Management Consulting Training

Storyboarding and Presentation

Writing
Objectives Approach
Objectives
& Approach

Contents Overview of Trends Competitive Trends Trends in Customer Trends in Technology

Needs
Section 1 Market
Market
Overview
Overview

Contents Competitive Landscape Industry Curve New Entrants Company Profiles Industry Curve New Entrants Company Profiles
Competitive
Section 2 Competitive
Environment
Environment

Review of Findings Strategic Options Next Steps Next Steps

Summary &
Conclusions

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Contents

 Storyboarding

 Training Exercise

 Presentation Writing

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You may have come up with the best strategic recommendation—but all is for
naught if you can’t put it into good slides
Presentation Overview

You may have heard that management consultants spend the majority of their time
cranking out PowerPoint slides. There is much truth to do this—and for good
reason.
A PowerPoint presentation is not only a great communication tool, it is also the form
of most consulting deliverables—i.e. the end product purchased by the client. The
presentation must lay out the recommended solutions, the the key takeaways, and
analyses performed.
You may have done the most thorough, bullet-proof analysis and formulated the best
strategic recommendation. However, all this is worthless, if you can’t communicate
it clearly and in a compelling way through your PowerPoint slides.
This presentation focuses on the art of presentation development. Topics covered
include storyboarding, pyramid logic structure, rule of 2, document writing
principles, and slide structuring. It also includes a training exercise.

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Five principles underpin all good document writing
Principles of Good Document Writing

1 Write for your audience.

2 Keep it simple.

3 Support assertions with facts.

4 Stay in the active voice (use verbs).

5 Tell a good story.

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Via a storyboard, sketch out your story early on
Storyboarding – Initial Steps

 A storyboard will guide your information needs... so, write one early in the
project or piece of work:
− Use the storyboard to help identify and communicate the analysis needed.
− Do not wait until you have “the answer” before planning how to communicate the result.
 Creating a storyboard up-front will help you to:
− Visualize each page of the document.
− Organize and communicate ideas.
− Check the logic flow (“necessary and sufficient” arguments).
− Organize the team.
− Check the team progress.

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There are many ways to produce a storyboard
Storyboarding – General Approaches

 A variety of media:
– Post-its.
– Flips.
– A4 pages (with 1 end-panel/slide per A4 page, or 2/4/6/8 end-panels/slides per A4 page).
 Different levels of detail:
– Some roughly indicate content per panel/slide.
– Some show exactly what will be on each panel/slide, e.g. what graphs/charts will show.

As appropriate, revise and refine your storyboard over the course of the project.

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A good story has simple, logical elements
Elements of a Story
ELEMENT PURPOSE

Roadmap “Tell them what you’re going to tell them”

What the problem is Set the stage

What we did Outline approach/methodology; build credibility

What we found Present findings

What that means Interpret findings and draw conclusions

What we need to do next Make recommendations

What happens next Outline next steps

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But these elements can be ordered in different ways
Element Flow
Example 1: Start with the problem and build to a recommendation

What the What we What that What we

What we did
problem is found means need to do

Example 2: Start with the recommendations

What we What that What the What we

What we did
need to do means problem is found

What will work best for your specific audience? (Know your audience.)

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One of your first steps should be to structure your storyboard into key sections
Storyboard Example
Contents
Introduction
Cover Slide
Cover Slide

Objectives Approach
Objectives
& Approach

Vertical
Logic Contents Overview of Trends Competitive Trends Trends in Customer Trends in Technology
Needs
Section 1 Market
Market
Overview
Overview

Contents Competitive Landscape Industry Curve New Entrants Company Profiles

Section 2 Competitive
Competitive
Environment
Environment

Review of Findings Strategic Options Next Steps

Summary &
Conclusions

Horizontal Logic

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Hypothesis-driven logic flows provide a useful framework for structuring and
telling your story
Hypothesis-driven Logic Flow

