Becoming a better designer in 30 Seconds or less

Rodney Johnson
Aug 23, 2017 · 2 min read

I am trying to develop better skills in story telling. Because I have learned, I do not do a good job at describing things to others. I have become lazy at explaining things to others.

The other day I was at the doctor’s office. I had been to this doctors office a couple of times. Enough to know who was a good nurse and who if at all possible to stay away. When I was requesting an individual nurse that wasn’t close. I pointed in the direction of the nurse as well as described which way they nurse was facing. The nurse that I was speaking to responded by saying her hair color, the color she was wearing, and the objects that she was standing next to, I then confirmed that yes, we were describing the same person.

Being a UX Designer, I instantly realized that I did not create a great experience because of my lack of communication. I was immediately taken back by this. Here I am an advocate for User Experiences, and when I’m not working, I am not creating the best user experience in all areas of my life. I was forced to think how often do I do this? How often have I not explained something in detail to the point where there would be no misunderstanding. I kept thinking If I had taken the time to go into detail about the person I would have been able to avoid another 15–30 seconds back and forth with the nurse. You might think to yourself what is 15–30 seconds?

In my world, it’s often enough time for a buyer to decide on whether or not they are going to buy your product. It’s also enough time for someone to say they are having a good experience with your site or not. In my line of work, sometimes all we are given to make a positive impression on a customer is 15–30 seconds. In short, a few days later that 15–30 seconds extra I spent, has caused me to seek a new and better way to describe things to others. Perfecting this skill will allow me to make better User Experience designs.

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Rodney Johnson

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Just a UX Designer who enjoys sharing his perspective of this beautiful career.