The art of PowerPoint communication

How to build presentations for consulting

October 2015

Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Consulting

A Columbia University Student Club

www.elcclub.com

The ELC Club!

The PPT presentations of the big three consultancies all abide to the same principle –
The Pyramid Principle

2 Source: McKinsey & Company; Bain & Company; Boston Consulting Group The ELC Club!
This presentation aims to distill the principles of Barbara Minto’s bestseller book in to
concrete instructions for your PPT presentations

The Storyline The Argument The Structure

How to frame the story and How to build the argument How to structure the slides
present it in the most with the pyramid principle for optimal communication
compelling way

3 Source: The Pyramid Principle The ELC Club!

THE STORYLINE
One story can have many versions – the way you frame it should match with the kind of
response you wish to get from the audience

Why a storyline? How to craft your story?

A compelling storyline serves to grab the Use a storyboard sketch to lay out your
attention of the audience storyline slide by slide

You Audience
•  Total •  Busy and
immersion in distracted
the problem
•  Might not
•  Lots of ideas Your goal know the
and facts to issue in
share Present ideas detail
and arguments
•  Specific so they can be •  Are new to •  Use a blackboard or blank paper
needs comprehended the facts
from the and ideas •  Brainstorm what slides you will need to
(1.) With least
audience effectively communicate your story
mental effort •  Don’t know
- Buy-in (2.) In the least •  Arrange the slides chronologically
where
- Feedback amount of time you’re going •  For each slide sketch the main ideas
- Data
- Information •  May be •  Ready, set, go! Build the slides!
skeptical

4 Source: Driving Strategic Impact The ELC Club!

THE STORYLINE
The key objective of the presentation is to communicate your recommendations and
conclusions effectively

Structure your writing so that if the audience In business communication you usually want
leaves any time, they will still get the most to start with the conclusion first, and then
important points present your supporting arguments

•  Tell about your journey –

The tagline regardless of how much effort you
If you only had 15 seconds, how would put in to it!
you communicate your
recommendation •  Show detailed analyses and
complicated models –
The executive summary save them for the appendix
If the audience only sees one page,
how would you communicate your
recommendation
The pack •  Communicate the key conclusions
The story that communicates your and recommendations
recommendation by simple charts
•  Cut your deck down to the
and illustrations
minimum needed to tell your story
The appendix
The place for details and back- •  Show simple graphs and
up; data, calculations, process illustrations to support your
clarifications etc. arguments

5 Source: IES Development Limited The ELC Club!

 THE STORYLINE
Consultants typically start with the resolution first, and then build out the story with the
situation and complication

Situation, Complication, and Resolution (SCR) is You can change the sequence of SCR depending
a framework to communicate your story on the structure of your communication

ation Situation à Complication à Resolution

Situ The classic structure; starting relaxed, adding
A recognized and stable situation that the
audience agrees with! stress but then calm things down again at the end.
Technology advancements has enabled touch
screens, mobile internet, high resolution etc.

lic a tion Resolutionà Situation à Complication

p
Com Raises a question or a change to the The no-nonsense approach. If you do not have
statues quo! time to read the whole story, you get the answer in
the first paragraph/on the first slide
The consumers show a latent need for a
cellphones with more capabilities

n
s olutio Complication à Situation à Resolution
Re The alarming start that creates a sense of urgency
The response that will capture, alleviate,
resolve etc. the complication! that something ought to be solved
Introduce smartphone that enables the
consumer to have one device for all
purposes

6 Source: The Pyramid Principle The ELC Club!

THE STORYLINE
Exercise 1: Imagine that you have completed the project described below, and have to
prepare a PPT to present to the company’s busy CEO to whom this is new information.
Sketch your storyline incl. executive summary, slides and proposed appendixes!
Situation
Garbage&Co is a Chilean company that focuses on transportation of dumpsters from the household to the local
landfill sites. It works under government contract, and places large dumpsters around Chile that is then filled with
household waste by the citizens. Garbage&Co routinely picks up the dumpsters and delivers them to the landfill
sites to be emptied before they are returned back to the citizens to filled again.

Complication
Your consultancy have been hired to help formulate a market entry strategy into the private moving/relocation
industry in Chile. Chile is a very long a slender country, and moving is often a costly affair due to the long
distances. The current long-distance moving market is highly fragmented, and it is mostly served by small local
moving companies that charges high prices (300,000 pesos) to pack, collect and move stuff between cities
located further than 100 km apart.
Garbage&Co is looking to use containers similar to their current dumpsters (to avoid refitting of trucks), by
placing them close to the customer, who can then pack his/her stuff in the container themselves before it is
picked up and relocate to the new location.
Resolution
There is an estimated 200,000 yearly moves in Chile above 100 km
distance. You’re confident that Garbage&Co can capture half of the
market resulting in 10 Billion pesos of profit per year (200,000/2 moves
per year x 100,000 pesos in estimated profit/move).
How do you best present this golden opportunity at the upcoming
meeting with the busy CEO and his board members?

7 The ELC Club!

THE STORYLINE
Exercise 1: Sketch your storyline incl. executive summary, slides and proposed
appendixes!
Use a piece of paper and divide it in to 6/8 squares, then sketch one slide per square

8 The ELC Club!

THE ARGUMENT
The pyramid principle is a tool that helps to get the point across most effectively

Key
takeaway
Q&A So What?
The Each header
arguments MECE should
below must Mutually Exclusive synthesize
answer Collectively Exhaustive the grouped
arguments
- What?
below
- Why? Main Main Main
- How? Argument 1 Argument 2 Argument 3

Sub Sub Sub Sub Sub Sub

Argument Argument Argument Argument Argument Argument
1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2

Data Data Data Data Data Data

Group like Order ideas logically

ideas within each group

9 Source: The Pyramid Principle; Driving Strategic Impact The ELC Club!
THE ARGUMENT
The pyramid principle helps to structure the communication by grouping like ideas and
synthesizing with group header(s)

Group the ideas in a MECE structure, and Ask “so what” to each of the groups, instead
order the ideas in each group logically of just summarizing what we already know

Ungrouped Summary
Melons Butter There are
Chees tanks at the
e
Apples Eggs Polish border
s
Grape
French tanks German tanks Russian tanks
are at the are at the are at the
Polish Border Polish Border Polish Border
Grouped Edibles
Synthesis (So what?)
Dairy
Fruits Poland is Inductive
products
about to be argument*
Alphabetically

Butter Grapes invaded

By size

Cheese Apples
French tanks German tanks Russian tanks
Eggs Melons
are at the are at the are at the
Milk Polish Border Polish Border Polish Border

* Inductive arguments are far more used in presentations than deductive arguments
10 Source: The Pyramid Principle The ELC Club!
THE ARGUMENT
Each slide is build as a pyramid, with the key takeaway at the top supported by the main
arguments below

Key takeaway Why?

Main arguments
How?
So what?
Sub arguments
and data

11 Source: The Pyramid Principle; Team ELC, Yale Case Competition The ELC Club!
THE ARGUMENT
Exercise 2: Below are two examples of communication. Take each of the examples and
use the pyramid principle to make the communication clear and structured!

Dear Shirley, I was in Zurich last week, you know what a

Remember last Saturday afternoon when I was conservative city Zurich is - and we went out to
playing in the park with my boyfriend and you came lunch at an outdoor restaurant. Do you know that
over, and he told me that when my back was turned, within 15 minutes I must have seen 15 people with
you kissed him? either a beard or a moustache.

And also, on Sunday when you came to my house And you know if you walk around any New York
and my Mom made you a tuna fish salad for lunch office you can rarely find even one person who
and you said: “Yech! That’s the worst salad I ever doesn't have sideburns or a moustache.
ate!”? And of course facial hair has been part of the
And yesterday, when my cat brushed against your London scene for the last 10 years.
leg, you kicked her and threatened to sic your dog
“Monster” on her?
Well, for all of these reasons, I hate you, and I no
longer want to be your friend.
Lucy

12 Source: The Pyramid Principle The ELC Club!

 Type footer here

THE ARGUMENT
Exercise 2: Use this kind of structuring in your everyday life to get the point across.
(Email, instructions, arguments etc.)

You know it's incredible to me the degree to which

facial hair has become such an accepted part of
business life.
•  In Zurich,
•  in New York,
•  and of course, London.

Facial hair is an accepted

part of business life
around the world

I hate you Shirley

It is rare to
In Zürich you Facial hair has
find business
see at least 15 been part of
people in New
people with the scene in
York without
facial hair London for at
You stole my You insulted You scared sideburns and
boyfriend my mother my cat within 15 min. least 10 years
moustaches

13 Source: The Pyramid Principle The ELC Club!

THE STRUCTURE
The key to building good slides can be expressed in a simple set of guidelines

Key message in header – Support your graphs with a logical conclusion,

1 7
not a generic title like “Market Size” and remember to include units

Have supporting arguments below the header – Have a visual tracker that highlights which part of
2 8
make a clear division between different ideas the agenda that is presented, and where you are

Highlight key points (e.g. use of a circle, bold font, Keep a consistent color code and font type/size,
3 9
enlarged font size etc.) and keep the same theme throughout

Leave a small margin around your slide – Adjust the size of the font to your presentation –
4 10
i.e. Don’t go all the way to the edge min. 12 pt. for printed and min. 14 for presenting

Build an evident flow in your slides from left to Include notes and sources with small text in the
5 11
right – e.g. by use of arrows, pointers etc. bottom of the slide

Use simple and neat illustrations to support your Ensure that everything is aligned (top, bottom,
6 12
arguments (pictures, arrows, illustrations etc.) left, right)

14 The ELC Club!

 THE STRUCTURE
Key message in header – Have supporting arguments below the header –
1 2
not a generic title like “Market Size” make a clear division between different ideas

3
Highlight key
points

Use simple
and neat
illustrations to
support your
arguments
(pictures,
arrows, 4

illustrations Leave a
etc.) small margin
around your
slide

Build an evident flow in your slides from left to

5
right – e.g. by use of arrows, pointers etc.
15 Source: Team ELC, Yale Case Competition The ELC Club!
 THE STRUCTURE
Support your graphs with a logical conclusion,
7
and remember to include units
Visual
8
tracker

9
Keep a
consistent
color code
and font type/
size, and
keep the
same theme
throughout

12
10
Ensure that
everything is Adjust the
aligned (top, size of the
bottom, left, font to your
right) presentation –
min. 12 pt. for
printed and
min. 14 for
presenting

Include notes and sources with small

11
text in the bottom of the slide The ELC Club!
16 Source: Team ELC, Yale Case Competition
THE STRUCTURE
Graphs are more than pie-charts and scatterplots

Correlation Frequency Component Item / Category Time series

Pie
Percentage of total !"
Pie

!" !" !" !" !"

Column/Bar
Ranking of items or
changes over time Back to back bars Column Waterfall Bar Column

!" !"
Line
Changes over time
or distributions Distribution Line
Scatter
Relationships between
variables
!"
Scatter
Mekko
2-variable
comparisons
!"
Mekko
Bubble
3-variable
comparisons
!"
Bubble
!"
Bubble

Gant
Project scheduling
Project schedule

17 Source: Say it with charts The ELC Club!

Three simple tips to help speed up the construction of PowerPoint slides

s
a ti c guide
t
Use s lignment
for a

Align and distribute Same height/width

t hese in
de
Inclu r toolbar
you Group Flip Adjust objects

and reuse
Save r slides
you

18 The ELC Club!

 The ELC Club!

19 The ELC Club!