Here's how you can effectively convey the advantages and limitations of your design proposals as an engineer.

Effectively conveying your design proposal's advantages and limitations involves understanding your audience and using appropriate language. Highlight key benefits such as improved performance, cost savings, innovation, sustainability, and enhanced user experience. Transparently discuss limitations like technical challenges, costs, timelines, scalability, regulatory issues, and dependencies. Support your points with data, provide context, and use visual aids for clarity. Balance optimism with realism, and be ready to address questions and propose solutions for the limitations. This approach ensures a clear, honest, and comprehensive presentation of your design.

Start by highlighting the key strengths and benefits of your proposed design. Clearly articulate how it addresses the specific requirements, solves critical problems, or offers significant improvements over existing solutions. Quantify the advantages whenever possible, using metrics, data, or simulations to support your claims.

For any proposal, it is important to understand the audience and draft the proposal in a language/ terminology that relates with them. Clear and concise communication is important for any audience to understand. Adding visually attractive and simple to understand images/visuals makes the narration flawless.

I do agree. If you don't know your audience, then you might end up wasting your time and effort trying to convey vital information about your designs. Always make sure to use key words in that industry when making a capability presentation or proposal of your designs as this would help to stimulate the interest of the listener.

While it's important to showcase the merits of your design, it's equally crucial to acknowledge its limitations openly and honestly. Identify potential drawbacks, constraints, or areas that may require further optimization or compromise. This level of transparency builds credibility and demonstrates your commitment to delivering a well-rounded and realistic solution.

Don't simply list advantages and limitations; instead, provide the necessary context and rationale behind your design choices. Explain the trade-offs you considered, the assumptions made, and the decision-making process that led to the proposed solution. This insight helps stakeholders understand the thought process behind your design and appreciate the complexities involved.

Avoid overly technical jargon or complex terminology that may confuse or alienate your audience. Instead, use simple, precise language to explain the advantages and limitations in a way that resonates with all stakeholders, regardless of their technical expertise.

Incorporate high-quality visuals, such as diagrams, schematics, or 3D models, to help your audience better understand and visualize the advantages and limitations of your design. Ensure that your visuals are clear, uncluttered, and directly support the points you are making.

At some stage, a list of criteria should have been developed for the respective design project. You should be able to link elements of your design proposal to these criteria. And explain how you established the link. This will help explain the advantages and limitations. If you do not have this list, then you should looks at one being generated. It will do much more than just help such communication.

I think the only strategy is to be open. 'Counter' strategy is an incorrect approach as success of engineering design normally lies with efficient and effective teams. Having open discussions and a safe work environment to openly acknowledge missing gaps is crucial to provide a working and reasonable solution to any engineering problem. Any counter strategy is just a ticking time-bomb and hence should be avoided at all costs. While this may seem scary, eventually it will make you confident in your trade and in case your work environment is 'not ready'' for such an approach, you will feel great to have taken the initiative. End of the day Engineering Design is a team sport!