Looking for the “LUL” in the Conversation: The New Design Language

I just had a GREAT conversation this morning with my two fellow co-authors. This book is going to also be GREAT!

Combining the post meeting high, with the endorphins of a fabulous Sunday bike ride around Seattle, and you’ve got me cycling around Seattle in another fabulous creative thought-flow.

My two co-authors have a very different background than I do. We’re all techno-geeks of sorts, but Nick and Martin come from the land of IT and software architecture. We kid, we have fun, but we also get some truly great work done through some equally fabulous conversations.

Why are those conversations valuable? Well, as I focus on the visual interpretation and design of what can often be very complex information, we’re all focused on finding a way to help others tell their stories. The audience for our book is a wide group of people that are interested in the best strategies to build up a case, and convince their stakeholders to take action after viewing their presentations.

SO back to our conversation… Where I’m going here is that this situation is not unlike a situation that any consultant, freelancer or designer will experience. It’s about what happens in the conversation, and what you can do to drive a successful solution to completion. I realized I could actually break it down into a nice acronym—“LUL.”

When in consult with clients, stakeholders or collaborators try this on:

1. LISTEN: Resist the urge to comment and/or jump in as they describe their present challenges that need some change and/or resolution (you'll get better at this over time). Let them tell you their story, and try to be fully present as they describe it. Hear them, but pay attention to everything (verbal and non-verbal). Don’t be thinking of questions you may have while they’re talking—you might miss something in the process!
2. UNDERSTAND: When appropriate, ask questions (of course), and when possible, work some time into the equation.  That way you can come up with follow-up questions you may have after some time for reflection, and there will be more depth to your solutions. Understand what they’re trying to do, and the intent behind it as much as possible. I cannot understate how important time can be—it can change everything. YOU may have some deeper insights, but sometimes (more importantly) your client may too. That, and they may just like to change their mind. But seriously, they may understand their needs better next week! It happens to all of us!
3. LANGUAGE: This last part is really all about relating, but it’s a better acronym with “L” (oh I’m such a crafty devil). As a designer, I have my design-specific language and terminology. This may or may not mean anything to your client, so look for leverage points and intersections between designer, client and the language used. This part of creating dialog is probably the most important, because you’re actually creating a “new language” together, that describes what they need in a way you’ll understand it as well… so that you start to connect it with a solution. Don’t get me wrong, talking about visuals is often not overly productive—so sometimes you just need to try some things, and get them in front of the client—but getting all your ‘ducks in a row’ and getting your homework done upfront will take you a long way.

And it all comes back to creating a “LUL” in the conversation, so that you create the space necessary to really “hear” your client, collaborator, stakeholder, or even your best buddy who’s got a problem—It’s about really “hearing.”

Did this help in some way? If so tell me how, or tell me how you have already doing something like this, or plan on using this as an approach. You may already be doing it—I would never want to be presumptuous—but maybe I simply said it in a way that was helpful.

Be well!

m