Tips for Engaging Stakeholders in User Experience Workshops

Ever presented rock-solid research only to hear "Thanks, but we're going with our gut on this one"? Securing stakeholder buy-in is rarely about the quality of your work. It's about something deeper. When you’re dealing with a research trust gap, ask yourself 5 questions. 👽 Are you speaking alien to earthlings? When you say jargon like "double diamond" or "information architecture," your stakeholders hear gibberish. Business leaders didn't learn UX in business school—and most never will. Translate everything into business outcomes they understand. Revenue growth. Customer retention. Cost savings. Competitive advantage.  Speak their native language, not yours. ⏰ What keeps them awake at 3am? Behind every skeptical question is a personal fear. That product manager who keeps shooting down your findings? They're terrified of missing their KPIs and losing their bonus. Have honest conversations about what they're personally on the hook for delivering. Then show how your research helps them achieve exactly that. ❓Are you treating assumptions as facts? You might think you know what questions matter to your stakeholders. You're probably wrong. Before starting research, explicitly ask: "What questions do you need answered to make this decision?" Then design your research to answer exactly those questions. ⚒️ Are you dying on the hill of methodological purity? Sometimes you have 8 hours for research instead of 8 weeks. Being dogmatic about "proper" research methods doesn’t always pay off. Focus on outcomes over process. If quick-and-dirty gets reliable insights that drive decisions, embrace it. 🍽️ Are you force-feeding them a seven-course meal when they wanted a snack? Executives need 30-second summaries. Product managers need actionable findings. Junior team members need hands-on learning. Tailor your approach to each one. You can also use my stakeholder persona mapping template here: https://bit.ly/43R7wom What’s the best advice you’ve heard about dealing with skeptical stakeholders?

Stakeholders don’t hate UX. They hate UX language. After 9+ years of watching incredible work go unnoticed by the powers that be, I’m certain of this: The problem usually isn’t the research. Or the design. It’s the translation. We speak UX—they speak business. If you want your work to land, you have to bridge that gap. Here’s how: 1️⃣ Translate insights into impact ❌ “Our usability testing revealed friction in the checkout flow.” ✅ “We uncovered a bottleneck costing $50K/month in abandoned carts.” 2️⃣ Lead with the outcome, not the method Don’t open with how you ran the study. Open with what it means for the business: “This change could lift conversion 15%.” Then explain how you got there. 3️⃣ Use their success metrics UX metrics are for us. Execs want CAC, LTV, churn, retention. Frame your work in their language. 4️⃣ Show, don’t summarize Skip the 40-slide deck. Play a 90-second video of a user getting stuck. You don’t need buy-in when someone feels the pain. 5️⃣ Make it about them—not us ❌ “UX research shows…” ✅ “Your customers are telling us…” Same data. Different gravity. The best UX leaders I know? They’re translators first, designers second. They turn user frustration into business opportunity. Research findings into revenue forecasts. Because influence doesn’t come from pixels. It comes from speaking the right language. What’s your go-to phrase for getting stakeholder buy-in? Drop it below—someone may need it. #uxdesign #uxleadership #productstrategy ——— 👋 Hi, I’m Dane—I love sharing design tips + strategies. ❤️ Found this helpful? Dropping a like shows support. 🔄 Share to help others (& for easy access later). ➕ Follow for more like this in your feed every day.

You can present UX insights so cleanly… ...that people don’t realize they’re supposed to care. Polished ≠ persuasive. The moment you strip out tension, you also strip out urgency. Stakeholders don’t act because they understand. They act because they feel the COST OF NOT ACTING. This is one of the most common traps I see in coaching sessions ↴ Strong research. Clean delivery. But no momentum. Here’s how I help clients reframe their insights so the room moves: S.E.N.S.E. Framework ↴ S→ Stakeholder Tension ↳ Start with the pressure THEY feel. E→ Evidence of the User Problem ↳ One stat. One quote. That’s it. N → Narrative Emotion ↳ What does this feel like for the user? (confusion? hesitation? lost trust?) S→ Strategic Risk or Opportunity ↳ What is it? (i.e churn, conversion, support load, business risk?) E→ End with a Clear Next Step ↳ Make the ask obvious, small, and safe. Don't try to oversell. Just frame your work in a way that earns a decision. I shared a full breakdown + a downloadable worksheet in this week’s UX Mentor Diaries (because "being right" isn’t enough if the room doesn’t FEEL it ;) → https://lnkd.in/eC4aah6i ✍️ If you like this, you’d probably like my newsletter where I share with 6,500+ UX pros 2 short, tactical reads a week on growing your impact, influence and UX career. You’re welcome to join us → uxmentor.substack.com