Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience

Talking to people about your designs might seem like a basic skill, but it can be difficult to do well. In many cases, how you communicate with stakeholders, clients, and other nondesigners may be more important than the designs themselves. Because if you canâ t get their support, your work will never see the light of dayâ no matter how good it is.

This practical guide focuses on principles, tactics, and actionable methods for presenting your designs. Whether you design apps, websites, or products, youâ ll learn how to get support from people who have influence over the project with the goal of creating the best user experience.

• Walk through the process of preparing and presenting your designs
• Understand stakeholder perspectives and learn how to empathize with them
• Cultivate both implicit and explicit listening skills
• Learn tactics and strategies for expressing the most effective response to feedback
• Create the right documentation for your decisions to avoid repeated conversations
• Learn why following through is just as important as the meeting itself

Tom Greever helps companies and organizations design better products, apps, and software. He is an independent consultant and has worked with both small startups and large corporations across many different industries. You can hire him to design your product, train your team, or speak at your next event. He lives in Illinois with his wife and five kids. He is probably cleaning up the house right now.