Develop the
Introduce the Summarize
Supporting
Hypothesis the Argument
Argument

• Critical issues/key • Build the logic to support • Draw logical conclusions

questions the hypothesis:
• “Prove” the hypothesis
• Hypotheses to answer • Introduce facts • Make recommendations
these questions
• Draw conclusions
• Big picture context for
later more detailed
information

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This hypothesis-driven logic flow is referred to as the Pyramid Logic Structure
(PLS)
Pyramid Logic Structure

Hypothesis

Key Main supporting ideas

Vertical Line (Major sections)
Relationship

Sub-supporting ideas
(Pages)

Supporting facts
(Evidence/facts on
each page)
Horizontal
Relationships

The pyramid will have as many levels as needed to support the logical hierarchy.

Source: Barbara Minto, The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking, 1996

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The storyboard should have clear headlines that tell a complete, coherent story
Slide Structure – Headline

 Reading only the headlines should give the reader a clear idea of the story you
are telling.
 Headlines are the hooks that draw attention to the text below.
 They should quickly create and hold the audience’s interest.
 Relative simplicity lowers the risk of losing anyone in your audience:
− Losing audience is always a risk.
− It’s hard to win back an audience once they’re off the hook.
− Complex or illogical storyline raises risk.
− Simple (but not simplistic) storyline lowers risk.

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The main body of each page will tell the detailed story
Slide Structure – Body

 Can be as complex as the brightest in your audience can understand:

− Don’t simplify to the lowest common denominator.
 Nonetheless, effectively communicating complex material demands
“simplification”, e.g.:
− Examples.
− Formulas.
− Diagrams.
− Well-ordered bullets and dashes.

Finally, bumpers tell another story—the implications of the above message for
your audience.

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Contents

 Storyboarding

 Training Exercise

 Presentation Writing

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Write a storyboard on one of the following topics (Timing: 20 mins)
Exercise Briefing

 Your life story, or an incident in your life that has made a particular impact on
you.
 “There’s a Robot in Your Future”—are robots really going to take over the
world? (see related articles).
 How to become a millionaire before the age of 30 (or 40/50/60 depending on
where you start from!).

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In creating your storyboard, pay attention to the following points
Exercise – Things to Think About

 Clarify the objective before you start—what do you want to achieve?

 Structure your story, and continually review for consistency and logic flow.
 Ensure the story can be understood by just the headlines.
 Have clear conclusions and recommendations.

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Exercise – Timing

 Individuals select a topic and produce own storyboard (20 minutes).

 In sub-groups (30 minutes):
− Present individual storyboards.
− Discuss what works well, opportunities to improve, lessons learned.
 In full plenary discuss key learnings (10 minutes).

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There’s a robot in your future
Exercise – Articles for Use

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a. Bill Joy, “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us”, Wired, April 2000.
b. Hans Moravec, Director of Carnegie Mellon’s Mobile Robot Lab.
c. Drawing Life: Surviving the Unabomber. Free Press, 1997: 120.

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Contents

 Storyboarding

 Training Exercise

 Presentation Writing

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Your audience comes first
Importance of Audience

 Think about your audience’s needs and background.

 Create an audience-focused title page with an active title.
 Write headlines that are clear and add value.
 Do not cram pages too full:
− People cannot absorb too much at once.
− White space is essential.
 Use the Bumper option when you want to drive home a key “so-what?”
message.

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Following a standard presentation format offers several practical advantages
Presentation Format – Overview

 Audience soon learns where to look for particular kinds of information:

− Format “disappears” so they concentrate on substance.
− A form of repetition that promotes audience comfort.
 Provides you with a ready-made framework:
− Helps you structure your ideas concisely.
− Eliminates the need to make small format and style decisions.
− Becomes familiar across the firm.
 Promotes writing and production efficiencies.

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Headline (usually a sentence—2 lines max)
Slide Title (optional) Tracker
(optional)

AAlook
lookat
atthe
theslide
slideelements
elementsand
andtheir
theirnames.
names.

