Mastering McKinsey's Storyline Approach for Persuasive Consulting Decks
Key insights
- ⚫ McKinsey uses the 'dot dash' structure for storyline development, with bullet points for key statements and dashes for supporting data.
- 📖 Understanding the SCR (Situation, Complication, Resolution) storytelling approach used by consulting firms like McKinsey.
- 🔍 Analyzing the complete storyline of a presentation using the SCR structure to identify the stages of situation, complication, and resolution.
- 📝 Crafting a persuasive storyline for packaging conclusions in Word for ease of iteration before transitioning to PowerPoint.
- 📊 Distilling and synthesizing analysis to draft a clear storyline with supporting data for the King County homelessness project, followed by iterative refinement with the manager.
- 🔑 Understanding the key components of a slide, action titles, and slide bodies, as well as the horizontal and vertical flow of a slide deck.
- 📊 Drafting storyline in Word using a dash structure simplifies the process, with the methodology for translating data into visualizations available upon request.
- 🔍 Analyzing the structure of McKinsey's presentation using the SCR (Situation, Complication, Resolution) framework to reveal the situation, complication, and resolution regarding the homelessness problem in King County.
Q&A
What are the key components of a slide in a deck?
The key components of a slide in a deck include action titles and slide bodies. The horizontal flow, which is the reading of action titles to tell a complete story, and the vertical flow, where slide bodies fully support the action titles, are essential for creating impactful slide decks.
What is the process for storylining at consulting firms like McKinsey?
The process involves distilling and synthesizing analysis to draft a clear storyline with supporting data, followed by iterative refinement with the manager, before transitioning to building slides in PowerPoint. Storylines are initially crafted in Word using a dash structure to simplify the process.
What is the 'dot dash' structure used by McKinsey?
The 'dot dash' structure used by McKinsey involves crafting the storyline with bullet points as key statements and dashes to reference supporting data. This approach helps in packaging conclusions for clients and is considered better suited for developing and iterating on the storyline compared to using PowerPoint.
How does McKinsey influence clients through slide decks?
McKinsey influences clients by crafting persuasive storylines in their slide decks. They utilize the SCR framework, a universal storyline structure found in various forms of media, to create impactful storylines that aim to persuade clients to implement their recommendations.
What is the SCR storytelling approach?
The SCR storytelling approach includes Situation, Complication, and Resolution components. The Situation sets the context and introduces the problem, while the Complication highlights the problem's importance, and the Resolution provides specific recommendations or solutions to address the problem.
- 00:00 Consulting firms like McKinsey influence clients through persuasive slide decks with powerful storylines. They use the scqa or scr framework, which is a universal storyline structure found in various forms of media.
- 01:53 Understanding the SCR (Situation, Complication, Resolution) storytelling approach. Analyzing the storyline of a project presentation to see if it follows the SCR structure.
- 03:33 Analyzing the structure of McKinsey's presentation using the scr structure reveals the situation, complication, and resolution regarding the homelessness problem in King County.
- 05:26 When packaging conclusions for a client, it's important to craft a persuasive storyline. Start by writing in Word, as it's better for developing and iterating on the storyline compared to PowerPoint. McKinsey uses a 'dot dash' structure, where bullet points contain key statements and dashes reference supporting data.
- 07:04 Storylining for the King County homelessness project involves distilling and synthesizing analysis to draft a clear storyline with supporting data, followed by iterative refinement with the manager before transitioning to building slides in PowerPoint.
- 08:53 Understanding the key components of a slide, action titles, and slide bodies, as well as the horizontal and vertical flow of a slide deck. Storyline drafted in Word using a dash structure simplifies the process. Methodology for translating data into visualizations is available upon request.