ENGAGE OR PERISH!

..or...

USEFUL, USABLE, and BEAUTIFUL, part two

Hint: This guy is NOT texting his accountant to rush a seven-figure wire transfer to your account. He is checking the score of the game that he has a ‘gentleman’s bet’ ($1) riding on.

Ever wonder why your presentations, project outlines, business plans or investment prospectuses are falling on deaf ears, getting you nowhere and every meeting seems like another uphill battle?

It’s probably not your audience. It’s your understanding – or lack thereof – of what drives them.

INTRO:

Welcome to part two of my two-part series on how to fix that and, in the process, elevate everything that you create. If you missed part 1, then I strongly suggest that you read that first for some context.

This guy is about to invest. Find out why. What went right?

VITAL STATS:

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to inform the reader as to the benefits of User Experience and User-Centered Design-thinking in areas of business far-removed from the creation or optimization of websites and software.

This process should begin as early as the initial funding processes of start-ups.

Abstract: The area of specialty broadly referred to as ‘User Experience’ is centered around the concept that things work better for people if they are designed with the needs, wants, and expectations of those people in mind. 

Sounds simple right? Not so fast. The art and science of matching up these user-centered design concerns with the strategic and tactical requirements of the business creating the ‘thing’ in question is anything but simple. It is, however, achievable and not just in the areas where it is most often applied such as web design and software interfaces.

This article explores some methods, best practices, and most importantly the value and benefits of applying UX (User Experience) and user-centered-design thinking across virtually all touchpoints within an organization.

Series: Two parts

Read Time: Aprx. 10 minutes each.

SOME CONTEXT: View the first part of this article at ...

Question: Is your funding request really written for the intended audience? 

Is it designed to capture their imagination by appealing to the things that they value most? Does it ‘speak’ to their expectations and concerns. 

Or, like most, does it go on and on about you and your business, how great your product is, how smart your team is and how your customers are going to beat a path to your door? That sounds more like something written for yourself, maybe even for posterity, but not a prospective investor.

Ask yourself, “Is it useful?” Does it meet the needs, wants, and expectations of the desired audience?

The same logic applies to your next internal presentation. Does it just show off what you have created or want to build and then tell a long, involved story about why it is so great? …or does it also make clear how this thing is going to positively impact the people that you are actually giving the presentation to? 

The latter would be better.

Here’s a more concrete example that a friend and mentor of ours, Steve, gave to my wife regarding her speaker’s packet that she uses to obtain speaking gigs in her field. 

His question was: Does it talk exclusively about your credentials, how great your materials are, and how much audiences love you? …or does it also tell the person actually reading it (the coordinator) how you have a perfect attendance record, always dress the part, always show up early for mic checks and a brief dry-run, accept credit cards, bank wires, Zelle and PayPal… and other various things that actually impact the coordinator’s world? How does contracting you make their world better, not just the people in the potential future audience?

METHODS (a checklist) and BEST PRACTICES.

O.K. Enough examples and anecdotal evidence of the importance of user-centered design thinking.

Let’s get down to some methods and best practices.

For starters, some very simple analysis. Whenever looking at a ‘thing’ (product, website, presentation, it doesn’t matter) that you want or need to create, first ask these key questions, in roughly this order:

Who is this for?

Note: in the case of an information piece, not the ‘who’ that the thing being written about is intended for [our great new product and corresponding customers] but the information piece itself [our board, investor, or client].

What do they want, need, or expect from this?

Why are they here? What do they want?

Am I capturing their imagination? …addressing their expectations? …their concerns?

Get completely out of your own shoes and into theirs.

What is my desired outcome or outcomes? 

List all of them, then go back and prioritize. Are any in direct opposition to the needs of your audience?

How can I make this easier to understand? 

Look for jargon, TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) or needlessly complex details.

Is there a way to actually make it fun or enjoyable?

Hint: There almost always is. You just haven’t found it yet.

Are there any ‘gee wiz!’ moments or experiences that I can work into it – items that really pop out as exceptional? …that will leave a lasting impression?

Even just one of these can leave them thinking and talking about you and your thing.

Once you have the answers to those questions (PLEASE actually write them down. Don’t just breeze past this part saying ‘of course I know my audience’ or you’ll likely miss some awesome opportunities) then let’s move on to some best practices.