BODY OF SLIDE

Bumper (optional).

Source: if applicable

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What this page is about
A Key Category of Idea

 A main point
− A sub-point
− A second
 A second main point
− A sub-point
− A second
How
Howthe
theelements
elementswork.
work.
 Third main point, etc.

The key takeaway / implications of the slide—answers the question, “so what?”

Source: Flevy.com

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Follow the “Rule of Two”
Rule of Two

 Limit every element in the format to 2 lines:

Report
Reporttitle
title Bullets
Bullets Subtitle
Subtitle

Dashes
Dashes Headline
Headline Bumper
Bumper

Heads
Heads

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Rigorously apply the “Rule of Two” to text at the revision stage
Rule of Two (continued)

 Break long bullets into bullets and dashes, which will not only make them look
considerably better on the page, but will also make them easier for the reader to
understand and remember.

 Break long bullets into bullets and dashes:

– Better looking.
– Easier and faster to read and understand.
– More memorable.
 That is, follow the Rule of Two.

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Good Headlines tell a logical, compelling story
Pointers – Headline section

 Each headline should usually be a brief sentence:

− One line is best.
− Two lines maximum.
 Avoid empty statements, e.g.:
− “The next step of the analysis is as follows:”
 Say something meaningful that directs attention to the page’s important point,
e.g.:
− “ROE varies greatly across businesses”
 Use headlines as the “story board” of your document:
− Reading only the headlines should tell a coherent story.
 Avoid the “numbers game” in headlines:
− There are five major issues
− There are four parts to each issue

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The Body of each page should also tell a story
Pointers – Body section

 Create a logical flow from top to bottom.

 Be sure it fits the logic of your overall story.
 Don’t overwhelm your audience:
− By jamming too much information on page.
− With material that is beyond its comprehension.
 Don’t “underwhelm” your audience:
− With too little (or trivial) information.
− By making simple information seem complex.

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Ideally, Bumpers answer the “so what?” questions
Pointers – Bumper section

 Say what the page’s content implies for the audience:

− NOT a continuation of the headline.
 Sometimes used effectively in other ways:
This is the bumper statement.

− As exception statement or counterpoint.

− To sum up and end section (signal a transition).
 Good Bumpers are short and to the point:
 Follow the Rule of Two.
 Optional—Use only when a “So-what?” is needed.

Using Bumpers well can add substantial power to your presentations.

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For each page, bear key questions in mind
Pointers – Key Questions

 What is the key message of this page?

– i.e. the one thing that the reader should learn or remember.
 Is that message clear—can the clarity of the message be improved?
– By changing the format of the page, reducing the reader's workload?
– By highlighting the key point of information?
– By removing unnecessary information?
– By editing the language used?
 Is the page complete and error free?
– Is all necessary information provided to the reader (sources, methodology, etc.)?
– Has the basic arithmetic been checked?
 Think of the three questions you hope someone doesn’t ask you about the
page... then think of an answer to each!

Expect to see a lot of red pen on your panels from your manager and from editing, don’t be
alarmed... be grateful!

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Visuals—such as diagrams, charts, images—add power to presentations
Pointers – Visuals

Have more impact than a table of raw

1 numbers.

2 Give both a numerical and a visual message.

3 Simpler really is better.

Worst case—audience does not understand

4
your complicated graphic.

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Keep tables as simple and clean as possible
Pointers – Tables

 Highlight key numbers:

– Box or circle.
– Boldface.
 Create logical patterns and progressions:
– Low to high; left to right; past to present to future; etc.
 Use repetition:
– Present similar data in same format from page to page.
– Promotes audience comfort.
 Put “data dumps” in appendix.

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Revisiting the five principles that underpin all good document writing
Principles of Good Document Writing

1 Write for your audience.

2 Keep it simple.

3 Support assertions with facts.

4 Stay in the active voice (use verbs).

5 Tell a good story.

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