Habits that made me better at presenting design
Six ways I improved clarity and kept projects moving forward
I’ve presented to audiences of more than 300. I learned early that even strong design can fall flat if the presentation doesn’t connect.
Over time, I figured out how to make it land. All on the job, one project at a time. By presenting. By watching mentors, teammates, and stakeholders closely. I paid attention to what worked, what fell flat, and where people got stuck.
I’m a product designer on a team that builds an app used by millions. We’re one of many teams and I’m one of many designers. But my work impacts people across the company. When a story misses in an approval meeting, engineers get blocked and momentum stalls. Getting back in front of decision-makers can take weeks.
That pressure forced me to get better. I wasn’t a natural presenter, but I learned what worked. These habits didn’t just make my presentations stronger. They made me more effective. They helped me coach teammates, build trust, and keep the work moving.
Some of these are common sense. Others don’t get talked about enough in design circles. All of them have made a difference for me.
1. Set up guardrails
I used to jump straight into building slides without asking the most basic questions: Who’s this for? What do they care about? What decision are they here to make?
That made life harder later. I’d put together a decent deck, then realize it missed the tone or didn’t help the audience get to the decision they needed.
Now I start with a quick gut check:
Who’s in the room?
What decision are they making?
What’s the most useful thing I can help them understand?
It’s simple, but I see a lot of people skip it. When you’re solo, it’s a must. When you’re working with a team, it’s even more important. Without a shared goal you risk misalignment, friction, and late-stage rewrites.
Setting clear guardrails early sharpens the story and makes everything easier down the road.
💡 Try this: Write down who you’re talking to and what matters most to them. Let that guide your slides so the story stays on track.
2. Write more than you need
I used to get stuck staring at a blank slide trying to write the perfect line from the start. I thought I had to nail it on the first try. All it did was slow me down.
Now I overwrite. I add talking points, rough notes, and side ideas without worrying about polish. The goal is to get the thinking out of my head and into a format I can work with.
Sometimes I do it in a doc. More often I start in my deck template (more on that later). The light structure keeps me moving, even when the content’s rough.
Writing more up front takes the pressure off and makes it easier to edit later.
💡 Try this: Open a doc and dump in everything you want to cover. Don’t fuss over how it sounds. Come back tomorrow and pull out the pieces worth keeping.
3. Shape the story early
I used to wait until the end of a project to start building the deck. By then, the deadline was close and the story was still fuzzy.
One project changed that for me. I’d been deep in the work for months and thought I had a handle on it. But when I finally started laying out the slides, things clicked, and not in a good way. I saw gaps, weak spots, and missing links I hadn’t noticed. The process of shaping the story actually helped me understand the work better.
Now I build the deck as the project unfolds. I drop in notes from discovery, feedback from critiques, and pieces of the solution as they take shape. The story grows alongside the work.
💡 Try this: Lay the first brick early. Start the deck in the first sprint and keep adding as the work develops. Give the story time to take shape.
4. Stop starting from scratch
Early on, I built every deck from a blank file. It worked, but it ate up time I could’ve spent tightening the story.
Eventually, I noticed a pattern. Most of my presentations followed the same flow:
Define and discovery
Design
User testing (optional)
Recommendation
Next steps
So I turned that flow into a flexible template.
It wasn’t just any flow. It reflected the way design work naturally happens, which made it easier for people to follow. The structure aligned with what they expected. It gave stakeholders a familiar rhythm. Over time, that consistency built trust. They knew where we were in the story and what was coming next.
It’s faster, clearer, and easier for everyone involved.
💡 Try this: The next time a deck lands well, save a clean version. Strip out the content, but keep the flow and notes.
5. Use the deck to get your reps in
Once I have a solid draft, I treat it like a tool I can use, not something I need to protect. I bring it to check-ins, sprint reviews, and critique sessions. If I need to bring someone up to speed or create shared understanding, the deck helps do that.
This habit changed the game. It’s not just about sharing progress. It’s about practicing. Every time I walk someone through the deck, I learn something: a clunky transition, a confusing slide, a part of the story that still needs work. I don’t wait for a final presentation to get that feedback. I use the deck to build clarity and momentum along the way.
Use smaller meetings to get better. That way you’re ready when the stakes are higher.
💡 Try this: Use your in-progress deck in regular meetings when it helps the conversation. Think of each one as a mini-rehearsal.
6. Run it like it’s the real thing
Reading slides to yourself isn’t practice. You need to say the words out loud.
This was a big unlock for me. I used to just read the slides cold in a big presentation. I’d trip over my words, sound robotic, and lose confidence fast. I thought I knew the material well enough to wing it. I’d spent weeks building those decks. But once I started doing full dry runs, I heard what didn’t work: pacing that felt off, sentences that didn’t land, awkward transitions I hadn’t noticed.
If it sounds like you’re reading, people stop listening.
Now I always run through it before high-stakes meetings. I start solo, then I test it with a teammate or a trusted stakeholder. If it’s a group presentation, we rehearse together. We figure out transitions, time the flow, and smooth out rough spots before we’re in the room.
You don’t have to nail every word. You just have to sound like you’ve thought it through.
💡 Try this:
Block an hour the day before your next big meeting to walk through the deck out loud.
Record a quick run. Listen back and tweak what needs tightening.
Closing thoughts ☕
These habits haven’t just made my presentations better. They’ve helped me work smarter.
I’ve used them to deliver complex redesigns, coach teammates, and build trust across teams. Whether you’re on your own or part of a bigger group, the same moves apply.
They’re not about putting on a show. They’re about showing up ready.
Pick one and try it. You might find the hard parts get a lot easier.
