Presenting Design Work

Consider whether you can present to these people directly. That might mean you need to present more often to smaller groups, but it will also mean you get much better feedback and input. If I simply cannot present to people (which I find often happens in healthcare and customer support), I record a short video or give them a set of scenarios and a

Always ask for feedback

Should you ever show a design and not ask for feedback? For example, just to show that you have made progress?

I’d suggest not doing that. It’s unsatisfying for stakeholders to see work in progress without being able to react to it. It makes them feel like you aren’t listening and that they can’t contribute. Either make sure y

People tend to revisit decisions either when they are made too quickly, without enough reflection and discussion, or when they feel like they haven’t been heard. They will derail your presentations until their feedback is considered. If this happens to you a lot, look at how you are collecting feedback, and ask yourself whether you are giving peopl

What you definitely shouldn’t present is an already-built design. Not only is it harder to make changes to something that has been built, but it also communicates to your audience that you are not listening to feedback.

The key thing is to give everyone something specific to think about and to emphasize that you want their expertise.

Examples of what you might ask people to focus on include questions like these:

Will this design work for the core user group and core tasks?

Will the design work for the content?

Is there terminology that users won’t understand?

Are there

Communicating the User Experience: A Practical Guide for Creating Useful UX Documentation, Richard Caddick and Steve Cable. This book is packed full of details about how to create UX deliverables. It’s a great read for beginners.

The first job you might consider delegating is to have someone else manage the technology—not just setting it up, but also clicking through the presentation or navigating screens in the prototype as you take on the role of narrator. It’s easier to tell a convincing, clear story if you can focus on the people you’re talking to.

Note-taking is another

WHEN PRESENTATIONS GO RIGHT

Presentations can be much better than this. Here’s what happens in a great presentation:

The audience understands what’s happening and what’s expected of them.

Stakeholders listen, ask smart, relevant questions, and give feedback that’s related to their expertise (instead of opinion).

You feel calm, confident, and in control

People usually only interrupt because they’re worried they won’t get an opportunity to contribute. I’ve noticed that if they know there’s time for questions at the end, they pay more attention to the presentation, since they aren’t wasting mental energy trying to figure out how to insert themselves.

No

This is the hardest and most important category.

I think most designers (and product teams) do this particularly poorly, and it can be the main reason stakeholders stop engaging or give the same feedback endlessly.

You must be able to explain why you have decided not to do something about feedback people have given you.

It’s relatively easy when the