Know thy user.

Take the time to really understand your user’s world. What are their goals? How old are they? Can they see well? Is it noisy where they will interact with your thing? Will there be distractions? What is their level of expertise? Are they pressed for time?

You don’t have to work up a full persona on your readers just to write a shareholder letter, but it would sure pay to understand them as much as possible so that you can write a good one, a useful one.

Keep it simple. Keep it short.

Clearly, time is one of our most precious resources. USE this knowledge to better understand what you need to do to get through to your audience.

So, our next best practice is brevity and/or minimalism in design. 

Figure out what the smallest feature-set or least amount of information is that gets the audience what they are expecting while providing you with the outcomes that you are seeking. …and scrap the rest.

Next: Make it as simple as it can be, but no simpler.

Use industry terms and jargon sparingly unless you know for certain that your intended audience knows ‘the lingo.’ Sometimes (rarely), however, the use of highly specific language is the best or only way to effectively communicate your information. Engineers need engineering terms to accurately understand your meanings. If the audience does share a common vocabulary, leverage that only to the extent that it gains you something.

Most things can be explained easily, often even without words. However, some processes and/or products are inherently complex and can only be reduced so far. Figure out where the line is between making things easy and making things look stupidly over-simplified. March right up to that line, and then back up half a pace. If you’re selling nails, you are not going to need the same level of complexity in your design as you will if you are selling bioinformatics.

Establish a ‘voice.’

Once you understand your audience, and know what to say, you can figure out how to best ‘speak’ to them. Is your information best presented dry and matter of fact? Does your audience demand a little more personality? How much ‘flair’ is too much? <insert Office Space movie joke here>

Arriving at, and staying consistent in, a brand voice designed just for the intended audience can be a critical component in getting through to them, if it is your brand voice addressing their needs.

Here is a fairly good guide to this process: https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/10/define-brand-voice/ Sorry about all of their pop-ups and ads. The content is still worth it though.

Be deliberate

Craft your content as though every word, color, graphic, link or function had a purpose… because if anything does not serve a purpose, out it goes. Note: Sometimes aesthetic beauty is the purpose. That’s OK. It just can’t stand alone.

Don’t be afraid to iterate.

Be prepared to go through as many change-cycles as it takes to get it right.

We almost never produce our best work the first time out. Learn the art of not getting attached to your output. If you get 60% of the way there on the first draft, that is actually a really good result. 

Your own perspectives are limited. Get external feedback between iterations. If possible, get at least two more sets of impartial eyes on it before you iterate again.

Conversely, know when ‘enough is enough.’ Don’t keep iterating until you are stuck in what I call ‘analysis paralysis.’ Once you are only getting 1 or 2% improvements (some would say 10%), you are done.

Track your successes. Learn from what worked. Keep it consistent.

If you don’t track your successes. You won’t remember exactly what worked the next time around, and you won’t benefit from your own hard work in the past. You may think that you’ll remember, but life comes at you fast. You won’t, or if you do the memory will be flawed. Don’t chance it.

Keep an accurate account of how well the things that you produce work. Did they accomplish your strategic goals? Did they meet the audience’s expectations? Were there notable ‘gee wiz’ moments?

Check your work for consistency with other/previous work that you have produced for this audience (or similar audiences) and/or on this subject. Make sure that your brand voice is consistent and that the level of detail is appropriate. 

Unless you are absolutely convinced that you can do better, stick to what worked last time.

CONCLUSIONS:

Things that are designed with the actual users of those things in mind, are better things.

Employing user-centered design thinking can help you create better things. …things more fit for purpose that yield better results for both you and your intended audience. What, exactly, those things are does not really matter.

All we need is to be able to see our creations through the eyes of those intended to use, view, or interact with them and have some processes in place that allow us to react to that in an organized way.

Try applying the above to your next presentation, pitch-deck, or other critical communication piece(s). You will be amazed at the results when your goals align with user interests and expectations.

If this article benefited you, please give it a like or even a comment. ...and please share!

Let me know if and how this information was helpful and feel free to reach out to me with your questions and, just as importantly, with your success stories.

SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION: