Presenting Work with Confidence

The myth that good design sells itself is just that — a myth. Good solutions aren’t always obvious at first glance. Good ideas, even the best ideas, need to be sold. A designer who can do pretty good work and persuade the client it’s right, is worth more than a designer who does amazing work, but can’t sell it to a client. Creating a compelling story from a list of recommendations is an often overlooked design skill. Making your case makes it more likely your work will launch on time (or at all) and that it represents your true intentions. It’s smart business.

Outcomes

During this workshop, we’ll cover effective presentation techniques including: how to take charge of a room, how to turn your research and data into a good story, how to map your work to the objectives of your business or client, how to ask for the right kind of feedback, and more importantly, how to avoid getting feedback you don’t really need!

What are people saying about this workshop?

"I loved how Mike brought the materials to life with examples, humor, and context." "The content was incredibly useful. I've mostly worked as a lone wolf in a sea of engineers and have been making it up as I go. Having some solid, easy to remember, principles for not messing up have already carried me through the last week of a pretty challenging project." "It was a revelation." "I don't know how to choose just one favorite part."

Who is this workshop for?

You. No, seriously—you. Whether you’re a designer, a developer, an engineer, a content strategist, or whatever funny name you’ve come up for yourself this week, your job includes having to convince someone of something. This is true whether you’re working in an agency, a studio, inside an organization, or for yourself. Everyone has clients, even if you call them “boss”.

What should I bring?

Everyone must do a presentation of up to 5 minutes in length. It can be previous work, something up-and-coming you’d like to workshop with the group, anything really. The content won’t matter as much as the delivery. Be sure your boss is okay with you sharing it in front of everybody.