Part III

PART III: Building The Story

Chapter 5: A Presentation Is a Story with a Purpose

A case presentation is not a story in the traditional sense. You are not trying to entertain the judges for ten minutes. You are trying to take them on a journey from:

Situation à Problem à Insight à Decision à Action à Impact

The audience should never have to wonder: “Why are they telling me this?”

The Case Story

A useful communication structure is:

• Situation
  • What is happening?
• Complication
  • What has changed or created urgency?
• Question
  • What decision needs to be made?
• Answer
  • What do we recommend?

Then:

• Proof
  • Why should you believe us?
• Execution
  • How will we make it happen?
• Impact
  • What will it accomplish?

This is the communication version of the case-solving process.

SCQA

• Situation
  • Establish context.
• Complication
  • Create the tension.
• Question
  • Define the decision.
• Answer
  • Give the recommendation.

SCQA is useful because it gives the audience a reason to care about your analysis. The presentation should not feel like: “Here are 12 things we found.” It should feel like: “Here is what is happening, here is why it matters, and here is what we should do.”

Chapter 6: The Executive Summary Is the Destination

The executive summary should give the judges the destination before taking them on the journey. At minimum, communicate:

• Problem
  • What is the core issue?
• Recommendation
  • What should the organisation do?
• Impact
  • What will it accomplish?

Depending on the case, you may also include:

• key strategic actions;
• financial impact;
• implementation timing;
• major risks.

The executive summary should be understandable even if the judge only remembers this slide.

The One-Sentence Test

Ask: Can we explain our entire recommendation in one sentence? For example: “We recommend that Company X focus on retaining its highest-value customers through a targeted loyalty program, supported by a digital experience upgrade, to restore profitable growth.” If you cannot state the solution simply, the presentation may not yet be focused enough.