Empathy Map

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Chart a target profile's observable experiences, behaviors, frustrations, and goals to inform design decisions.

Use it when: Use during discovery, research synthesis, or project kickoff when a team needs a shared reference for who they are serving.

Skip it when: Skip when team members lack any direct data or real context about the target profile, or when the goal requires quantitative technical analysis.

Group arrangement: Small groups of 4 to 6 people. For total counts that do not divide evenly (such as 7, 13, 17, 19, or 23), form groups of 3 or 5, or have extra participants choose an active support role as timekeeper and scribe.

Timing: Participatory Methods estimates 15 to 60 minutes; 45 minutes provides sufficient time for small-group drafting and cross-team synthesis.

Materials and tools

• 1 large Empathy Map poster (or butcher paper with the template drawn) per group
• 3 pads of sticky notes per group (differing colors recommended)
• 1 marker per participant
• Masking tape for wall display

Before participants arrive

1. Pre-draw or print an Empathy Map template for each table with sections matching the handout: Sense & Environment (See, Hear), External Actions (Say and Do), Internal Experience (Think and Feel), and Tensions & Goals (Pains, Gains).
2. Ensure wall or table space allows all small-group members to reach the map simultaneously.

Say this to open

Today we will step into the experience of a specific target persona. We will map what this person experiences daily across four areas: their sensory environment (See and Hear), their external actions (Say and Do), their internal experience (Think and Feel), and their key tensions (Pains and Gains). Write one idea per sticky note and place it directly in the matching section.

How to run it

1. Set context and profile 5 minutes

   Announce the target persona or scenario (for example, a first-time service applicant). Distribute templates and sticky notes to each small group. Allow groups to quickly review who the persona is and their general situation.

2. Draft sensory and behavioral observations 15 minutes

   Participants write individual sticky notes and place them in the See, Hear, and Say and Do sections: What does the person see in their environment? What do they hear from colleagues, media, or friends? What do they say and do out loud? Encourage concrete, descriptive details. Silence is fine; group members place notes as they write.

3. Map internal thoughts, pains, and gains 10 minutes

   Prompt groups to focus on internal states and trade-offs. What does the person think and feel? What are their frustrations, anxieties, or obstacles (Pains)? What outcomes, desires, or benefits are they hoping to achieve (Gains)? Post these directly into the Think and Feel, Pains, and Gains sections.

4. Synthesize and present key patterns 10 minutes

   Each group spends 2 minutes reviewing their full board to identify two prominent tensions or patterns. Invite up to three groups to share one key tension with the room, or conduct a 4-minute quiet gallery walk where everyone visits adjacent maps.

5. Debrief insights 5 minutes

   Bring the whole room together. Facilitator poses one or two targeted debrief questions to bridge the empathy map into immediate next steps or design requirements.

Debrief questions

• Which section had the most notes, and which was hardest to fill? What does that tell us about our current information?
• Where do you see a contradiction between what this person says or does versus what they think or feel?
• What is one concrete need from this map that directly changes our next project task?

Finished output: A completed visual map documenting the external environment, internal thoughts, challenges, and motivations of a defined user profile.

Remote

Set up a digital whiteboard (such as Miro or Mural) with pre-formatted Empathy Map templates across separate frames. Assign each breakout room of 4 to 6 people to a designated frame. Participants generate digital sticky notes in parallel. Convene in the main room for screen sharing and debrief.

Hybrid

Assign in-person participants to shared table templates and remote participants to an identical digital whiteboard workspace. Pair a stationary camera or laptop at in-person tables, or appoint a remote liaison per table to transcribe physical sticky notes into the digital board so both formats remain synchronized.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may dictate sticky notes to a teammate or sketch simple visual icons instead of writing text.
• Participants may pass on verbal read-outs during the room share without explanation.
• No personal disclosure is required; all prompts refer strictly to the fictional or research-based external persona.

If the session gets stuck

Participants invent extreme or unrealistic caricature behaviors for the persona.

Ask the group to anchor every note in real feedback, user interviews, or direct interactions they have previously observed.

The group gets stuck confusing 'Think and Feel' with 'Say and Do'.

Clarify with an example: 'Say and Do' is observable by a video camera (e.g., smiles, tells boss everything is fine); 'Think and Feel' is internal (e.g., worries about missing the deadline).

Terms used here

• Persona: A representative profile of a target user, customer, or community member based on shared characteristics.
• Pains: Frustrations, obstacles, fears, or friction points encountered by the user.
• Gains: The desired outcomes, goals, and benefits the user seeks to accomplish.