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How to present your designs and get buy-in for your ideas - Alex Cornell (Dive Club S6 | E8)

The Nugget

Precision and obsession in communication are key to presenting designs effectively. Alex Cornell emphasizes that beyond having a powerful idea, ensuring the meticulous delivery through both writing and verbal nuances plays a critical role in convincing stakeholders and resonating with audiences.

Make it stick

🎯 Emphasize the first word: The initial word in a sentence can set the tone and grab attention effectively.
🗣️ Voice inflection matters: The way you say each word can change the perception and impact of the message.
💡 Hidden communication knobs: Be aware of the subtle elements that can be adjusted for clearer and more powerful communication.
✨ Seven turns further: Always think about how to take your presentation several steps beyond the norm to captivate and engage your audience.

Effective design presentation is akin to storytelling, where the primary goal is to transfer an idea from your mind to the audience's mind seamlessly.
Precision in language is crucial. The specific choice of words, their sequence, and how they are spoken can deeply influence how the message is received.
Hidden elements, such as vocal intonation and sentence structure, can be fine-tuned to enhance clarity and impact.

Background in video creation can significantly enhance the storytelling aspect of design presentations.
Crafting compelling promotional videos can differentiate ideas and make them more memorable.
Alex used sophisticated video techniques, such as compositing multiple takes and mirroring camera angles, to create engaging presentations.

Alex's early exposure to video editing and music during college laid the technical groundwork for his design communication skills.
Working in diverse roles, including making videos for startups, helped Alex develop a keen eye for storytelling and client communication.
His time at Facebook, and later in startups, further honed his ability to communicate complex ideas succinctly and engagingly.

At Substack, Alex focused on optimizing typography for readability and user experience on mobile, blending aesthetic and functional considerations.
Through iterative processes and deep dives into typographic choices, he learned the balance between objective legibility and subjective feel.
The approach to design at Linear involved both exploring broad possibilities and narrowing down to practical, executable solutions.

"If people knew the crazy things that I was doing before I sent that video, they would think that I was either totally insane or wasting time."
"It's all communication, but there're so many hidden knobs that you can tweak, and most people either don't know they're there or they don't really care."
"I like working with people in person. Remote is less effective—if I'm going to start a company, it will absolutely be hybrid."
"The thing that I guess I should have known, because I've done client work before—video work is sort of the ultimate client work."
"Ideas that are thought about a lot will fail if not delivered well; the delivery can allow a good idea to succeed."

This summary contains AI-generated information and may have important inaccuracies or omissions.