97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know

Chapter 35. Sell Your Design Ideas with Trust and Insights

Benson Chan

As you move through the design process, chances are you’re trying to convince either yourself, the end user, or internal stakeholders (or all three) that your design solution is the right one. Delivering a product is a team sport, so the ability to sell your ideas is critical.

It doesn’t matter if you’re fresh out of a famous design school or you are a senior executive—no one is 100% successful with their ideas. I have seen many design reviews into which great ideas have gone to die and have also seen very bad design ideas somehow get shipped because of the quality of the pitch.

Frequent pitch mistakes I’ve seen include designers not clearly expressing what problem they’re solving, not understanding how customers feel about their design, or being unable to predict internal stakeholders’ concerns.

Here are four things to master to help you sell your design:

1. Communicate your understanding of the problem and goal: This sounds simple, but it often doesn’t happen. Recap with stakeholders your understanding of the problem—rephrasing someone’s concerns back to them in your own words is a common technique used to ensure you have a shared understanding. This also helps to ensure your stakeholders have confidence you’re on the same page.

   To communicate your understanding of the problem and goal, start your design pitch ...