Stories spark our imaginations and generate new ideas. Unlike a flow chart or artifact, a narrative allows the audience to understand the reasons behind users’ actions they remind our audience members that they are not the user. This additional context can be in the form of behaviors, emotions, reactions, motivations, or goals.

Giving additional context helps our audience connect with a concept. Benefits of Storytelling Stories help us explain difficult concepts. That is, our observations and recommendations apply when the intended audience for your story consists of your own team members, rather than your end users. This article is specifically about the use of stories within the design process. In many business contexts, storytelling can feel uncomfortable, but this rich way of communicating can help set the stage for persuasion or a call to action, ultimately bettering the design at hand. If you write tasks in a usability test, communicate insights from research, or sell design ideas, you’re already using stories in your process. They provide a natural, engaging way to share behavior, perspectives, and attitudes. UX stories are a communication tool that can be used in lieu of boring task check lists that are far removed from the user. In our work as UX professionals, we use stories to help create a shared vocabulary, focus the team on a common goal, and persuade stakeholders - ultimately leading to buy-in. A narrative makes a connection between our data and why other people should care about it. Having raw data is not enough to convince our teams and stakeholders of what needs to be done. Storytelling is how we share ideas and experiences.

Persuasion story