Storytelling in PowerPoint: Learn McKinsey’s 3-Step Framework

Summary

The video script explores how top consulting firms like McKinsey use a structured storytelling approach to influence their clients through presentations. The key to their success is the SCQA (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) or SCR (Situation, Complication, Resolution) framework, which is a universal narrative structure found in various forms of media. The script demonstrates how McKinsey applied this framework in a project for King County, Seattle, to address homelessness. It emphasizes the importance of crafting a compelling storyline before creating slides and suggests using Microsoft Word for drafting and iterating the storyline due to its readability and ease of editing. The process involves distilling analysis into conclusions, using a 'dot-dash' structure where dots are key statements and dashes are supporting data. Once the storyline is finalized, it translates into slide action titles and bodies, ensuring a logical horizontal and vertical flow in the presentation. The video concludes with an offer to learn more about building executive-ready consulting style slide decks through a course mentioned in the description.

Takeaways

• 📈 **Goal of Consulting Firms**: The objective of firms like McKinsey is not to create presentations that go unused but to influence clients to act on their recommendations.
• 🔍 **Stakeholder Management**: Throughout a project, stakeholder management is crucial, but the ultimate tool of influence is a persuasive slide deck.
• 📖 **Storyline Importance**: The storyline in a slide deck is paramount; a compelling storyline can motivate action, while a weak one may fail to engage.
• 🎬 **SCQA/SCR Framework**: Top consulting firms use a universal storyline structure known as SCQA or SCR, found across various forms of narrative, including films, books, and TV shows.
• 📝 **Structure of SCR**: SCR stands for Situation, Complication, and Resolution. It provides a clear and effective way to structure the narrative within a presentation.
• 🏙️ **Case Study**: McKinsey's work with King County, Seattle, to address homelessness exemplifies how a consulting firm applies the SCR framework to influence clients.
• ✍️ **Writing Process**: Instead of starting with PowerPoint, consultants should first draft the storyline in Word, which allows for easier iteration and identification of logical connections.
• 💡 **DOT-DASH Structure**: McKinsey uses a DOT-DASH structure for storylines, where dots are key statements and dashes are the supporting data that justifies those statements.
• 📑 **Slide Development**: Once the storyline is finalized in Word, the process moves to PowerPoint to build the slide skeleton, ensuring a clear horizontal and vertical flow.
• 📊 **Data Visualization**: The final step involves creating slide bodies with data visualizations that support the action titles derived from the finalized storyline.
• 📚 **Further Learning**: For more in-depth knowledge on constructing executive-ready consulting style slide decks, further resources and courses are available, as referenced in the video.

Q & A

What is the primary goal of a company like McKinsey when they start a project?

The primary goal of a company like McKinsey when starting a project is to influence their clients to implement their recommendations, rather than just creating a presentation that remains unused.

What is the SCR or SCQA framework?

The SCR (Situation, Complication, Resolution) or SCQA (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) framework is a universal storyline structure used to create persuasive narratives that can be applied to any slide deck.

How does the SCR framework work?

The SCR framework works by first setting the situation, which provides the necessary context and introduces the topic or problem. Then, it introduces the complication, which outlines the problem and its significance. Finally, the resolution is presented, offering specific solutions or recommendations to address the problem.

Why is the storyline considered the most important part of a slide deck?

The storyline is considered the most important part of a slide deck because a well-crafted storyline can persuade the reader to take action, while a poor storyline may fail to engage the audience and lead to inaction.

How does McKinsey use the SCR framework in their King County homelessness project?

McKinsey uses the SCR framework in their King County homelessness project by setting the situation with increasing homelessness, highlighting the complication of worsening homelessness due to rising rental costs, and proposing a resolution through investment in affordable housing.

Why is it recommended to write the storyline in Word before creating slides in PowerPoint?

Writing the storyline in Word is recommended because it allows for easier reading and editing of the storyline on a single page, facilitates an iterative writing process with feedback and re-drafting, and avoids the difficulty of highlighting logical connections and ensuring a bulletproof storyline in PowerPoint.

What is the dot-dash structure used by McKinsey for writing storylines?

The dot-dash structure is a method used by McKinsey where dots represent key statements in the storyline, and dashes are the supporting data that justifies each statement. This structure helps in creating a clear and logical flow of information.

What are the two important parts of any slide in a PowerPoint presentation?

The two important parts of any slide are the action title, which explains the 'so what' of the slide, and the slide body, which contains all the data and visualizations that support the action title.

What are the two logics or flows that need to be considered in a slide deck?

The two logics or flows are the horizontal flow, where action titles tell a complete story when read across all slides, and the vertical flow, where slide bodies fully support the action titles with data or visualizations.

Why is it important to finalize the storyline in Word before moving to PowerPoint?

Finalizing the storyline in Word before moving to PowerPoint is important because it is easier to make changes and refine the narrative at this stage. Any changes made later in PowerPoint may require rebuilding slides, which is more time-consuming and less efficient.

How can one learn more about building executive-ready consulting-style slide decks?

One can learn more about building executive-ready consulting-style slide decks by checking out the course mentioned in the video, with a link provided in the video description.