Thursday, 10th June 2021, 21:19 IST

The presentation of a solution matters as much as the quality of it. How would you like spending nights iterating on the solution and losing by (just) an edge while presenting it? Been there, faced that. Still do.

What do I mean by a quality presentation?

1. Make your solution easily consumable (visually). The stakeholders shouldn't waste time imagining an edge case scenario - just because you thought they'd understand it even if you don't present.
2. Before presenting, pretend to be a Devil's advocate for your solution. Cross question yourself in every way possible to be well prepared.
3. Let your audience know beforehand when can they ask questions - midway or at the end.
4. When there are disagreements, reiterate the point by fitting it within the perspective of the question. If the disagreements pertain just note it down and move on.
5. Just do a sanity check to be sure your setup is working fine.

I find myself getting stuck in point 4 a lot many times. Either I'm hastily trying to prove my point, or I let unfit opinions overrule my point (authority bias).

I'm learning to let my voice be. Not because I'm uncertain about my opinion, but because (most of the times in Design) I should be able to handle those uncertainties well.

A small win today - didn't let loose any strings and wasn't lazy while presenting the solution. Significantly saw the difference. I was happy to see the gaps between cross-teams being bridged.