Rules for Pitching #UX Improvement To Stakeholders Dept.

To me, EVERY meeting is a working meeting. So the very first time I speak to a room of stakeholders during a consulting gig, I am absolutely *not* doing the dog-and-pony show of presenting with slides.

I am here to do one thing and one thing only: make an IMPACT. Leave a firm, lasting impression that they will not ever meet another consultant cares as much about helping them succeed as I do. 

Which means I’m here to talk about *them.* What they need. What they’re struggling with. What they think is wrong and what needs to be made right. 

This also means that even if I don't have the gig yet, instead of sitting politely and taking turns, we’re going to dive in together and interact. Trade ideas.Think through things, explore. what’s being proposed and leverage the brainpower of every person in the room. 

Once again, this is a *working* meeting, and we are going to use it to WORK the problem at hand. Again,  whether they hire me or not.

This gives them a very real, tangible, concrete sense of what it’s actually like to work with me. 

I am minimizing their risk. If we communicate and collaborate together well here, it’s a safe bet we’ll do the same once I’m under contract.

If I’m helping a #ProductDesign team “sell” improved #UX work to decision makers, the only way we get a green light is if (1) we come off confident and composed, (2) we communicate instead of trying to educate and (3) they can see the outcome of what we’re proposing.

To do that, I follow 8 specific rules, which I share in “8 Critical Rules for Pitching to Stakeholders," available at my UX 365 Academy:These same rules apply to every conversation you have with stakeholders of any kind in your company. Or, if you work for yourself like I do, with a client or member of their managerial team. If you want people to pay attention to anything you say, you absolutely must lead with something that matters a great deal to them. 

Something that they (1) know or strongly suspect is occurring + (2) desperately want to accomplish or minimize or eliminate.

Put another way: you have to prove that what you do addresses BUSINESS problems, opportunities and goals — not UX problems, opportunities and goals. In this training video, I show you how I make sure that happens before I leave the room.
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