My story

Home » My story

• Tweet

• Tweet

Hello everyone,

I’m regularly quizzed by clients about my background and how I became involved with User Experience research and Conversion Rate Optimisation. The purpose of this post is to shed a little light on where I’ve come from, and to share with you why I believe effective web communication is so vital to the success of all online enterprises.

Once upon a time…

I left school at the age of 18 and was lucky enough to be selected for pilot training with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. This proved to be a wild ride from start to finish, culminating in qualifying as a Fighter Pilot flying the A4 Skyhawk.

During this period I travelled extensively around South East Asia, and even spent two years living just south of Sydney flying in support of the Australian Navy.

Like nearly everything in life which seems perfect, it wasn’t set to last. The NZ government in all their wisdom decided to dispense with the combat arm of the RNZAF which left a whole bunch of pilots like me looking for work!

Along came the Royal Air Force

When the opportunity to move to the United Kingdom and begin flying the Jaguar for the Royal Air Force popped up, I grabbed it with both hands. As soon as I arrived in the UK, the ‘Are you mad?  Why would you leave NZ and move here!?!’ banter began. For me, life has always been about chasing the next new experience.

After 3 years flying the Jag, I was selected to form part of the Entry Into Service team for the Eurofighter Typhoon project. I felt thoroughly privileged to be part of such an important phase in the RAF’s history.

It was a proud day for me when we finally declared the Operational Conversion Unit (Typhoon Fighter Pilot School) ‘Open for Business’!

Now for the turning point…

My role flying the Typhoon was as a senior instructor. I taught dozens of new pilots the basics of handling this amazing new fighter, as well as teaching student instructors how to teach others.  And this is where it got interesting…

How do you communicate with someone when you can’t see them, they can’t see you, and you have no idea where their attention is at any given moment?

You see, the Typhoon was designed to be flown by a crew of 1. This means that in the training aircraft, the instructor sits behind the student in a tandem seating arrangement. Given that over 80% of all communication is ‘non-verbal body language’, you can begin to appreciate how important it was that messages were clearly transmitted, received, and understood!

Instructor training taught me about communication and psychology

Not everyone absorbs information in the same way. We all belong to a specific category of ‘learners’, which means that the medium through which we notice and interpret information is different for all of us. Figuring out how to adapt my message and methods to suit my audience was one of the most interesting parts of this job.

Web Application Development wasn’t my cup of tea!

As I prepared to leave the RAF, I began studying Web Application Development through the Open University. With HTML, CSS, and Javascript under my belt, things moved on to PHP and server side coding which I have to say did not fill me with joy! What did capture my imagination however, was how important PEOPLE are in the role of the internet. Discovering the world of User Centric Design (Usability, User Experience, and other catchy jargon words!) was like tearing the seal on a fresh bag of expensive coffee beans.

Fast forward a few years…

Leaving the Air Force and furthering my interest in effective communication and the psychology of influence has been a fantastic journey. With my own consultancy called ‘AdditiveCRO’, I specialised in helping businesses to grow by harnessing the power of the digital marketing. Having started in the world of web design, we gradually migrated into the very niche area of ‘Conversion Rate Optimisation’ – but let’s not get into that right now!

Why Good Signal?

For me personally, I find I want to explore the world of effective digital communication a little more freely, and keep up to date with what other experts have to say. When you consider the vast array of niche subjects that all have relevance to communicating when you can’t see people, the scope for providing interesting, useful, and maybe even controversial viewpoints is exciting. Good Signal is my way of exploring the world of user behaviour and digital marketing and sharing it with people who care!

That’s me, how about you?

At Good Signal you’ll find news, opinions, interviews and advice associated with topics such as the User Experience, Digital Marketing, Social Media – virtually anything that can improve our understanding of how to communicate effectively through digital media, for the purpose of improving business.

Having said that, I understand that the most important people here are you guys. It’s really important to me that you find this site interesting and engaging. If there’s something you would like to see here that you think would improve things for others, then please contact me directly at blair.keen@goodsignal.com