Design is Storytelling
and designers are storytellers.
Do you ever feel like you’re surrounded by people who are better at communicating their ideas?
Beginning of my career, I’ve been in meetings where my thoughts were solid gold but I just couldn’t get them across. At times, I felt like I was stuck in a room with Bill Gates and Elon Musk — they were just so much more convincing and eloquent than I am.
I was frustrated. Here I was, with great ideas that would have been game-changing for our company, but my thoughts just weren’t coming out the way they should have been. And then my colleagues would throw out some half-assed idea that didn’t stand a chance of working, but because they knew how to put it into words and present it well, it got accepted as the official “plan.” It was infuriating!
I had great ideas.
I knew that my idea was better than theirs. Probably, they also knew. I felt so incapable. I knew my thought process was spot-on but I was in a room with these monsters.
I felt defeated. This was not right.
And start thinking why I am in this situation. I realised something: these people weren’t trying to be persuasive or manipulative. They were just good at presenting their thoughts in an appealing way that made others want to listen.
The difference between a good designer and very experienced designer is their ability to craft stories that move readers.
The ability to tell stories or craft stories is a tool for gripping listeners and taking them on an engaging, memorable journey. Many designers are taught that stories are a great framework for building case studies, as it illustrates our process in a resonant way.
As more experienced designers, we often have the experience of identifying the challenges and solutions of our client’s design challenges with better clarity than our junior colleagues.
The first step is that we have to understand the people we’re trying to persuade.
I know, I know — this sounds obvious. But we need to go beyond knowing that the people for whom we’re making a product or service are stakeholders who can make decisions about whether or not to buy in and actually treat them like users. That way, we can dig into their perspective, the way they think, and how they make decisions — and that’ll help us understand their goals and how they make their decisions.
When you’re trying to sell someone on a new product, service or an idea, it’s easy to forget that they’re just another person with a job to do and problems to solve — just like the rest of us. It’s especially easy when you know you’ve got a great solution at hand. But if you want to get somebody else excited about what you’ve got going on, even more than you are yourself, you need to get inside of their head.
What brings us together? Where do our interests line up? How can we create a connection and communicate clearly? The sweet spot where goals align is where the magic happens. When we’re open to each other, we can listen and communicate, solve problems, and create agreements. The intersection of interests is like a border between nations: it’s where we meet and learn from each other.
Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have as designers. It can help people understand our designs, and connect with them on a deeper level.
When we tell stories, we can bring people to our side, and show them why our designs are valuable. We can create a new story of us, where people come together to share a common experience.
The better we can connect our stories with others, the better we can influence how others value our designs. So let’s first talk about how to tell better stories.
You tell a story by connecting the past, present and future.
Think of it as a mental exercise.
It’s like looking at the world through a telescope.
What’s the new perspective?
How will it change my understanding?
What’s the emotional impact of what we’re doing? What are the benefits?
Tell a story.
Imagine how you’d feel if you were that person.
There’s a lot of different kinds of stories.
Compare the stories.
What’s the same? What’s different?
Which is better? And why?
A story is more than just a list of facts.
How does this story connect me with the world?
How does this story connect me with others?
How does this story relate to what I care about?
How does this story relate to who I want to be?
How does this story relate to my values?
Try next time.
