Design thinking is a mindset and approach to problem-solving and innovation anchored around human-centered design.
People, not technology, are the drivers of innovation, so an essential part of the process involves stepping into the user’s shoes and building genuine empathy for your target audience.
So, how can we use design thinking principles to improve our communication? These are the 5 Stages of the Design Thinking Process
- Empathize: research your users’ needs.
- Define: state your users’ needs and problems.
- Ideate: challenge assumptions and create ideas.
- Prototype: start to create solutions.
- Test: try your solutions out.
The design thinking process is a process great for both communication and problem solving. For all of those stages of the process, I would consider the listener as the “user” when referring to communication.
I believe we can use design thinking principle to better understand the communication needs of our communication partners.
Someone once said, “The best way to sell your products is to make sure that people need it.” I feel that the same goes for a good presentation.
Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers”. Seth Godin
I like to say, “Don’t find listeners for your presentation, find a presentation for your listener.” By using empathy in every step of the process, you have the ability to get closer to your audience and understand your audience/listener.
This is the key to standing out in the crowd! It’s the age old saying, “Know your audience”.