Week 4 Week 4 Week 4!
It’s my last TWIT ummmm SAD! I’ve loved doing the TWIT again this month, and sharing my passions for design thinking and putting humans (not process) at the centre of the things we do.
So today I’m going to talk about senior and executive stakeholders, and the things they like to see when you’re pitching your ideas to them. Basically, you’ve got an idea, you’ve done the research, you’ve designed a prototype … and now you need the exec buy-in to launch it.
The key is to tell a story. It should be high-level, engaging, visual, and punchy. The typical story arc you should follow is:
When you’re putting your slide deck together, there’s also a general rule of thumb I follow to partner with the story arc above. Caveat – these should be AS VISUAL AS POSSIBLE. No one likes a wordy slideshow (urrrrgh AM I RIGHT) and if you include too much detail you risk getting stuck in ‘rabbit holes’ as some execs will want to read it all and talk about it and then you’ll run out of time. High-level and visual is the way to go, with an appendix at the end that you can send out after the presentation if anyone wants to dive in deeper to the detail.
To prevent this from happening, I find including a cheeky Sli.do or Menti can do the trick, or EVEN chucking thoughts and question in the chat (if it’s virtual) or giving people post-it notes to make suggestions and provide feedback (if it’s in person). There’s lots of fun ways to amp up a presentation that will ease your nerves and make you look SUPER darn impressive.
SPEAKING of impressive … this year’s ATC event is a mere 2.5 weeks away, and you’d be a FOOOOOOOL to miss out. Last chance to get your tickets here ASAP, and come see a bunch of presentations. You can even see if the presenters have read this article and are using my tips above? Teee hee hee! SEE YA THERE!
This is what caught my attention this week:
This is one of my fave newsletters (outside of ATC’s TWIT, of course). It shares different work tips, with lots related to Design as the writer of the newsletter is a Service Designer.
This is one of my favourite monthly listens by IDEO U. Each month (sometimes twice a month) they interview an expert in the field of design, strategy, even play (which is my passion). Sign up for design thinking inspo!!
Last podcast recommendation, but this is another goodie. I find podcasts such a great way to learn about the thinking and insights behind design, particularly co-design. This poddie focuses on technology in user experience, and how it will potentially shapre the future of UX design.
In the spirit of pitching and getting buy-ins from Execs, this is a handy article to bookmark and reference when you’re preparing for that next exec meeting.
