Hosting Workshops in Pitching for UX Designers
- Jacquelyn McColl
- Mar 18, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 13, 2021
My Role: Speaker to over 50 global hackathon participants.
Project Goal: Give designers the tools to create powerful pitches that invoke empathy in their audiences.
In my first year of undergrad at the University of Waterloo I signed up for a hackathon that changed my life. It was my first introduction to public speaking to over 100 participants, trying to pitch them the product my team created in under 24 hours. Standing at the front of that crowded conference room and speaking to people far above my level of experience, was an extremely empowering experience. I have since been hooked on participating in these events and taking any opportunity to speak with new people about what I have learned.
After meeting dozens of student designers and developers through competitions hosted by my campus and beyond, I started to see a pattern in many of these talented individuals. While they could create amazing designs and innovative solutions to the challenges presented, they struggled to communicate their ideas when it came down to the pitching rounds.
Through the years of hackathons I had participated in and in-class presentations, I have been taking every opportunity to learn what goes into crafting a successful pitch. After placing in the top teams of local and international hackathons, I decided it was time to take my love of public speaking to the next level and share what I have learned.
My first experience doing a talk was at an event hosted on the University of Waterloo's Stratford Campus, held by a student run group called the Creators Collective. I was invited to hold a lightning talk that I titled "The Power of Pitching". Not only did I have the chance to share my creative pitching process with fellow students but also with faculty and, design professionals. After receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from the event, I decided to continue refining my presentation and look for more opportunities to speak about the power of thoughtfully, well executed communication to my fellow designers.
"Although I have observed a growing demand for good UX within the digital industry, I have found there are some gaps in the communication methods student designers demonstrate when pitching their designs to business professionals. These gaps have caused amazing designs to be overlooked, simply because the designer left out vital market viability or research backing from their pitch"
This lead to my most recent workshop, held at a virtual hackathon (TILE) hosted by UW/UX at the University of Waterloo. In my presentation, I covered how UX designers can incorporate their design thinking methodologies and translate their design focused pitches through a business lens. All while invoking empathy within their audiences and highlighting their designs with a framework backed up by concrete and attractive research. If you would like to learn more please see the recorded workshop from the hackathon below!
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