’t understand, he opened up and we ended up talking about Shia and Sunni Muslims, Islam, and the Quran. By the time he dropped me off at my hotel, he even thanked me for listening to him talk about it.

It was a valuable lesson for me. Sometimes, you shouldn’t worry too much about whether you’re coming off as “correct.” Focusing on the other person and areas of your own curiosity naturally takes away the worry about whether you’re being appropriate or right in your communication.

Here’re a few things I’d like to share with you today 🙂

• Tracking My Daughter’s Reading Journey: A Customized Reading Journal

• A Day at the Library: Learning from a Cartoon Artist’s Workshop

• The Iceberg Illusion of Social Media Presence

• Making money with AI?

• Designer’s Confidential Dilemma: to Share or Not to Share

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Tracking My Daughter’s Reading Journey: A Customized Reading Journal

I’ve designed a reading journal for my daughter to document and track her yearly reading adventures. In her personal reading journal, she records the title of each book, the dates she read it, why she likes the book, what the book is about, and any new vocabulary she learned. Additionally, she can express her creativity by drawing scenes or interesting moments she experienced while reading the book. We tried this method with her favorite, “Journey to the West,” and the results were fantastic.

A Day at the Library: Learning from a Cartoon Artist’s Workshop

I attended a drawing workshop at the library led by Stu Duval, a comic artist I had previously interviewed. It was fantastic! The kids were completely engaged, and the room was filled with applause and laughter. I have immense respect for those who can captivate an audience, especially kids.

While Stu sketched, I picked up some real professional comic drawing techniques. For instance, he drew with confident strokes, no hesitation. He added sound effects as he drew, which really involved the audience and boosted the entertainment value. I learned a lot – these are definitely techniques I can apply in my future design workshops. （done）

The Iceberg Illusion of Social Media Presence

Sometimes I feel like my social media self is like an iceberg, where 80% of the content about my life, especially my work, remains unseen. This is partly because of the sensitive nature of business-related content that can’t be freely shared, and also because there seems to be a lack of interest in these areas. Yet, this hidden 80% forms the foundation of my existence – it’s the source of my livelihood and societal recognition.

This reminds me that what we see of others on social media – their shares, thoughts, and accomplishments – may just be a tiny fraction of their reality.

I particularly admire those who are able to share their work experiences on social media, whether they are designers, programmers, or other professionals. (done)

Making money with AI?

Here’s a hot topic that’s on everyone’s radar: making money with AI. There’s a ton of content creators out there producing loads of stuff about “how to earn with AI.” While the folks consuming this content might not be raking in the cash, the ones creating it are definitely seeing their traffic shoot up.

You’ll find all sorts of videos on YouTube like “How to set up a parent-child channel with AI” or “How to auto-generate videos with AI.” But if you dig a bit deeper or try to analyze it yourself, you’ll quickly realize that the success rate for these types of endeavors is pretty low.

Before you dive headfirst into this content, I’d recommend taking a step back and giving it some thought. What’s the business model behind it? How do you keep a business afloat? Is the competition fierce? Are there high technical barriers or other hurdles? Is this something you can or even want to tackle? A little bit of groundwork and analysis before taking the plunge can make a world of difference.

And remember, making money with AI isn’t just about the cash; it’s also about saving time. As professionals, our time literally translates to money. If a task takes you 8 hours but AI can handle it in 3, you’ve just pocketed 5 hours. In a way, that’s like earning 5 hours of your hourly rate back. So, think about both sides of the coin!

Designer’s Confidential Dilemma: to Share or Not to Share

Got a secret in your professional life and pondering if you should spill the beans? Dive into this chat where I unpack the do’s and don’ts of handling sensitive info. We’ll talk about the whys, the why nots, and the hows of keeping (or not keeping) work secrets.

Have a great one and see you soon!

**Bear Academy Newsletter@2023**

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Bear Academy Newsletter

Non-crap tips and thoughts on design, product and technology ✨

🐻 Bear Who?

Hi there 👋, I’m Bear, a seasoned Product Designer with 15 years of overall design experience and six years in product design, transforming the user experiences for millions 📝

As an Apple Award-Winning Podcast Host at BearTalk and a Design Mentor at Springboard and CareerFoundry, I apply my self-taught design skills and science background to solve complicated problems and mentor budding designers 😃

In my downtime, you’ll find me reading, drawing, podcasting, and making videos about everything from tech to design and productivity 👨‍🎨

🤓 Work

• 💼 What I do：Product Designer at Xero

• 🌃 I also do：Design Mentor at Springboard and CareerFoundry / Founder at Bear Academy

• 🎤 Side hustle：Podcast host at Award-winning podcast BearTalk

💡 Goodies

• Bear Academy - my courses around UX Design, AI, etc

• Bear Academy Newsletter - my free newsletter, which you are reading now

• Beartalking.com - all my posts, English and Chinese

• Youtube.com/@Bearliu - A video is worth a thousand words

💬 Contact

• https://twitter.com/bearbig](https://twitter.com/bearbig) - Majorly I post in Chinese

• bear@beartalking.com - The old fashion email way

• LinkedIn.com/in/bearliu - My professional life