Elevate your message for impact with the “So What”

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COMMUNICATION

DECISION & PROBLEM SOLVING

FRAMEWORK

SOWHAT

SOWHAT Six lenses for extracting the key takeaway

Calibrate
S	Stakeholders	Who are the stakeholders, and why is this relevant to them? Consider the expectations and impact on all involved parties.
O	Objectives	What is the objective or goal tied to this information? Connect it to broader goals or strategies to provide contextual and hierarchized takeaway.
Investigate
W	Wins	What are the wins, benefits or opportunities? Highlight the positive outcomes or advantages, and reasons leading to them.
H	Hurdles	What are the challenges, obstacles, potential downsides or risks? Highlight possible issues and root cause that could obstruct success.
A	Actions	What specific actions should be taken? Provide clear next steps or recommendations.
T	Timing	Why is the timing important? Explain the significance of when this information or action is relevant.

EXAMPLE

WHY IT MATTERS

When summarizing information or presenting results, merely stating the facts is often insufficient to drive action.

Decision makers can become frustrated when they do not know what to do with information that required effort to obtain.

By eliciting the “So What”, top-performing advisory roles (analysts, consultants, experts, etc.) can best support decision making and increase their impact. The SOWHAT framework provides key simple steps to systematically deepen insights.

WHAT TO DO

Ask yourself “so what” after each fact you observe and consider communicating.

Calibrate your ”so what” to your audience by understanding who the stakeholders are, their expectations and their end objective.

Investigate the key takeaway, considering whether the facts are directionally good or bad, involve risks, prompt actions and how all this relate to timing.

Communicate your insights using the Pyramid Principle.

NOTES

While the concept of the “so what” has been explored in specialized literature, the originality of Seesoc & Co’s SOWHAT framework lies in its mnemonic design, which aids in recalling the key aspects to consider when processing information in a business context.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. Random House.
Hamilton, C. (2020). Communicating for results: A guide for business and the professions (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Mager, D. (2015). The 4 primary principles of communication. Psychology Today.
Minto, B. (2009). The pyramid principle: Logic in writing and thinking (3rd ed.). Financial Times/Prentice Hall.

CITE

Sissoko, T. (2024). Elevate your message for impact with the “So What”. Seesoc & Co.