Presenting to clients is not easy, however it’s critical to master this skill, both for the success of your UX efforts and for your own professional development.
I’ve met far too many talented UX designers whose ability to design beautiful wireframes and create mind-blowing prototypes far surpassed my own. Yet when it came to presenting, it was clear that they hadn’t given it much thought, except perhaps to dread it.
Whether you love presenting or hate it, there are a few things you can do to be more effective. If you think of the presentation from the user’s perspective, these suggestions will seem like merely good, common sense. Hmm, user’s perspective… now where have we heard that before?
Following is a guideline I’ve compiled which — although not exhaustive — does reflect a user-centric approach to presenting. These are things I do; but more important, they’re things I’ve regularly seen poor presenters fail to do.
Are you ready? Let’s take a deep breath and dive in.
My name is…
First, introduce yourself using your full name, your title, the name of your company and team, plus your location if you are teleconferencing: “I’m Wally Wireframe, Lead Designer on Boffo Company’s User Experience team. I work out of Boffo’s Poughkeepsie office.”
The idea in the beginning is to establish your credibility while easing your own nerves, and to create a level of comfort with the audience. Start with the basics, and speak slowly and clearly. I recommend practicing your opening lines in the shower as you get ready for work that morning. Better that your roommates think you’re nuts than to crash and burn in the first ten seconds.
Depending on the audience and the objective of the presentation, you may want to give a very high-level overview of your background and qualifications. If you do that, keep it to a few sentences at most. Work that into the shower routine too.
Next, make sure you know the names of those to whom you are presenting. Names are very important to people, and you’ll receive extra bonus points if you know their titles as well. Ask for the information if you haven’t been introduced: “There were a couple of new people on the call I haven’t met. Shall we do a quick round of introductions first?” Asking for information like this shows that you’re in control.
Next, state what it is you’re going to present. Include the project name, version, and any other relevant data: “Today we’re going to look at our first round of wireframes for the Grandma’s Groovy Gravy website.”
What you‘re probably starting to notice is that I recommend you be very explicit with things which may seem obvious. However let’s think of it from our users’ point of view.
The folks you’re presenting to are likely not UX professionals, nor are they familiar with the shortcuts and jargon we use all the time. Furthermore, they probably prefer hearing you refer to their company respectfully, as well as referring to the project in its most proper form. It’s simply not good enough to introduce the presentation using a working title such as, “Today we’re going to look at the Gravy site.”
Why should they care?
Once you’re rolling, it’s time to set your users’ expectations. Make sure they understand the purpose of the meeting, and at least a little about the value that your methodology brings to the table. Talk a little bit about what user experience is and what it does.
Using simple layman’s terms or metaphors anyone can relate to, describe the purpose and value of data-driven, user-centered design. Then tie it back to your users’ goals. One of my favorite quotes from Albert Einstein is, “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
Next, explain the purpose of the document you are sharing. For a wireframe, say something like, “For those of you who don’t know, the wireframes you’re about to see do not represent the final page design. Rather, they are a schematic or diagram of the functionality of each page.”
This is an example of baseline knowledge that UX professionals take for granted because we think about it every day; and yet it’s a question I have seen come up time after time from clients. I have the test data that proves you need to explain what your users are looking at and why.
Allow talking in class
As part of creating a comfort level with your audience, encourage dialog whenever possible. Some presentations are more formal than others so this may not always be appropriate; but people do generally wonder if they are free to interrupt or if they should save all their comments until the end. Let them interrupt! It will serve to create a collaborative environment, and it will take the pressure of being perfect off you a bit.
Of course, you may be asked a question you don’t have the answer to. That’s no catastrophe, just tell the person you don’t have the answer in front of you right now, but you’ll get it for them as soon as possible. You’re not expected to know everything, but you are expected to find out the answers to the things you don’t know.
Walking through the document
Using our wireframe example, start your walk-through at the top of the page and systematically work your way down. Moving from left to right and top to bottom in an orderly fashion will help ensure that your users are following along with you.
Explain every element on the page, including things that may seem obvious. Don’t skip page elements, even if you think they’re unimportant. “In the top-left corner will be your company logo. After that is the global navigation, which appears on each page, and finally our search function.”
Make sure to explain the conventions of the schematic, for instance, “Images are represented by these rectangles with X’s through them.” This also might be a good time to call out the legend and annotations you have created. (You have created a legend and annotations, right?)
Don’t use jargon without explaining what it means first: “CTA stands for Call-to-Action. An example of this might be a button with a label that says ‘Click Here’.”
In fact, when presenting to clients, I don’t even say UX as much as I say User Experience. Remember, we have all been studying this subject for a very long time, while our users have not. Let’s keep the focus on them.
We’re all in this together
Throughout your presentation, avoid tunnel vision by remembering that your work is part of a bigger process. Process equals credibility, so explain your process: “Once we get approval on the basic structure and functionality, these labels will be written as part of the creative phase,” or, “Our visual designers will bring this to life by selecting appropriate imagery and graphic design.”
As you move through the deck, keep the pace slow and relaxed and remember to ask for feedback at the end of each page. Invite questions before you move on, and give your users time to process their thoughts before proceeding.
Wrapping up
Summarize what you have reviewed at the end, and provide an overview of what the next steps are: “So, that concludes our first round of wireframes for the Grandma’s Groovy Gravy website. We need consolidated feedback by Thursday and then we’ll move on to the final round.”
Always thank your users sincerely for their time, and encourage them to reach out as appropriate if they have any questions. Bear in mind that sometimes there is a single point of contact for a client, and that contact might not be you. “Feel free to reach out to me (or whomever the contact is) if you have any questions at all.”
Also, remember that no matter what, you are selling your company’s services, so express excitement about the client’s project and make sure to mention your team. “Thank you so much for your time today. I’m super excited about it, as is my team. We look forward to your feedback and to our next steps.”
And that’s it!
I hope this guide is helpful to you, and that it starts you thinking about the idea of orienting your presentations around the audience’s needs, wants, and behaviors. Just remember, there has never been anyone who was great at presenting the first few times they did it. It took me many cringe-filled years.
With a little practice and a systematic approach, you can master and even enjoy this critical skill. Best of luck… and feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions at all!
