How do you tell stakeholders and developers what users want?

1 Know your audience

Before you start preparing your presentation, you need to understand who your audience is and what they care about. Different stakeholders and developers may have different goals, expectations, and backgrounds, so you need to tailor your message accordingly. For example, you may want to focus on the business value and impact of your research for executives, the user needs and pain points for product managers, and the design implications and technical feasibility for developers. You also need to consider the level of detail, the tone, and the language that suits your audience.

2 Choose your format

Presenting your UX research in the right format is essential for communicating with your audience. Reports are written documents that provide a comprehensive and detailed overview of your research process, methods, findings, and recommendations. They are useful for archiving and sharing with stakeholders who prefer to read at their own pace. Slides are visual aids that support your verbal presentation of your research. They should be clear, concise, and attractive while avoiding too much text and jargon. Dashboards are interactive tools that display data and insights in a graphical way. They should be user-friendly, intuitive, and responsive while avoiding too much complexity and clutter. Videos are multimedia clips that show participants in action using your product or service. They should be short, relevant, and authentic while avoiding too much editing and narration. Choosing the right format for presenting your UX research depends on your audience, project, and timeline.

3 Use storytelling techniques

Storytelling can be an effective way to present your UX research, as it helps capture the audience's attention, convey the message, and inspire action. To start, introduce a hook - such as a question, statistic, quote, story, or problem - that is catchy and compelling. Then use a logical and coherent structure like the problem-solution-benefit model to guide the audience through the presentation. Additionally, add emotion by showing real user stories, quotes, or videos; using descriptive and vivid language; or expressing your passion and enthusiasm for your research. Finally, end with a call to action that is clear and specific. This could be a request to take a next step, give feedback, support your research, or implement recommendations.