Throughout my career, I've worked with various creative directors, art directors, and executives. I've received good and not-so-good advice on giving design presentations, but there are three habits I've picked up from my mentors that continue to benefit me, no matter the job or situation. (These habits are just as useful for non-design presentations, as well!)
1. Label your designs
This is a simple step but it makes a huge difference. When my CD at the time first suggested I label my screens (with a simple "v1, v2, v3..." or "A, B, C..."), I foolishly assumed he was just adding another time-sucking step to my process. However, once I followed his advice, I immediately noticed a change in my presentations. Stakeholders easily referred to specific screens by name, which made the conversation much clearer and, ultimately, more efficient. Taking the few extra seconds to label my screens has led to more productive conversations and continues to help me build stronger relationships with my coworkers.
2. Provide context
While not every situation calls for them, adding contextual slides to your presentations is a great way to subtly persuade stakeholders and to advocate for your designs even when you're not in the room. Sometimes these slides are short and sweet—an introduction to a concept with some evocative adjectives. Other times, these slides explain the rationale behind the core aspects of a concept. But no matter the occasion, no one wants to sit through paragraphs of text, so keep the text bulleted and accessible. This is especially useful when sharing a presentation to multiple reviewers via email—when you can't explain your thinking in-person, let the slides do the talking for you.
3. End with a review
This is a habit I picked up when working in an agency. The creative team gave a lot of presentations to a host of different clients, which meant tons of learning opportunities for me. I mirrored my presentations after my CD's to establish consistency and noticed he always ended a deck with a review slide. For someone who previously tabbed back and forth between screens during presentations, this seemed like an obvious no-brainer—one I wished I'd thought of years earlier.
My favorite thing about including a review screen is how professional it looks. It demonstrates foresight because you, the designer, took some time to gather your thoughts and present them in a linear flow. It also encourages reviewers to save all feedback for the end of the presentation, knowing they'll get to see all the options.
Giving presentations can be stressful! I've never been the most confident public speaker, but developing these three habits and expanding upon them has taken a lot of the fear and uncertainty out of presenting. And perhaps more importantly, taking the time to explain my design decisions has only improved my relationships with coworkers and positioned me as a thoughtful creative strategist. If you haven't already, trying building these tactics into your workflow and reap the rewards.