## Introduction - When a company like [[McKinsey & Company | McKinsey]] starts a project, their goal is to influence their clients to implement their recommendations, not just to build a presentation that gathers dust [(00:00:05)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=5s). - McKinsey uses a stakeholder management process throughout the project, but ultimately, they build a slide deck designed to persuade their client to take action [(00:00:20)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=20s). - The storyline is the most important part of the slide deck, and a really good storyline will persuade the reader to act, while a bad one will fall flat [(00:00:50)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=50s). - Top [[Consulting firm | consulting firms]] like McKinsey, [[Boston Consulting Group | BCG]], and [[Bain & Company | Bain]] have turned storylining into a science and found a universal storyline structure called the SCQA or SCR framework [(00:01:07)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=67s). ## The SCR Framework - The SCR framework is found in various forms of [[Storytelling | storytelling]], including films, books, plays, cartoons, poems, and TV shows [(00:01:18)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=78s). - The SCR framework consists of four parts: Situation, Complication, Resolution, and sometimes a Question (SCQA), which is implied and not necessarily stated [(00:01:55)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=115s). - The Situation gives the reader prior context or knowledge to understand the rest of the story, introduces the topic or problem, and explains why it's important [(00:01:56)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=116s). - The Complication introduces the problem, explains why it's a terrible thing, and sets the scene for the audience to pay attention [(00:02:14)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=134s). - The Question is implied and asks what should be done about the problem, although it's not necessarily stated in the presentation [(00:02:33)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=153s). - The Resolution talks about specific solutions or recommendations to address the problem and provides a blueprint for solving it [(00:02:50)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=170s). - The SCR framework is simple yet effective, and [[McKinsey & Company | McKinsey]] likely used it in their [[King County, Washington | King County]] homelessness project [(00:03:07)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=187s). ## McKinsey's 3-Step Framework and Storylining - The McKinsey 3-step framework for [[Storytelling | storytelling]] in [[Microsoft PowerPoint | PowerPoint]] involves breaking down a complete storyline into three stages: situation, complication, and resolution, which can be seen in their slide decks, although not explicitly stated [(00:03:36)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=216s). - To apply this framework, one can summarize the storyline into three sentences, starting with the situation, followed by the complication, and ending with the resolution, as demonstrated with the example of homelessness in King County [(00:04:22)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=262s). - Top [[Consulting firm | consulting firms]] like McKinsey, [[Boston Consulting Group | BCG]], and [[Bain & Company | Bain]] use the SCQA (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) or SCR (Situation, Complication, Resolution) storyline structure in their slide decks, which is not always explicitly visible [(00:04:56)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=296s). - The storyline process involves packaging conclusions or recommendations in a persuasive way for the client, after completing analysis and synthesis [(00:05:27)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=327s). - When writing a storyline, it is recommended to start in [[Microsoft Word]] rather than PowerPoint, as it is easier to read and iterate on the storyline in Word [(00:05:37)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=337s). ## The Dot-Dash Structure - The dot-dash structure is a framework used by [[McKinsey & Company | McKinsey]], where dots represent key statements in the storyline, and dashes represent supporting data that justifies the statement above [(00:06:37)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=397s). - This structure is simple yet powerful, and can be used to write a storyline, as demonstrated with an example of storylining for the [[King County, Washington | King County]] homelessness project [(00:07:02)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=422s). ## Creating a Slide Deck - The process of creating a slide deck starts with distilling and synthesizing analysis to come up with conclusions, then drafting a storyline where every statement is supported by data [(00:07:13)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=433s). - The storyline is structured as a series of "dots" (statements) and "dashes" (supporting data), which are then reviewed and refined with a manager to ensure the argument is well-captured and properly positioned for the audience [(00:08:12)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=492s). - The refinements are made in Word before building slides in [[Microsoft PowerPoint | PowerPoint]] to avoid rebuilding slides later on [(00:08:27)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=507s). ## Building Slides in PowerPoint - Once the storyline is finalized, a slide skeleton is built in PowerPoint, consisting of an action title that explains the "so what" of the slide and a slide body containing data and visualizations that support the action title [(00:08:50)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=530s). - There are two important flows to consider in a slide deck: the horizontal flow, where the action titles tell a complete story when read across all slides, and the vertical flow, where the slide bodies fully support the action titles [(00:09:15)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=555s). - The dots in the storyline become the action titles, and the dashes become charts in the slide body that support the action title, making it simple to copy and drop them into the slides [(00:09:51)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=591s). - The action titles may need some refinement to work for the slides, but the storyline provides a solid foundation for building the slide bodies [(00:10:06)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=606s). ## Building Slide Bodies and Visualization - The final step is to build the slide bodies, which can be done using a simple methodology for translating data into visualizations [(00:10:23)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=623s). - A course is available for building executive-ready consulting style slide decks, specifically for those interested in creating [[Microsoft PowerPoint | PowerPoint]] presentations in a consulting format [(00:10:42)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko&t=642s). ## Sources - [website](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1Y367KEko?si=Iq0gIBLyWM6LXunk)