Page 134 - The McKinsey Mind

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PresentingYour Ideas 109

Strong communications skills supported by strong logic wipe
out most concerns. I have yet to be turned down by my CEO
or board for anything that I really wanted. Presentation is
the “killer skill” we take into the real world. It is almost an
unfair advantage!

Fortunately, you don’t have to work at McKinsey to learn how
to put together an effective presentation. In fact, some McKinsey
alumni have started teaching these skills in their own organiza-
tions. By the end of this section, we hope to have shown you

enough about presentation structure that you can get the ball
rolling in your organization, too.
TEAMFLY

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE
A successful presentation bridges the gap between you—the pre-

senter—and your audience. It lets them know what you know. You
can make this process easy for your audience by giving your pre-
sentations a clear and logical structure. Fortunately, if you have
been adhering to the principles of this book, then you already have
a solid basis for such a structure: your initial hypothesis.
If you broke out your initial hypothesis into a MECE set of

issues and subissues (and suitably modified them according to the
results of your analysis), then you have a ready-made outline for
your presentation. If you have a well-structured, MECE hypothe-
sis, then you will have a well-structured, MECE presentation. Con-
versely, if you can’t get your presentation to make sense, then you
may want to rethink the logic of your hypothesis. Many of our
McKinsey alumni found this a useful check on their thinking. Just

put together the exhibits that prove your various points, and fit
them into their proper place on the issue tree.

®
Team-Fly