How to pitch design ideas to stakeholders and get their buy-in
Designers have no shortage of ideas; whether they come scientifically through user research or creatively from the depths of our imagination.
But getting our ideas across the line isn’t a matter of how badly we believe in them or how hard we’re willing to fight. Whether or not an idea gets to live another day and make it into the design process hinges on one of the key tenets of our role: The pitch.
Far easier than it sounds, pitching a design idea requires more than just getting everyone in a room to agree that it’s worthwhile. It is a balancing act of persuading your stakeholders that their business needs will be met, while advocating for the needs of someone who isn’t in the room at all: The user.
1. Frame up the pitch
No matter who your stakeholder is or how they like to be communicated to, no one can turn down a good story.
A good way to set up a persuasive story is using Mckinsey’s Pyramid Principle.
With this inductive method, you start the story with the answer or solution, followed by grouping and summarizing your top 3 supporting arguments. Former McKinsey consultant, Ameet Randative, argues 3 is the magic number as “most of us have been hard-wired to expect things in groups of 3.”
These arguments can then be ordered by time, structure or priority but they should not overlap. Each argument should be able to stand up on its own:
[Arguments] are comprehensive collections without leaving alternatives. (Barbara Minto, the Pyramid Principle. MECE segmentation)
But as you’ve likely experienced in one pitch or another, it can be very difficult to try to hold your stakeholder’s attention. As a rule of thumb, aim for a 7-20 minute pitch (scaled to the idea) as that’s the average length of time people stay actively engaged when listening to others. The brevity of your pitch, paired with your well structured arguments will, as Randative says, help you sound more confident and decisive, which will make your pitch all the more memorable.
Finally, avoid using complex language, including buzzwords or design vocabulary. Though they make sense to us, Psychology Professor Daniel Oppenheimer found in his research that,
“Anything that makes a text hard to read and understand, such as unnecessarily long words or complicated fonts, will lower readers’ evaluations of the text and its author.”
2. Get on the same page
Agree on the needs & goals of the design idea
As designers, we could probably all do a better job of involving stakeholders in the design process earlier (starting with the needs and goals of the idea)— but who is your stakeholder, anyway?
Before you begin any design work, you need to know who the main decision makers will be so you can work directly with them. Where this option isn’t possible and you do need to involve someone else, make sure you follow up directly with the main stakeholder and clarify the needs and goals once they’ve been established.
How to agree on the project’s goals and needs
- Before taking your stakeholders through your hypothesis, make sure it’s based on solid research or findings and not just a gut feeling. Sharing the relevant research will help them understand how you arrived at the design idea, goals and needs, and will make them more likely to buy into it. Then, invite them to share their thoughts. They will likely have different or additional needs and goals that are catered to the business, whereas yours will be user-centered.
- Remember that goal posts can change. If your idea is approved, establish regular milestones in the design process and use each one as an opportunity to review the progress of your needs and goals and whether or not they are still relevant.
Now, what happens if your stakeholders come to the table with a hypothesis that you strongly doubt will work, because you’re aware of all the research out there that goes against it?
Be prepared for this to happen and don’t be afraid to push back. You have a responsibility to the user, to do the right thing and make the right calls on their behalf. If you know that a certain goal could lead the idea astray, then show your stakeholders the evidence to support that. And if there is no evidence and you’re just going on your designer intuition, then set up some user testing to validate everyone’s assumptions.
Exchange knowledge
Not every stakeholder understands design value, and not every designer understands business. This presents a challenge when trying to get your idea across the line, let alone getting buy in at every step of the way. So, how can you overcome it? By teaching each other what you know.
For example, when I worked with clients in design consultancy, we always paired up with our stakeholders to do field user research. We would go to the customer’s house, we’d get in their car and even go shopping with them. By immersing stakeholders in this environment and helping them witness the instant response from our end users, we were able to convert them into believers of our research methodology. Equally, the stakeholders helped us by giving us instant feedback that we then used to influence the final design or business decision.
Involving stakeholders in field user research, like my example above, is only one way to go about a knowledge exchange. You could also do a simple question exercise designed to reveal your respective expertise on the subject, until both parties reach a shared perspective.
Knowledge exchange questions
- What is the high-level business and design strategy?
- How do you measure success?
- What methodologies do you use and why?
Remember, involving your stakeholders in the design process is a way of persuasion, but only if they understand what you understand.
Put the business needs first
As user experience designers, we are here to represent our user. Often the very process of solving a user problem leads to solving a business problem, which turns out to be a win-win for everyone.
Anticipating and arguing how your design idea will solve a business need, problem or concern is, at least in my experience, the best way of communicating your design idea. This is more difficult than it sounds. As designers, we’re so passionate about explaining how our designs will help the user that we can forget our stakeholders have needs, too.
Playing to your stakeholder’s concerns first and foremost is the best way to hold their attention, while we lead them through a pitch that ultimately argues for both the business and the user.
This is a matter of identifying what your stakeholders care about, and organizing your pitch around that concern.
Pitch, push back and prosper
The real hurdle to a design pitch is getting through the inevitable pushback that it invites.
Addressing your stakeholders’ concerns in a way that makes them feel heard and respected, without jeopardising the design integrity, is a skill every designer must master. The good news is, by involving your stakeholders early on in the design process, the level of pushback should be less severe.
What are your tips for pitching to stakeholders?
Big thanks to Julia Carter for helping me on editorial
