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PART X: Building the Presentation

PART X: Building the Presentation

A strong case solution does not automatically become a strong case presentation. Once the strategy is developed, your team must make another series of decisions: What does the audience need to understand, believe, and remember?

That means deciding what to include, what to leave out, how to position the team, how to establish the problem, and how to lead the judges logically toward the recommendation. The presentation is not a record of everything your team did. It is the clearest and most persuasive version of the argument you have built. Solve the case for the organisation. Build the presentation for the audience.

Chapter 14: The Opening

Video: Stop Losing Judges in the First 30 Seconds: Nail Your Case Opening

The presentation begins before anyone on your team speaks. Your title slide is often visible longer than almost any other slide in the deck. It may be on screen while the judges enter, while the team prepares, during introductions, and while the clock is being set. Don't waste that opportunity. The opening moments should immediately help the judges understand:

  • what the presentation is about;

  • who you are advising;

  • who your team is;

  • what role you are playing;

  • the date;

  • and the context of the presentation.

Before you begin presenting your solution, position the room.

Your Audience Is a Person

One of the simplest ways to improve a case presentation is to stop thinking of the audience as ACME Corporation. An organisation cannot listen to your presentation. People do. Instead, determine who you are actually advising. Perhaps you are presenting to:

  • the CEO;

  • the CFO;

  • the Board of Directors;

  • the VP of Operations;

  • an investment committee;

  • a potential investor;

  • a government official;

  • a not-for-profit board;

  • or another decision-maker.

If the case provides names, use them where appropriate. For example, "To: Maria Chen, CEO, ACME Corporation" is stronger than simply "ACME Corporation" because it prompts your team to consider the presentation from a specific decision-maker's perspective.

Think About What the Audience Cares About

Different decision-makers may evaluate the same recommendation differently.

CEO: May care about:

  • strategic direction;

  • growth;

  • competitive position;

  • organisational capability;

  • long-term value.

CFO: May focus more heavily on:

  • investment;

  • cash flow;

  • profitability;

  • ROI;

  • risk;

  • financial sustainability.

VP Operations: May care about:

  • feasibility;

  • capacity;

  • staffing;

  • processes;

  • technology;

  • implementation.

Board of Directors: May focus on:

  • strategic fit;

  • governance;

  • risk;

  • shareholder or stakeholder value;

  • long-term implications.

This does not mean you build a completely different solution for every person. It means you communicate the solution through the concerns of the people who need to approve it.

Step Into the Role

The case may also establish a role for your team. Perhaps you are:

  • consultants;

  • employees;

  • executives;

  • analysts;

  • advisors;

  • entrepreneurs;

  • investment professionals.

That role should influence how you communicate. If you are acting as external consultants, you might say: "You asked us to determine how ACME can restore profitable growth while protecting its premium market position." If you are playing the management team, the language may be: "Our objective is to restore profitable growth while protecting the premium position we have built." The difference is subtle but important. You are not four students explaining what you found in a case. You are playing the professional role the case asks you to play.

The Title Slide Should Do Work

A useful title slide can establish:

  • Organisation: Who is the client?
  • Audience: Who specifically are you advising?
  • Team: Who are you?
  • Role: In what capacity are you presenting?
  • Context: What decision or challenge is being addressed?
  • Date: When is the recommendation being presented?

You do not necessarily need every element in large text. The goal is to orient the audience immediately.

Consider a Message-Based Title

Instead of using only "ACME CORPORATION," consider whether the title can begin to reinforce the central message. For example:

  • Restoring Profitable Growth at ACME or:
  • From Customer Churn to Sustainable Growth or:
  • Building ACME's Next Engine of Growth

The title begins positioning the story before the presentation starts. But don't force creativity. Clarity is more important than cleverness.

The First 30 Seconds

The first 30 seconds should establish confidence and direction. The judges should quickly understand:

  1. Who are you?

  2. Who are you advising?

  3. Why are you here?

  4. What decision are you helping them make?

You do not need a long introduction. You need a purposeful one. For example: "Good afternoon, Ms Chen and members of the executive team. You asked us to determine how ACME can restore profitable growth while protecting the premium customer experience that has built the brand. Today, we will show you why the problem begins with customer retention—and what ACME should do about it." In a few sentences, the audience knows:

  • who they are;

  • what the problem is;

  • what the presentation will address;

  • and where the story is going.

Don't Waste the Opening

Avoid spending valuable time on statements such as:

  • "Hello, our names are..." followed by lengthy team introductions. Or:
  • "Today we're going to talk about..." followed by an agenda that lists the slides. Or:
  • "Thank you for giving us this opportunity..." followed by a long preamble before reaching the case.

Professional courtesy matters. But so does time. Your opening should begin the argument.

The Opening Test

Before finalising the opening, ask:

  • AUDIENCE Do we know exactly who we are speaking to?
  • ROLE Have we stepped into the role established by the case?
  • CONTEXT Does the audience immediately understand why we are here?
  • DECISION Is the problem or decision clear?
  • RELEVANCE Does the opening connect to something important to the audience?
  • TIME Are we getting into the substance quickly?
  • CONFIDENCE Does the opening make us sound like advisors rather than students reading a case?

