Make the case
Situation, complication, question, answer
Also called SCQA, Situation, complication, resolution
Open a report or a pitch with what's true, what changed, the question that raises, and your answer to it.
- Time15 to 30 minutes
- People1 to 6 people
- Steps4
What it's for
SCQA is how consultants open a recommendation. The situation is something the reader already agrees with. The complication is what changed. That raises a question, and your answer is the main point of everything that follows. Put the answer early: busy readers decide in the first paragraph whether to read on.
It suits board papers, strategy documents and any email asking for a decision.
How to run it
Situation4 min
What the reader already knows and agrees with.
Complication4 min
What changed, or what's wrong now.
Question3 min
The question the complication raises in the reader's mind.
Answer5 min
Your answer: the recommendation or main point.
Tips
- If the reader wouldn't ask your question, the complication is wrong.
- The answer leads. Supporting points come after it, not before.
Where it comes from
From The Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto, which grew out of the writing courses she taught at McKinsey from the 1960s onwards.
Pairs well with
And, but, therefore
Context joined with "and", a problem introduced with "but", and a consequence with "therefore": a story in one sentence.
Monroe's motivated sequence
Five steps for a speech that moves people to act: attention, need, satisfaction, visualisation and action.
Sparkline
A talk that moves back and forth between how things are and how they could be, then ends on the better future.