THROWBACK: Once Upon a User: A UX Storytelling Adventure with Jeff White

Feb 14, 2025

Jeff White, a UX designer and entrepreneur with two decades of experience, dives into the art of storytelling in design. He shares his 'lightbulb moment' that reshaped his approach and discusses common misconceptions surrounding storytelling. Jeff emphasizes the importance of crafting narratives that articulate the 'why' behind design choices, enhancing case studies, and tailoring stories to different audiences. He also addresses overcoming public speaking fears and maximizing tools like Notion for personal organization, all while infusing humor and relatable experiences.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Amazon Presentation Fail

Jeff White's first major design presentation at Amazon went poorly.
The conversation was taken over, highlighting the importance of storytelling.

INSIGHT

Importance of "Why"

Designers often prioritize the craft over communication and the "why" behind design decisions.
Focusing on why a design is good, considering business and user needs, is crucial for buy-in.

ADVICE

Frameworks and Context

Understand that storytelling has varying interpretations in UX.
Different frameworks suit different contexts; focus on the "why" in daily work conversations.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

People are constantly telling junior UX designers that they need to master their “storytelling skills.” But very few people really explain how to do that. Jeff White’s storytelling book and course is different.

Jeff White’s book and course are actually helpful

“Storytelling” is likely a skill you hear people talking about all the time. Very few of these people give helpful advice on how to improve that skill.

You’ve probably gotten advice that your case studies need to include more compelling stories. Or your presentations at work need more narratives. Less what. More why.

“Storytelling” has turned into a bit of a buzzword, but the fact is that being able to tell compelling stories to influence the conversation and get the results you want is critical. It’ll help you get buy-in for your ideas and it’ll help you stand out among your peers.

Unfortunately, “storytelling” often means something different to many different people. Depending on who you ask, you may get many different answers.

Jeff White has created a guidebook and course full of actionable advice on how to tie your work to the things your audience cares about most which will turn your ideas into reality.

This week, Jeff joins the show to talk us through his perspective on what storytelling means, and he offers some actionable advice on how to start telling more compelling stories.

Topics:
• 03:44 – Jeff’s storytelling lightbulb moment
• 06:43 – What do we often get wrong about storytelling?
• 11:16 – There are many different storytelling frameworks
• 16:59 – Understanding context is critical
• 22:02 – Storytelling in your case study
• 32:10 – Using personas in your story
• 39:59 – Storytelling during interviews
• 43:22 – Storytelling during meetings with stakeholders
• 48:25 – We often have irrational fears about speaking
• 55:07 – On finding your unique voice
• 58:30 – What can we expect from Jeff’s course?

Helpful Links:
• Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn
• Download Jeff’s Storytelling Guide
• Take Jeff’s Storytelling Course