If the answer is yes, you have positioned the presentation effectively.

Discover Your MAD Skills Principle

You are not presenting to a company. You are advising people who need to make a decision.

Know who those people are. Understand what matters to them. Then communicate the solution accordingly.

The Bottom Line

The Opening
  • The opening positions the audience before the detailed analysis starts.
  • Do not waste the title slide. Use it to establish:
    • the presentation;
    • the organisation;
    • the audience;
    • your role;
    • the context.
  • Present to people, not organisations.
  • If the case identifies a CEO, CFO, board, client, government official, or another decision-maker, recognise that role.
  • The audience's role should influence what you emphasise throughout the presentation.
  • The opening should quickly establish credibility, relevance, and direction.
  • Avoid generic openings that could be used for almost any case.

From the first slide, the judges should understand who you are advising, what decision matters, and why they should listen.

Chapter 15: Story, Connection & SCQA

Video: Build a Clear Thinking Pyramid: The Minto Pyramid Principle for Case Solutions

Once you have positioned the audience, you need to give them a reason to care about what comes next. A strong case presentation is not simply: Slide 1 → Slide 2 → Slide 3 → Slide 4. It is a connected argument. Each part should help the audience understand why the next part matters.

The goal is to create a clear journey from: CONTEXT → TENSION → QUESTION → ANSWER. One useful structure for doing this is SCQA: SITUATION → COMPLICATION → QUESTION → ANSWER.

Storytelling Does Not Mean Telling a Story

When teams hear "storytelling," they sometimes believe they need to begin with an inspirational quote, a personal anecdote, a dramatic statistic, or an elaborate narrative. You don't. Business storytelling is primarily about connection and progression. The audience should understand:

  • Where are we? then:
  • What changed? then:
  • Why does that matter? then:
  • What decision must we make? then:
  • What should we do?

That is a story.

Create a Meaningful Connection

A strong opening can connect the case to:

  • the organisation's mission;

  • its values;

  • the customer;

  • the product;

  • the service;

  • the employee;

  • the community;

  • the human impact;

  • or a relevant experience.

For example, if the organisation exists to make healthcare more accessible, you might begin by reconnecting the strategic challenge to the patient experience. If the company has built its brand around customer trust, your opening might connect a current problem directly to the risk of losing that trust. The connection should remind the audience: Why this decision matters.

Don't Force the Story

An opening story should never exist simply because someone told you: "Good presentations start with a story." A weak personal anecdote can waste time and make the presentation feel artificial. Before using a story, quote, analogy, statistic, or emotional opening, ask:

  • Does this help the audience understand the case? Then: Does it connect naturally to our recommendation?

If not, leave it out. The story serves the strategy. The strategy does not serve the story.

SCQA

SCQA provides a simple way to structure the opening argument.

Situation

What is happening? Establish something clear and relatively indisputable. For example, ACME has built a strong premium brand and has grown successfully for the past decade. The audience should be able to think: "Yes." That's where we are.

Complication

What changed? Introduce the tension. For example: Over the past three years, however, customer retention has declined while acquisition costs have increased. Now there is a problem. The audience should think: Something needs to change.

Question

What needs to be solved? Turn the complication into the decision. For example: How can ACME restore profitable growth without weakening the premium customer experience that differentiates the brand? Now the audience knows exactly what the presentation needs to answer.

Answer

What should the organisation do? Provide the high-level recommendation. For example, ACME should prioritise retention through a targeted loyalty strategy, beginning with its highest-value customers and scaling only after the pilot proves the economics. Now the audience knows where you are going. That is not giving away the ending. It is helping the judges understand the argument that follows.

The SCQA Flow

The complete story might sound like:

  • Situation: ACME has built a strong premium brand and achieved sustained growth.
  • Complication: Customer retention has declined for three consecutive years while acquisition costs continue to rise.
  • Question: How can ACME restore profitable growth without weakening the customer experience that differentiates the brand?
  • Answer: We recommend prioritising retention through a targeted loyalty strategy, beginning with the company's highest-value customers.

In a few sentences, you have established:

WHERE WE ARE --> WHAT CHANGED --> WHAT WE NEED TO SOLVE --> WHAT WE SHOULD DO

That gives the rest of the presentation purpose.

Give Them the Destination

Some teams are reluctant to reveal the recommendation early. They want to build suspense. This is usually unnecessary. You are not writing a mystery novel. Senior decision-makers often want to understand the answer quickly. Then they want to understand: Why should I believe you? This is why an executive summary can be so effective.

The Executive Summary

A strong executive summary can answer four questions:

  • The Problem: What is the most important issue?
  • The Recommendation: What should the organisation do?
  • The Key Actions: How will the recommendation work?
  • The Expected Impact: What will the organisation gain?

