👀 How to Influence How People See You
Rewriting how people talk about you starts with what you give them to remember
👋 Happy Saturday, my dear UX friends, Marina here!
A mentee asked me something recently that I can’t stop thinking about:
“I don’t get it. I do good work. I support others. I show up. But I’m still seen as the “helpful” designer (and not the strategic one).
How do I influence how people see me?”
Plenty of designers (especially the really good ones) fall into this trap.
You become the one everyone likes.
The one who quietly makes everything work better.
Who’s always dependable.
And yet somehow… still not seen as a driver of decisions.
Here’s the truth:
❌ How people see you isn’t based on your intent.
✅ It’s based on what they remember.
And what they remember is shaped by:
What you say (and don’t say) in meetings
What stories you repeat
What you write down, email, or post
What they get to say about you when you're not in the room
So if you want to influence how others see you, start here—
3️⃣ ways to shift your reputation — fast:
1. Repeat yourself. Intentionally.
People don’t remember your brilliance the first time.
Or the second.
But when they hear you say, “The reason we’re doing this is because X affects Y” in 3 different meetings, and they’ll start quoting it as your idea.
Repetition wasn’t annoying. You made it familiar.
2. Say less, but frame better.
Stop over-explaining the whole UX journey.
Say, “This will reduce onboarding drop-off by 18%” and stop talking.
Let them ask you for more.
The more you frame outcomes instead of artifacts, the faster your role shifts in their mind.
3. Build a “highlight reel”.
I mean this … literally ;)
Once a month, send a short note to your manager or team:
“What worked well this month ↴”
Bullet point a few wins and impacts.
This isn’t bragging.
This is giving people language to talk about your value.
Influence isn’t a personality trait.
It’s the cumulative result of what you make visible and how.
Want to change how people see you?
Start by feeding them a new story to remember.
See you next Saturday!
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Thanks Marina, this is super helpful!