How Do Consultants Think So Clearly? Looking for Tips on Articulation + Logic

Question

Hi all,

I’ve been struggling with a few areas where I see consultants (at least from the cases I’ve seen + YouTube videos) performing way above average, and I’d really like to hear your thoughts on how to actually get better at these.

Articulation: A lot of people in case studies speak very clearly, structure their thoughts fast, ask the right questions, and land on solid answers almost effortlessly. Their articulation feels very natural and “clean".

Problem solving: I know frameworks and mental models matter, but I also think consultants solve non-trivial/routine questions in a very logical, almost mathematical way. They seem to break things down quickly, see patterns, and think strategically even when the problem is unfamiliar.

Personally, I’ve been struggling with both areas, and I think it’s due to a mix of two things:

Pressure: When I’m under pressure (like in a case), I can feel cortisol kick in. My mind starts wandering, I can’t hold all the details in working memory, and I sometimes miss key ideas in charts, texts, graphs, etc. I notice this in general too - not just in cases - where it takes me longer to “get” the point or see the pattern.

Articulation / intuition / mental models: I also feel like I don’t have enough intuitive building blocks to pull from. Maybe my toolbox is still too weak - e.g., not enough mental models from economics, strategy, finance, etc. So when I try to articulate something, I don’t map it fast enough to something I already know.
In Kahneman terms, my System 2 is working overtime while my System 1 doesn’t have enough patterns built in.

I know this isn’t directly a “consulting” question, but these skills seem pretty core to the job: non-routine problems, non-routine thinking, being fast and structured under pressure. So I really want to develop them properly.

Answer 1

Hi! Being completely honest on my opinion, you might be assuming consultants are naturally clearer thinkers than they really are. Most of what you see in case videos is just a trained way of talking. It’s not magic. New consultants sound chaotic for months until they get enough reps and feedback.

On pressure: What you describe is totally normal. Under stress, working memory shrinks. Consultants don’t “think faster”. They just offload. They restate the problem, jot down drivers, summarise aloud. These tiny habits reduce the mental load so the brain can actually think.

On mental models: You probably don’t need more frameworks. Most consultants use the same small set over and over. As long as the set of "branches" you use are MECE, and logical drivers you'll be fine. In most cases, what actually matters is having intuition for a few things:

1) how businesses make money

2) how decisions get made

-> These are you "branches", and

3) how to test a hypothesis fast

-> This is how you quickly determine the best answer to the case or problem.

If you get comfortable with those, your speed goes up automatically.

On problem solving: Consultants aren’t perfectly logical. They just force structure early, even if it’s rough. They break things down before they fully understand them. You might be waiting for clarity instead of creating it. As a new consultant, it took me months if not a year to get comfortable being hypothesis driven and as structured as expected, it comes with practice.

And the “pattern recognition gap” is usually just a reps issue. Pattern recognition is memory. If you haven’t seen enough examples yet, of course it feels slower.

Answer 2

They don't.

As in, they don't think clearly by default.

There's lots of things to consider on this theme. Here are the most important that come to mind:

Consulting is a very selective career path. Meaning, to get into the industry in the first place, you probably already graduated from a very good school and had some pretty impressive credentials on your CV. You likely have an above average IQ and above average emotional intelligence. This is not data btw, it's my assumption empirically derived
Consultants get better with time. Most struggled for the first 2 years of joining the industry, but then they develop a very good flexibility / adaptability. From the outside, esp for clients who work at a different pace, that looks (and arguably is) very impressive. They think clearly in your easy because they've had the opportunity to structure an argument or to present in front of a senior audience time and time again
Consulting team are targeted, typically single-focus task forces working on a clearly defined problem. That gives them extra speed. And they tend to work in intense periods of time, with pauses between projects (when they're lucky). A muscular sprinter in the olympics looks more impressive than a skinny marathoner. Different pace, different body, different skills.

Hope that give you a glimpse. Also, you might find this guide useful:

Expert Guide: What Do Management Consultants Do?

Best,
Cristian