The User Experience Elevator Pitch
Imagine you’re in a meeting with a potential client, colleague from another department, or even an executive, and they ask, “User Experience, hmmmm … so what exactly do you do?” You have less than a minute to explain the value of UX without losing their interest. You need an elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is a short, impactful way to introduce yourself and your work. A strong UX pitch helps you communicate your impact clearly and confidently, whether you're advocating for UX within your company, trying to win a client, or justifying a design decision. Let’s walk through how to craft an effective UX elevator pitch, complete with examples and tips to ensure your message sticks.
Structuring Your Pitch
An effective UX elevator pitch follows a simple structure:
Who you are: Introduce yourself and your role.
What problem you solve: Explain the challenge UX addresses in simple terms.
How you solve it: Describe your approach in a way that’s easy to understand.
Why it matters: Highlight the business and/or user impact of your work.
This structure keeps your message clear, engaging, and tailored to your audience.
Crafting Your Pitch
Here’s a simple template to get started:
"I'm [Your Name], a UX designer specializing in [your area]. I help [type of users] by creating [specific UX solutions], which leads to [business or user impact]."
Now, let’s see this in action across different UX roles and industries:
UX Designer: “I’m Taylor, a UX designer specializing in accessibility. I help companies design products that are inclusive and usable for people of all abilities, which expands their audience and ensures compliance with accessibility standards.”
UX Researcher: “I’m Jordan, a UX researcher who helps software companies understand how users interact with their products. I conduct research that leads to design improvements, which makes their software more user-friendly and increases customer retention.”
UX Lead: “I’m Amir, a UX lead in healthcare technology. I build and mentor teams that create digital tools to simplify complex medical workflows, improving efficiency for healthcare providers which in turn enhances patient care.”
Adapting to Your Audience
Not every audience needs the same pitch. Who you speak to determines what parts of your work you should emphasize. Executives care about business impact, like customer retention and cost savings. Engineers are curious about how UX impacts development. Clients want to know how your work solves their specific pain points. Recruiters focus on your expertise and career achievements. Tailor your pitch to emphasize what matters most to the person you’re speaking with.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many UX designers struggle with communicating their value because they make these common mistakes.
Using too much jargon: Avoid UX-specific terms like “heuristics” or “cognitive load” unless your audience understands them. Instead, use plain language to describe what you do and its impact.
Focusing too much on tools: UX isn’t just about using Figma or Sketch (or even Axure!)—it’s about solving problems for users and businesses. Keep the focus on outcomes, not the tools.
Not highlighting impact: Always connect your work to real-world benefits, such as increased engagement, higher revenue, or reduced customer support costs.
Refining Your Pitch
A great pitch sounds natural, not rehearsed. Practice saying it out loud to make sure it’s conversational and easy to remember. Time yourself to ensure you can deliver it in under 60 seconds without rushing. If you need multiple versions for different situations, start with one strong pitch and build from there.
Get feedback from peers or mentors to refine your message. The more you practice, the more confident you'll be in delivering it!
Final Thoughts
A well-crafted elevator pitch makes a big difference in how effectively you can advocate for User Experience, whether you're in an impromptu conversation or a formal presentation. Keeping it clear and concise while focusing on impact and value ensures that your message will resonate with your audience. Practicing and refining your pitch will help you communicate your value with confidence.
What’s your UX elevator pitch? Try crafting one using this framework and see how it changes the way you communicate your value!
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Are you interested in improving your UX communication skills to help you better work with your stakeholders, teams and peers? I’ve got a free checklist you can refer to whenever you are getting ready to present your designs - download it here!