How to engage your audience to define a solution. 

Have you ever sat through a presentation, got to the end and have no idea what was presented to you?

Likely it’s because it was a series of disjointed slides that didn’t tell a story. As technologists we often present to an audience who may or may not be bought into the story we are telling. Maybe it’s a novel, maybe it’s a long multi-book series, either way it should be engaging and have a clear start, middle and end. If you open a book to a random page where a character is mid-conflict, the action is just action - if you don't know the stakes, the setting, or the characters you really don’t have a vested interest in what happens next. Presenting a solution is no different. Dropping stakeholders into the middle of workflows, diagrams, or designs without context leads to a lackluster story.

I. Setting the Stage: The Hook and the Why

Start your story like any good book, set the stage with who you are talking about, the world they are living in and the problems they are having:

• The Protagonist: Humanize your data. Instead of "The User," give them a name, a role, and a motivation. If the audience doesn't care about the character, they won't care about your solution.
• The World Building: Describe the current landscape. Mention if a solution already exists—even a broken one—to establish a baseline for where the story is headed.
• The Conflict: Define the "villain." Whether it’s a confusing checkout process or a loss of revenue, make the problem so clear that stakeholders feel an urgent need to defeat it.

By establishing the characters and the conflict early, you ensure that when the action happens (solutions), your audience isn't just watching—they’re invested in seeing the outcome. 

II. Navigating the "Choose Your Own Adventure"

Digital Product design isn't always a linear path to a happy ending. Often, you are presenting a fork in the road. In these instances, your presentation becomes a Choose Your Own Adventure story. While the ending hasn't been written, the rules of storytelling still apply: you cannot ask readers to choose a path if they don’t understand the world they are standing in.

Presenting multiple directions is a strategic tool for building stakeholder trust. By laying out various scenarios—complete with pros, cons, and trade-offs—you move away from "tunnel vision" (which could lead to solving the wrong problem - learn more about this in our design algorithm article) and offer a holistic view of the world the user is living in. This approach transforms the meeting from a critique into a collaborative strategy session where stakeholders become co-authors of the solution.

III. The Sweet Spot: Balancing User and Business Needs

A great storyteller understands the mechanics of the world the hero lives in. As a technologist, our narrative responsibility extends beyond solving user pain points; we must find the balance between the user and the business needs. 

When presenting options, your framework must address how each option strikes a balance between the two. If a path only focuses on the user but ignores business sustainability, the story ends in a cliffhanger (or maybe disaster). If it serves only the business, it leads to user abandonment (main character tragedy). Anticipating "what-if" scenarios from both perspectives ensures a story that is both empathetic and viable.

IV. The Epilogue: Summaries and the Sequel

Every compelling story requires a resolution, but in product design, the "Ending" is often just the setup for the next volume. To close effectively, provide:

• The Executive Summary: A concise wrap-up that ensures everyone leaves with the same high level understanding of what was reviewed. 
• The Call to Action: Guide the stakeholders toward a decision. Which adventure are we going on next?
• The Sequel Hook: Acknowledge that this is likely a book series - we work in agile and iterations are not only expected but encouraged! The chosen path will lead to new discoveries and a fresh set of choices in the next cycle.

V. Conclusion: The "Once Upon a Time" Litmus Test

Ultimately, empathy is your best editor. Put yourself in your stakeholders shoes - Is your story told in plain language, or is it buried in technical jargon? To ensure your narrative has the key components of a story, try the Once Upon a Time framework:

Once upon a time, there was a user named [Character]... Every day, they struggled with [Conflict]... Until one day, we introduced [Solution]... Because of that, they were able to [Benefit]... Until finally, the result was [Resolution].

The story won't always have a perfectly happy ending, but using this framework ensures you haven’t missed a crucial piece of the plot. When you tell a story people can actually follow, you don't just win their approval—you win their trust.