Hi there,

1) Personally, I'm practicing to structure in 2 min and explain in 3 min. Not sure whether this would be an appropriate timing?

I believe you are referring to the initial structure of the case. In general the time you mentioned looks fine. It depends as well on the exact type of the question as some questions might be more complex than others and require more time.

2) I'd like to know how to improve English communication to make sentences and ideas: sharp / concise / direct / crispy. How can I train myself on this? 

It would be great to have an example of a question and how you are currently structuring it. 

For general communication of a structure, I would recommend the following: 

• Present the first level, then the second level: “So given XXX, I think we could look at 3 main areas: first ABC, second DEF, third GHI”
• Use numbers/clear bullets when presenting levels: “In the first area I would like to look at the following: First…, Second..., Finally..."

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi there!

These are common questions but great questions nonetheless. 

On the first one - how much time to take for structuring

It really depends on the firms. For McKinsey, for instance, they expect deep, broad and insightful answers. Ideally you go for about 4-5 minutes of content presentation. 

In terms of thinking time, aim for about a minute, but if you feel you don't have a sufficiently good answer after that minute, then do take more thinking time. 

On the second one - how to improve your communication

This is somewhat more complicated. To begin with, I'd recommend you use an app like poised.com to give you real-life feedback on how you speak, the pauses you mean, any verbal tics and so on. This will help you make a major jump. 

Additionally, I'd recommend you start writing your answers to your questions. Writing will help clarify your thoughts and the structure of your communication. With time you can switch back to doing it life. 

You can also leverage the following free guide on how to improve your structuring:

• Mastering Structuring & Brainstorming: A Consultant's Guide

Best,
Cristian

Timing: Your target range is alright. Key is to NOT under do or over do it. Don't end in just a minute, and don't ramble for 10 minutes.

Preciseness in communication: Practice. Smart practice. You should practice making the frameworks and speaking them. While at the same time, you need to get better with every practice.

• Start by learning how to make a better framework. Proper bucketing, proper hypotheses, answering the case questions. Most of the time, candidates make “analysis”-based frameworks which require over-explanation and are also very difficult to clearly explain. “Hypotheses”-based frameworks are a lot more direct and easy to explain even with basic English.
• Work towards practising how to best articulate your written-down frameworks into sentences. Since you are not a native English speaker - it is best to develop your own phrases that help you fill the framework properly.

The better your framework, and the better your practice to explain - the easier you can make it sound for the interviewer.

Please message me if you would like to become better and structuring and becoming more precise in its communication.

Hello Anon,

I've had the same feedback while casing during my first 0-10 case prep. I thought it would stick with me however it got a lot better with more practice. The more you practice you learn how to adjust what you think you should keep/leave out and hence you tend to cut it short after some time. 

My advice here is to get a lot more comfortable with cases and do a lot more prep than a typical candidate. This worked for me and around 30 cases in, I feel a lot more comfortable around words which helped me become better structured and brief.

Also, casing more with others help you pick up what they do differently so you could tune your case structure in the process.

Hi there,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• First of all, instead of sticking to a set amount of minutes for presenting the initial structure, I would highly advise you to only focus on presenting it in a precise manner. Some case study questions require more complex initial structures and, as such, need more time to present them.
• Moreover, to enhance the precision of your communication, practice the presentation of your initial structure multiple times as part of reviewing the case study, until it becomes precise. This repetition will sharpen your presentation skills and build your confidence.
• Lastly, remember that it is enough to touch on the specific aspects of the initial structure during your presentation. The detailed analyses of these aspects will come later in the case. There is no need to over-explain in this initial stage.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen