Storytelling in PowerPoint: Learn McKinsey’s 3-Step Framework

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In this video, you'll learn how to storyline in PowerPoint, just like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain. We'll cover storylining using the SCR or SCQA Framework, writing your storyline using the dot-dash structure, and building your slide skeleton (including action titles, horizontal flow and vertical flow).
Any materials mentioned or shown have been obtained through publicly available sources (e.g. firm or client website) and used under "fair use".

[@DanGalletta]

💥 The charting and visualization video has been published! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nF62paimh8h-bq8

[@johnojosipe5364]

Thank you

[@ArtStiefel]

This is one of the simplest, most succinct ways of explaining how to go about creating an excellent presentation storyline. Seriously one of the best I've ever seen!!

[@DanGalletta]

Wow, thanks so much Art. Glad you liked it!

[@vareilac]

I fully agree with the above! You are my new guru when I will have to present ! Thank you so much for taking the time and sharing your knowledge!!! Very grateful!

[@festusaitokhuehi9493]

Hi Dan. I want to say 'thank you' for your amazing newsletters and videos on storytelling. I recently transitioned to data analysis from sales and business development, I am working towards developing my skill in training and development. Storytelling is an essential skill to be a good data analyst and trainer, it's one part that has been so confusing to master for me. I'm glad I found you. Your tips have been helpful and it's making better everyday in creating storyline in PowerPoint. I have subscribed to your channel and am looking forward to seeing more videos from you. Thank you, Dan and God bless.

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much Festus! I’m really happy that the content is helping you 😊

[@chibuezemarkonyejelem4183]

Wow. One of the best approaches I have ever seen. This would appear to be simple logic, yet the outcome is profound.

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much mate!

[@andreia4764]

One of the best videos I have seen about this subject Thanks Dan

[@DanGalletta]

Really appreciate it, thank you!

[@digitalkm]

This is pretty awesome, not just for powerpoint, but also to create explainer videos or anything where you need to convey your point with logic. Thanks Dan!

[@DanGalletta]

Spot on!

[@s_don57683]

Hi Dan, as an experienced consultant with a decade of experience, your videos breakdown what I’ve spent years learning into simple concepts. Really happy to come across your channel and I will probably be stealing some of your ideas for training sessions at my firm haha 😅. You’re a legend mate

[@DanGalletta]

Haha that is awesome, steal whatever you want mate!

[@thanhvanle3024]

Thank you so much! I now realize that I have done slides wrong this whole time. As a university student, professionalism in storytelling by slides is so underrated

[@DanGalletta]

Glad it helps!

[@corbinneilson6738]

So happy to have this pop into my feed. Pretty sure it’s a result of 1-2 searches related to how Salesforce does professional services.

[@DanGalletta]

Such a strange connection 😂

[@TaniaAbundez]

Thank you for this comment. I had my first salesforce client meeting and I can use this for the next stakeholder meeting.

[@maisarahlukman3052]

This is really well-explained! I really appreciate breaking down the fundamentals. Clear and persuasive video, thanks Dan!💯

[@DanGalletta]

No problem at all!

[@ypenburgdh]

Thanks so much for this amazing video! Super useful for someone who is currently working for an ex-McKinsey boss but don’t have much experience in storylining and building packs this way. 🎉

[@DanGalletta]

Glad you liked it! Feel free to request any other topics too…

[@fingerprint1991]

Brilliant - I’ve been looking for a good framework for a while. This is just perfect. Thank you for sharing 😊

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks very much!

[@giovalena4594]

McKinsey 3-Step Framework SCR Situation - Why? Purpose Complication - What did go wrong? Problem Resolution - What could be done to solve the problem? Solution Writing your Storyline . DOT - the key statement in your storyline - DASH - the supporting data Building your slide skeleton Action title (DOT) / Slide body (DASH) Flow Horizontal flow - action titles can provide the storyline to the reader Vertical flow - provide comprehensive information to the reader. The slide body supports the action title

[@louvierejacques]

I watch a lot of this kind of stuff, and your content is really, REALLY good- thanks for making it!

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks mate, that means a lot!

[@MarcRotrou]

perfect presentation - I now have a understanding of what storytelling is about, a good outline of the procedures to create a story and not the least, an idea of what do and what not to do (the pitfalls)- in summary, a great video, that I am keeping in my favorites (aka, I will review it, probably more than once) - thank-you very much for this quality video !

[@DanGalletta]

Cheers Marc!

[@flourishwithMJ]

Dan, you're excellent and relatable at explaining as though you're presenting to me directly. Please consider teaching on LinkedIn Learning so you can widen your platform and make it mainstream. You may also consider adding other topics to teach related to crafting clear, concise, and compelling presentations such as powerful business writings on email (by situation), delivering regular progress updates to executives, business report writing, and clear everyday business communications. Include the thought process on how to organize ideas and thoughts. Thank you.

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much for the comment MJ. I do plan on adding some of those topics soon! And I’ll look into LinkedIn Learning too :)

[@bmusi08]

Hi Dan, please do the follow up video with the methodology to develop the body of the slides. It would be very useful to learn.

[@DanGalletta]

Ok mate, will do! 🙂

[@DanGalletta]

Thought I would let you know that I just published the visualization video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nF62paimh8h-bq8

[@HimanshuGupta-ii9ny]

Thanks, Dan for sharing this. Super helpful.

[@DanGalletta]

My pleasure mate :)

[@azushi312]

Thank you for sharing these valuable tips. You are the best presentation and data storytelling teacher I have ever encountered.

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@krzysztofomilian7295]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🎯 *Firms like McKinsey aim to influence clients with presentations designed for action, not to gather dust.* 01:09 🧠 *The SCQA (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) framework is a universal structure used by top consulting firms for storytelling in presentations.* 03:20 📊 *McKinsey's presentation for King County's homelessness project demonstrates the application of the SCQA framework.* 05:24 📝 *Before diving into PowerPoint, craft your presentation storyline in Word for better iteration and logical coherence.* 07:02 🔄 *McKinsey's "dot dash" structure in Word aids in distilling analysis into a persuasive storyline for presentations.* 08:41 🖼️ *PowerPoint slides should follow both horizontal (action titles) and vertical (slide bodies) logical flows for a coherent narrative.* 10:35 📚 *For more insights on creating executive-ready slide decks, consider exploring additional resources such as courses.* Made with HARPA AI

[@manuelaloaeza3949]

Loved the clarity!

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much Manuela!

[@NikSept14]

One of the best videos out there

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks Nikhil!

[@UffeErupLarsen]

Absolutely brilliant video. Thanks. 😊 You’ve earned a new subscriber. 🎉

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much, glad you liked it!

[@simonb700]

Excellent Dan. Thanks for this.

[@DanGalletta]

My pleasure Simon!

[@RezaArdhiansyah]

That was very clear explanation, exclusive and exhaustive. Thanks

[@DanGalletta]

Glad it was helpful!

[@aidatsantana]

Thank you! This video is gold ❤

[@DanGalletta]

Glad it was helpful!

[@user-vi6hc8zy3e]

Thank you @Dan, this is very helpful in delivering simple & effective presentations!

[@DanGalletta]

My pleasure!

[@TA-O]

This is an excellent presentation. Learnt a ton! Thanks for sharing.

[@DanGalletta]

No worries!

[@fernandoblancoramirez1391]

Great explanation to build a storytelling.

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks mate!

[@Marcelosalasdubai]

Awesome ! Truly insightful

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks Marco!

[@ridamnibjia]

wow so much value in such a short video!!!!

[@DanGalletta]

I hate the fluffy videos too 😂

[@James-nc1dz]

Great video, very clear and concise ,

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks James 😊

[@Fran-or3lt]

Wow Dan, top video! Subscribed to see the follow up to this.

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much!

[@onlyonecjb001]

Exceedingly helpful and I am certain I will be returning to video a lot. Thank you for sharing.

[@DanGalletta]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Sui6ke]

Thanks Dan - this came at the perfect time for me. I have subscribed and look forward to upcoming videos 😊

[@DanGalletta]

Glad to have you on board Samantha!

[@jacklazo9030]

Good stuff Dan. Keep it up!

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks Jack!

[@thomasjones9394]

I just tried the following GPT prompt " in the context of a small pizza shop use the scr storytelling method to explain types of problems where the integer linear programming approach is desirable."

[@lolzorkont]

Funny thing is that I did use exact this in one of the strategy projects I did for our Director. He indeed told me that consultants from McKinsey and BCG first write the storyline in Word and then build the PowerPoint. He said they do send the storyline to India and the next morning they wake up the PowerPoint is build. While i have to do it myself haha. I work as a strategist at a major foodretailer.

[@DanGalletta]

Haha yes that’s exactly right 😂

[@KlaasVictor]

Super valuable!! Thank you!!

[@DanGalletta]

My pleasure!

[@kkbava67]

Thank you for introducing the SCR! Just a small variation - I dont start with Word documents to create my dots and dashes, but use Powerpoint Outline Mode for doing exactly the same. I save myself the trouble of copy-pasting from Word into Powerpoint!

[@DanGalletta]

That’s a great option when you don’t need multiple people to work on the same storyline, awesome!

[@robertc2121]

Omg why doesn't this amazing presentation have 10 million views. Incredibly impressive, useful and explained. Thank you liked and subscribed

[@DanGalletta]

This means a lot, thanks so much Robert!

[@kyt2245]

Thank you for your video!!! It is really helpful!

[@DanGalletta]

Glad it was helpful!

[@malcolmvaneyck1968]

Great vid! Thanks a lot!

[@DanGalletta]

You're welcome!

[@dvtbulan1513]

What a cool video! Thank you so much! I really need this

[@DanGalletta]

My pleasure!

[@philipsfjp]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@DanGalletta]

You're welcome!

[@ProArch]

A framework for building a deck. Thank you for breaking down McKinsey's process. It's logical to use this method.

[@DanGalletta]

No problem at all mate

[@Potencyfunction]

Where do the logic start ?

[@ProArch]

@@Potencyfunction Using it where it starts. I hope that helps.

[@TarasShabatin]

Thank you 🙏 This is a very useful knowledge.

[@DanGalletta]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cryptomugen1315]

This is one of the most helpful videos on creating a presentation. Yes, please do a video on translating data into visuals! Subscribed!

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks mate!

[@ozzyvega]

Great Video Dan 👍🏻

[@DanGalletta]

Cheers mate!

[@mshwarebable]

excellent video

[@SebastianEling]

Awesome 👏🏻

[@patrickredding7674]

Yes, please make a video about how to translate verbal information into visualizations. Your videos are so wonderful!

[@DanGalletta]

Filming it soon!

[@mariuszczarnota9521]

great explanation!

[@DanGalletta]

Glad you think so!

[@AndresGuerrero]

This is great, thanks!

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks Andres!

[@NguyenTran-qz5cv]

This helped me a lot. Thanks Dan. Hope your channel will grow much more in the future (subscribed)

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much!

[@labontejeanpascal6121]

Very helpful

[@GeorgeZoto]

Excellent presentation and interesting workflow. I am happy I am across this, keep it up :)

[@DanGalletta]

Cheers George!

[@mattlee3044]

Dan - If you use WORD’s STYLES to create the DOT DASH structure in a WORD OUTLINE, you can copy an OUTLINE straight into PowerPoint. I agree that using WORD to bolt the story together is an excellent path. Great video. Then iterations of the WORD OUTLINE, with your manager, will automatically change the Powerpoint deck. I’ve used this trick many times.

[@NoShortyLikeMine]

I don't understand it, can you explain it better or link a tutorial?

[@DanGalletta]

That’s great, I never knew that trick!

[@DubitoCogito]

Thanks 😀

[@Spotofgardening]

Hugely valuable conent!

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much!

[@lucsteffens]

Thx, really interesting!

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks!

[@railzip]

Thank you!!!!

[@DanGalletta]

You're welcome!

[@mulikatozavize2652]

Thank You!

[@DanGalletta]

You're welcome!

[@simahad116]

Very good..thank you

[@DanGalletta]

No worries!

[@AZNGoSu]

Whenever you got lost in your slide building and storylining with all the data and conflicts and direction it’s super helpful to bubble it up to SCR to see if it makes sense

[@DanGalletta]

Spot on 💯

[@SD-eu7ht]

Brilliant

[@xinbeibei0522]

best video I would rate

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks Michelle!

[@nttprint3731]

Thanks!!

[@DanGalletta]

No worries!

[@ragragrec1]

Superb man thanks

[@DanGalletta]

My pleasure 😊

[@kellybrehm911]

yes...your tips and tricks for charts from excel to PP would be great to see (method of translating data visualizations into slides). your videos are great btw.

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks Kelly! Will do!

[@pratikmanavi]

experts in ppt 👏👏👏

[@DanGalletta]

I’m not sure if I love or hate this comment hahah

[@8enable]

Yep - you got me. this was a great informative video Congrats! now - lets do it again 😉

[@DanGalletta]

Haha cheers mate

[@rembautimes8808]

Thanks this is an excellent channel, joined as a sub

[@DanGalletta]

Welcome aboard!

[@mailsiraj]

Thank you so much Dan for such a clear and crisp explanation of the process. Reminds me of the consulting days - Suddenly this popped into my feed and thought of checking it out, but I am so impressed with this calm and comprehensive presentation that I am gonna bookmark this as a reference whenever I have to do any presentation.

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much, I’m glad to hear!

[@Soukokuish]

yes, please share the video on translating data on visualization

[@DanGalletta]

Coming next week!

[@user-pt2cb5cw5g]

Hi Dan, your video is really helpful and I've subscribed, please try to make the video as you said in the end, a simple methodology for translating data into visualization.

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks Chris, will do!

[@petervuong5221]

Amazing

[@DanGalletta]

Cheers Peter!

[@christinegunawan5215]

Hi Dan, great video! Finally, after researching on my own and not being able to understand them, I can grasp the framework through your content. Quick question: On average, how long do you usually come up with the final draft of SCR and dot dash? Is it possible to draft them without essential data at the top of your mind (especially when working on niche topics)?

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks Christine! Usually you'll start your project with an "emerging storyline" which is your hypothesis on what the storyline could end up being. As you conduct analysis and synthesize findings, you regularly update that storyline with new information. As you might imagine, there will be a lot of iteration between analysis and storylining over the life of the project. It's difficult to say how long that process takes. It could be very quick for a small and well-understood problem or it could be very long for a big and complex problem. Hope that helps!

[@flourishwithMJ]

Thank you

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks for watching MJ!

[@777tmack]

As a data analyst who builds financial dashboards, I found your insights on the McKenzie approach very relevant and enlightening. My primary focus is on informing rather than persuading, letting the data lead to conclusions. In your consultancy work, have you noticed any key differences between constructing dashboards and traditional presentations, especially with these objectives in mind? Any shared wisdom would be highly appreciated! Thank you for your expertise, looking forward to your response!

[@DanGalletta]

Great question. If it’s a regular dashboard that simply gets updated every period, then you don’t necessarily need a storyline 😊

[@pamelabustamante2398]

Dan excelent video, its clear and goes to the point. Thanks for charing. Did you do the vídeo about how to translation information into a visual presentation?

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks Pamela! It’s still coming, trying to find some time to film 😣

[@4nrgy]

Rly good video. Not for PP only- it's helpful for video production. This scripting is just great for explainatory video. Could you advice easiest way to animate in PP or keynote? Or maybe different software? Sometimes I need to illustrate concept with basic animation. Thanks again this vid was very informative

[@DanGalletta]

Hmm, I actually don’t animate at all in PowerPoint . Most of my slide decks are used as reports and not presentation. Sorry I can’t be of more help…

[@coreyhence2020]

Appreciate how you broke this down! When should you use SCQA vs another framework?

[@DanGalletta]

Glad you liked it mate! I use it in pretty much every slide deck that I create in the corporate environment.

[@clarenceonyekwere5428]

Definitely interested in the visualization video

[@DanGalletta]

Coming soon :)

[@MadAboutCakesManila_PH]

Yes please.. Kindly create a vid about data storytelling. Thank you

[@DanGalletta]

Filmed it today!

[@imittelhesper]

great video - thank you! Please do the follow up video.

[@DanGalletta]

You got it!

[@polmarchand305]

Hey Dan! Your video is impressive, and the content is captivating. I love it! Any recommendations for a framework to present the update of the implementation of a strategic project/initiative to an Executive Committee? What would be a great storyline?

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks so much for the kind words! It really depends on the specifics of your project. If it’s a general update deck with a Gantt, RAG status, etc then you may not even need a strong storyline like I describe. Perhaps something like “this is a reminder of why we are doing the project”, “here’s what we have done so far/we are making good progress”, then “here’s the amazing things to come”. Obviously more formal than that though 😂

[@john.8805]

Really informative and well done video. Looking forward to more content! What was the paper you mentioned 1:44? Would love to learn more about synthesis…

[@DanGalletta]

Thanks John! I’ll see if I can dig it up

[@john.8805]

@@DanGalletta thanks, keep up the great work!

[@a9609067]

Thank you! Oh I was looking forward to learning what scqa means but didn’t seem to see an explanation as promised 🤔 I went back to watching wondering if I’ve missed it but still couldn’t find the answer

[@DanGalletta]

Oh sorry! It’s Situation-Complication-Question-Answer. It’s basically the same as the SCR structure 😊

[@zw8984]

Yes please. How to turn info into visual slide deks would be great! And BTW love that accent! Fair Dincum Mate!

[@DanGalletta]

Haha thanks, will do that video!

[@zw8984]

You explained it all so well, clear concise and easy to digest! Thanks

[@captainprice8827]

Great video! Do you by any chance have the link for the Mck slide deck you are citing regarding SCR?

[@DanGalletta]

Here you go: www.slideshare.net/McKinseyCompany/addressing-homelessness-in-king-county

[@flormarthas.ferreira2984]

Good vídeo, well explain. Thanks! Maybe instead of Word you should try Scrivener because it breaks the text in "slides" (new pages) so we can mix in diferent ways the text in a very practical way. Best wishes!

[@DanGalletta]

Oh cool, never seen Scrivener. Might check it out

[@ZahZah571]

Great video! How would you apply this to a strategy presentation where you are selling a strategy or introducing a new technology to automate say customer operations? And please could you share the references such as the using ms word advice. I would love to read more on this.

[@DanGalletta]

Ah it really depends on the context and the analysis that you’ve done. I would recommend going through the storylining process and seeing what you can come up with!

[@Mr2win123]

Thank you so much Dan. I have learnt that some organizations use the following for creating a story line.. it is called What (is the problem statement)...So What (What are the implications of this problem) and Now What (solution or alternatives that we are suggesting to resolve the problem). Does any consulting org. use this framework?

[@DanGalletta]

I’ve heard of this before but I’ve never used it. Sounds pretty logical to me, although not sure what firms use it 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@DarrenAllatt]

What about options before recommendation or action? I’m a technical product manager and do a lot of BA work as well as product management work. I find that In tech businesses especially with the rise of entrepreneurial mindset in place of corporate mindset are wanting us to communicate with problem, options, recommended solutions. I see a lot of value in using this framework combined with id the pyramid principle, when communicating to business leaders. What are your thoughts about? Including options before recommendation, or are those options better placed inside of the complexities

[@DanGalletta]

Yep 100% agree. Showing options can be part of your resolution. It also demonstrates you’ve considered a wide range of possibilities 👍🏼

[@Yuhraeus]

Thank you for the informative video! Could you point me in the direction I should go for pitch decks for sponsorships?

[@DanGalletta]

Hmm, sorry Stephen I am not too sure

[@jasmingenius7573]

Hi Dan, Speaking about the course you've mentioned here: do I need to create an account on your website to get access to it? Is the link to the course sent to the email after payment or one gets access online immediately right after? There reason I'm asking is coz I didn't find any 'create an account' tab on the website.

[@DanGalletta]

Hey Jasmin, when you click purchase you're taken to page where you both create an account and pay. If you need any help, just shoot me an email at [e-mail] :)

[@ajinkyababar6072]

I am interested in your course,but price is higher. If it’s negotiable I will probably buy

[@drury2d8]

Useful PPT tips, no hiding the fact that its a tool MCKinsey's analysts use to BS their way thru clients lol.

[@user-ib1sq4ns5w]

Never thought I could learn from someone who doesn't me look into my eyes