Consulting toolkit crafting a storyline

CONSULTING TOOLKIT

Communicating your Recommendation

Crafting a Storyline

© 2007-2012 IESIES Development Ltd. All Ltd. Reserved
© 2007-2012 Development Rights All Rights Reserved

“Do not say a little in many words
but a great deal in a few.”

Pythagoras

© 2007-2012 IES Development Ltd. All Rights Reserved

Structure your writing so that if the reader/audience leaves at
any time, they will still get the most important points

Tagline
If you only had 15 seconds, how would you
communicate your recommendation?

Executive Summary
If the reader only reads one page, how would you
communicate your recommendation?

The “Pack”
The story backed up by charts that communicates
your recommendation the most powerful way

Appendix/Back-up
What analysis does not fit in your story, but you
want available to answer the reader’s questions?


Taglines serve the same purpose in presentations as they do in
advertising

A tagline is a variant of
a branding slogan.
The idea behind the concept is
to create a memorable phrase
that will sum up the tone and
premise of a
recommendation and reinforce
the audience's memory of a
presentation

“In space no-one can
hear you scream”

“Pyramid Principle” writing is more like a Tabloid journalist than a
“Whodunnit” author

ONCE upon a time there were Three Bears, who lived together in a house of their own, in a

Bad girl
wood. One of them was a Little, Small, Wee Bear; and one was a Middle-sized Bear, and the
other was a Great, Huge Bear. They each had a pot for their porridge, a little pot for the Little,
Small, Wee Bear, and a middle-sized pot for the Middle Bear, and a great pot for the Great,
Huge Bear. And they each had a chair to sit in; a little chair for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a
middle-sized chair for the Middle Bear; and a great chair for the Great, Huge Bear. And they
each had a bed to sleep in; a little bed for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized bed

raids
for the Middle Bear; and a great bed for the Great, Huge Bear. One day, after they had made the
porridge for their breakfast, and poured it into their porridge-pots, they walked out into the
wood while the porridge was cooling, that they might not burn their mouths, by beginning too
soon to eat it. And while they were walking, a little Girl named Goldilocks came to the
house. She could not have been a good, honest little Girl; for first she looked in at the window,

Bear Lair!
and then she peeped in at the keyhole; and seeing nobody in the house, she lifted the latch.
The door was not fastened, because the Bears were good Bears, who did nobody any harm, and
never suspected that anybody would harm them. So Goldilocks opened the door, and went
in; and well pleased she was when she saw the porridge on the table. If she had been a good
little Girl, she would have waited till the Bears came home, and then, perhaps, they would have
asked her to breakfast; for they were good Bears.


Try to find a compelling tag-line summary of your presentation

•Memorable
•Easy to understand
•Focuses attention
•Unifies your whole recommendation

e.g.
“Nokia should become the Smartphone
company for emerging markets”

What could the tagline be for your
recommendation on workopoliscampus.com?


“The Pyramid Principle*” lays out a standard format for
communicating a recommendation

Situation We have been progressing smoothly…..

Complication ….but now, the situation is changing and requires action

Question ….and the question is, what shall we do?

Answer We should do this

Rationale For these reasons: 1, 2 and 3

Source: *”The Pyramid Principle” by©Barbara Minto Ltd. All Rights Reserved
2007-2012 IES Development

“Pyramid Principle” writing grabs and holds the reader’s
attention

Situation Consultants must communicate their recommendations clearly so that
managers can act on them

Complication However, managers have very little time or patience

Question How can consultants communicate their recommendations so that they
grab and hold managers’ attention?

Answer Consultants should structure their storyline according to “The
Pyramid Principle”

Because:
Rationale 1. It matches the communication to how humans think
2. It is clear and logical
3. All the top management consulting companies use it

In business writing, it is usually best to give the answer away up
front, not make the reader wade through your workings

• The method you used to solve the problem is NOT the same way that
you use to communicate it

– Don’t tell the story of your project!

– The audience cares about your conclusion, not your journey

– Don’t communicate your workings – e.g. issue tree or workplan

• Simplify ruthlessly

– Cut your pack down to the minimum your need to support your
recommendation - you don’t get paid per page

– Drop analysis to the Appendix if the conclusion does not fit your
story, even if you spent many days on it


If additional support is needed, the pyramid can be extended
many layers

The Answer

Point 1 Point 2 Point 3

Sub-point 1 Sub-point 1 Sub-point 1

Sub-sub- Sub-sub- Sub-sub-
point 1 point 2 point 3


Stick to 5 basic rules to structure your pyramid
1. Your pyramid can be as many layers as you want (but you
can capture the essence of most stories in less than 9 sub-
points)
2. Only use 2-4 sub-points per level (if only one, collapse the
points; if more than 4, be ruthless – what are the most
important?)
3. The sub-points must directly imply the conclusion above;
don’t bring in new things!
4. The sub-points answer the questions the main point will
raise in the leader (or listener’s) mind
5. Put anything that does not fit the storyline (e.g. issues you
worked on that did not work out) into backup – do not
pollute the main storyline
• Iterate! The most compelling
storyline emerges as you practice

Consulting toolkit crafting a storyline

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