Strategy consulting isn’t just about analyzing data and advising clients—it’s also about communicating complex ideas in a clear, persuasive, and compelling manner.

Whether you’re pitching to senior executives or presenting your latest research findings, the principles used by top consulting firms can transform your presentation into a powerful storytelling tool.

1. Start With a Clear Objective

The first step is to define the purpose of your presentation. Ask yourself: What do you want your audience to learn, decide, or do by the end? In strategy consulting, clarity of purpose is paramount. Setting a clear objective not only helps focus your research and analysis but also guides the design and content of your slides.

  • Tip: Write down a one-sentence objective that summarizes your desired outcome.
  • For example, “Demonstrate why our proposed market entry strategy will drive 20% revenue growth over the next three years.”

In addition to this high level objective, its helpful to identify which kind of document you want to create. If you are giving a live presentation, this will mean you want a simpler and more visually appealing deck. If you are going much more in-depth, you may want something that appears more like a report with backup slides, appendices and detailed data.

2. Structure Your Story Using Proven Frameworks

Consulting presentations are built on a solid framework that makes complex information accessible. Two key frameworks are the SCQA Framework and the Pyramid Principle.

The SCQA Framework

Using the SCQA framework in your presentation is about shaping your underlying problems and hypotheses that drive the work. In the SCQA model, the Situation and Complication help you define the context and the challenges at hand.

This leads naturally to “Question,” which are our hypothesis about what is causing the problem or what opportunity exists.

For example, if you observe that a company’s revenue isn’t growing as expected (Situation) because of market saturation (Complication), your question might be, “Could expanding into a new market drive sustainable growth?” This hypothesis then guides your analysis and becomes the focal point for collecting data and crafting your slides. The “Answer” portion of SCQA is where you present the data, charts, and information that either validate or refute that hypothesis.

The Pyramid Principle

The Pyramid Principle is vital for developing persuasive presentations.

The way we teach it at StrategyU, has two core parts. The first part is synthesis, which involves distilling all your complex findings into a clear, overarching conclusion in a bottom-up way.

This synthesis is your “big idea” – the key insight that you want your audience to remember.

The second part involves structuring your presentation in a top-down manner. This should be aligned with the SCQA analysis, with the big theme of “answering” the questions you proposed to solve the problem. We can see this visually in the timeline of the project as follows:

At the beginning of a presentation, you’ll be more focused on the bottom-up approach.

By the end you should have a good top-doown message. The top-down message should ensure that your audience immediately grasps the main ideas, and then sees how each subsequent slide logically supports these core ideas.

3. Create The Presentation

A well-structured outline is the backbone of any consulting presentation. Most elite slide decks consist of the following components:

  1. Title Slide: Clearly state the presentation topic, your name, date, and any relevant logos.
  2. Executive Summary: Provide a high-level overview of your key recommendation and supporting rationale. This slide is critical for busy executives who need the core message quickly.
  3. Body Slides: Break down your main points using the SCQA and Pyramid frameworks. Each slide should communicate one key insight with supporting data.
  4. Appendix: Include backup data and additional details that support your analysis.

Using a Ghost Deck to Map Your Story

A ghost deck is a preliminary, bare-bones outline of your presentation where you only include the slide titles and minimal bullet points. This “skeleton deck” serves as a roadmap for your entire narrative, allowing you to:

  • Visualize the Flow: Lay out your story from start to finish and identify any gaps or redundancies in your argument.
  • Ensure Logical Progression: Confirm that each slide title naturally leads to the next, keeping your audience engaged and your message coherent.
  • Focus on Key Takeaways: Make sure that every slide’s title encapsulates its core insight without getting lost in details.

Often, this is simply blank slides with placeholder titles. This is a way to map out all the “answers” to your hypotheses and then see what kind of data you would need to gather.

It’s important to build a ghost deck early in the process. By drafting this skeletal version, you can test the structure of your argument without getting bogged down in design details. When you’re satisfied with the overall flow, you can then add the supporting data, and visuals, and fine-tune the formatting.

4. Design with Simplicity and Clarity

Strategy consulting presentations are known for their clean, minimalist design that keeps the focus on your message. Follow these design principles:

  • Action Titles: Each slide should have a title that states the key takeaway (e.g., “Revenue Growth Outpaces Market Trends by 15%” instead of “Revenue Analysis”).
  • Economy of Words: Use concise bullet points to avoid clutter. Every word should support your main message.
  • Visual Hierarchy: Use fonts, colors, and spacing to guide the viewer’s eye. Maintain consistency throughout your deck.
  • Data Visualization: Replace long paragraphs with charts or graphs that clearly illustrate your data. (For more tips, visit our Presentation Design Tips page.)
  • White Space: Use white space effectively to prevent overload and maintain focus on key points.

Every recommendation in a strategy consulting presentation should be data-driven:

  • Choosing Relevant Charts: Use simple, clear charts (bar, pie, line) that directly illustrate your point.
  • Annotating Visuals: Use callouts or arrows to highlight important data points.
  • Sourcing Your Data: Always include a small source note on your slides for credibility.

5. Practice Effective Storytelling

Your presentation should tell a cohesive story that moves your audience from the current state to your proposed solution. Follow these storytelling tips:

  • Start with the Big Idea: Lead with your main recommendation so that even a quick skim delivers the key message.
  • Build a Logical Flow: Organize your slides so that each one builds on the previous, guiding your audience through your narrative.
  • Rehearse Your Delivery: Practice your presentation to ensure your spoken narrative complements your slides and you can confidently answer questions.

For more, see my book review on Barbara Minto’s book Pyramid Principle (specifically the section on order of information).

Do you have a toolkit for business problem solving? I created Think Like a Strategy Consultant as an online course to make the tools of strategy consultants accessible to driven professionals, executives, and consultants. This course teaches you how to synthesize information into compelling insights, structure your information in ways that help you solve problems, and develop presentations that resonate at the C-Level. Click here to learn more or if you are interested in getting started now.