What’s my motivation?

Imagine you must pretend you’ve stayed awake for 72 hours straight. What would you do to get that “no sleep in three days” look?

If you’re Dustin Hoffman in the mid-1970s, the answer is simple: you skip a few bedtimes. According to legend, the actor partied every night while filming Marathon Man. It was part of his character work. He’d look like he was on zero sleep by actually being on zero sleep.

Hoffman’s co-star, legendary actor Lawrence Olivier, was not impressed. “My dear boy, have you tried acting?”

Zing!

Before we dismiss Hoffman, we should recognize his method. In fact, it’s called The Method or method acting.

To find a character’s motivation, you get inside their head.

Often by taking the same actions as a character.

The D.E.V. Content Framework we use at EveryDeveloper is similar… except it helps you sleep better at night.

You can get inside the heads of the developers you want to attract. Figure out their motivations and you can create content that speaks to them.

Too often, dev content ignores this method. In an effort to attract the largest numbers, it misses the most important ones.

Take a cue from Dustin Hoffman and get inside the heads of developers. But don’t forget to get some rest.