For example:
Problem Declining retention among high-value customers is reducing profitability.
Recommendation Launch a targeted digital loyalty strategy.
Key Actions Pilot → Measure → Refine → Scale
Impact Increase retention, reduce dependence on acquisition, and restore profitable growth.

The judges now understand the destination. The rest of the presentation explains why this is the right destination and how the organisation gets there.

Keep the Executive Summary CRISP

An executive summary is not a miniature version of every slide that follows. Do not try to squeeze:

  • the entire SWOT;

  • three alternatives;

  • a decision matrix;

  • financial calculations;

  • five implementation phases;

  • six risks;

  • and twelve KPIs

onto one slide.

The executive summary should answer the question: What do I need to know before you begin? Not: How much information can we fit on one slide? Keep it CRISP. The audience should be able to quickly understand the essential solution.

Don't Confuse the Executive Summary With the Analysis

The executive summary answers. The rest of the presentation provides the proof.

Think:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Here is what we recommend and why it matters. --> ANALYSIS Here is what we discovered. --> ALTERNATIVES Here are the credible choices. --> DECISION Here is why our recommendation wins. --> FINANCIALS Here is why it makes economic sense. --> IMPLEMENTATION Here is how we make it happen. --> RISK Here is how we protect the strategy.

This creates a much clearer presentation than asking the judges to wait until the final few minutes to discover what you recommend.

Build a Thinking Pyramid

The SCQA structure also connects naturally to the broader idea of the thinking pyramid. Start with the central answer. Then support it with the few major arguments required to make it credible. For example:

Recommendation

Launch the targeted loyalty strategy. Supported by:

  • Customer: Retention is the primary driver of the current problem.
  • Financial: Improved retention creates greater value than additional acquisition spending.
  • Feasibility: The organisation already possesses most of the capabilities required to execute the strategy.

Each of those arguments can then be supported by evidence. The structure becomes:

RECOMMENDATION --> KEY ARGUMENTS --> SUPPORTING ANALYSIS --> EVIDENCE

This helps prevent the presentation from becoming a collection of disconnected facts.

Connect the Slides

A strong story also depends on transitions. Do not treat each slide as an isolated presentation. At the end of one section, help the audience understand why the next section follows. For example: "We have established that declining retention is the primary driver of the profitability problem. The next question is what ACME can realistically do about it." Now the alternatives section feels natural.

Later: "Of the three options, the loyalty strategy provides the strongest combination of financial impact, capability fit, and implementation speed. Let us show you what that recommendation looks like." Now the recommendation feels inevitable. Good transitions make the presentation feel like one argument rather than fifteen slides.

The Story Test

Before finalising the opening and executive summary, ask:

  • Situation: Is the starting point clear and credible?
  • Complication: Have we created a meaningful reason for action?
  • Question: Is the decision management needs to make obvious?
  • Answer: Have we stated our recommendation clearly?
  • Connection: Does the opening connect to something the audience actually cares about?
  • Executive Summary: Can the judges quickly understand the destination?
  • Proof: Does the rest of the presentation clearly support what we told them?
  • Flow: Does each section naturally create the need for the next?

If not, the presentation may need to be restructured.

Discover Your MAD Skills Principle

Don't make the judges discover your story. Build the story so they can follow your thinking.

A strong opening creates context. SCQA creates tension and direction. The executive summary gives the destination. The rest of the presentation provides the evidence.

The Bottom Line

Story, Connection & SCQA
  • Storytelling in a case competition should serve the strategic argument, not compete with it.
  • A useful opening can connect to:
    • the customer;
    • mission;
    • values;
    • product;
    • service;
    • human impact;
    • relevant audience experience.
  • Do not tell a story simply because it is interesting. It needs to help the audience understand or care about the decision.
  • SCQA provides a useful structure:

SITUATION → COMPLICATION → QUESTION → ANSWER

  • Situation establishes what is happening.
  • Complication introduces the tension or change.
  • Question defines the decision.
  • Answer introduces the recommendation.
  • The executive summary should give judges the destination before the journey.
  • At a minimum, the executive summary should communicate the problem, the recommendation, and the expected impact.
  • Keep it crisp enough that the audience can quickly understand the essence of the solution.

A strong story doesn't hide the recommendation. It makes the recommendation easier to understand and remember.

MAD Skills Drill

Give your team 10 minutes to create a 60-second opening. It must establish:

  • Audience: Who are we advising?
  • Situation: What is happening?
  • Complication: Why is the current situation unsustainable?
  • Question: What decision needs to be made?
  • Answer: What do we recommend?
  • Impact: What will it accomplish?

Deliver it without slides. If you use:

  • a story;
  • customer;
  • mission;
  • statistic;
  • personal connection;
  • analogy;

ask: Does this actually strengthen the argument? If removing it makes no difference, remove it. Give your executive summary slide to someone unfamiliar with the case for 30 seconds. Then hide it. Ask:

  • What is the problem?
  • What are we recommending?
  • What will it accomplish?

If they cannot answer, simplify it. By the end of the opening, can the judge answer: What is happening, why does it matter, and what do these people want us to do?

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