Earlier this month, I gave a talk to my digital design colleagues at Sapient on presenting their UX and UI work; simple, practical advice – some of it obvious, some less so – on how to improve their presenting skills.

So here are 15 tips ranging from how to prepare for the presentation to articulating ideas slickly to influencing the audience for the best outcome. I hope it helped my colleagues and I hope it helps you too.

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01 Prep

Practice makes perfect blah blah blah. But it’s true. Write notes, try dress rehearsals, practise your timings. Rinse, repeat, refine. Even if it’s just a read-through 10 mins before the meeting, it makes a difference.

02 Front up

If it’s possible and appropriate, show your face. There’s nothing like body language and the twinkle in your eye to articulate your ideas.

03 Enthusiasm

We’re designers, we’re creating stuff and solving things. We’re doing cool shit.

04 Agenda

Set the expectations for the presentation: is this an informal batting around of ideas or is it a more structured session? How many parts are there? How long will it be? There’s nothing worse than sitting through a presentation not knowing when the end will come!

And your agenda could be written or verbal, depending on circumstances and time.

05 Objectives

Understand what you’re trying to achieve for the meeting. And communicate that outcome.

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06 Go big

Select presentation mode. If you can’t do that, maximise the window and remove any clutter from the screen. In Figma, remove the side panels.

07 Set it up

Introduce the project, or work, or specifics. Always. It gives context and orientates the audience, and prevents them from trying to ground the work in their heads while you’re talking. Whatever it is, it can be tailored to the audience and circumstance.

08 Simplicity

Keep the slides simple and uncluttered.

09 Understand your audience

Tap into what’s important to the client to get the desired decision. This will shift from meeting to meeting, client to client.

10 Tell the story

What was your thought process, the missteps, why you got to where you got to? It’s about the logic of the journey. Build on this by revealing ideas step by step. There will always be a beginning and an end in every presentation.

11 Influence

When presenting multiple options, it’s useful to start at the client’s own starting point or preconceived notions and work your way out to more ambitious ideas. Sometimes it’s worth showing the breadth of work on a spectrum. You’re trying to guide the client to the desired decision (while allowing them space to think freely ;)

12 Focus

Note to self: “Slowly and clearly, slowly and clearly, slowly and clearly.” Leave gaps and pauses for reflection and feedback.

And don’t jump about your canvas; Figma Flying™ ain’t cool. You might know where you’re going, but your audience doesn’t.

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13 Summarise

Usually a recap – visual or verbal – is useful.

14 Outcome

Ensure your desired outcome for the meeting is met (and noted). Then make sure next steps are discussed and assigned.

15 And remember…

You don’t need to remember everything! Have this as a cheat sheet, but even if you just retain a couple of pointers in your head, it’ll help.