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Communication Strategy

How to Make Your Message Stick: The What-So What-Now What Method

March 20, 2025•7 min read

In today's information-saturated world, getting your message to stand out and drive action is more challenging than ever. The What-So What-Now What method provides a simple yet powerful structure to ensure your communication is clear, relevant, and actionable.

The Challenge of Effective Communication

Studies show that people typically remember only 10% of what they hear in a presentation after just 48 hours. However, when information is structured in a way that connects facts to meaning and action, retention can increase to over 65%. This is where the What-So What-Now What method comes in.

The Three Essential Components:

  • What: Present the main topic, facts, or situation clearly
  • So What: Explain why it matters to the audience
  • Now What: Outline actionable next steps

Starting with a Clear "What"

The "What" component establishes the facts, data, or situation. This is where you present information objectively and clearly, without interpretation or opinion.

Keys to an effective "What" statement:

  • Clarity: Use simple, direct language
  • Specificity: Include concrete details and data
  • Objectivity: Present facts without judgment
  • Completeness: Include all relevant information
  • Conciseness: Avoid unnecessary details

Example "What" Statements:

For a project update:

"Our user authentication system is currently experiencing a 2-second delay during peak hours, affecting 30% of our users. This issue began three days ago following our latest deployment."

For a business presentation:

"Our company's customer retention rate has declined from 85% to 72% over the past six months. The most significant drops occurred in the small business and enterprise segments."

Creating a Compelling "So What"

The "So What" component transforms raw information into meaning. This is where you explain why the audience should care about what you've just told them.

"So What" best practices:

  • Relevance: Connect directly to audience interests and concerns
  • Impact: Explain consequences and implications
  • Context: Relate to broader goals or challenges
  • Emotion: Engage both logical and emotional reasoning
  • Contrast: Compare with alternatives or previous states

Example "So What" Statements:

For a project update:

"This delay is causing a 15% increase in cart abandonment rate during peak periods, potentially costing us $50,000 in monthly revenue. Additionally, our customer satisfaction scores have dropped 8 points, putting us below industry average for the first time in two years."

For a business presentation:

"This retention decline represents approximately $2.3 million in lost annual recurring revenue. If the trend continues at the current rate, we'll miss our annual revenue targets by 18% and may need to delay our planned expansion. Our competitors are maintaining retention rates above 80%, putting us at a growing disadvantage in the market."

Driving Action with "Now What"

The "Now What" component transforms understanding into action. This is where you outline clear next steps and recommendations.

Effective "Now What" elements:

  • Clarity: Provide specific, actionable recommendations
  • Ownership: Assign responsibility for each action
  • Timeline: Include deadlines and milestones
  • Resources: Identify what's needed to implement
  • Priorities: Distinguish between immediate and longer-term actions

Example "Now What" Statements:

For a project update:

"We've identified the bottleneck in our database queries. I propose implementing query caching and connection pooling, which we can complete within two weeks. We need approval for additional cloud resources and one sprint to implement these changes. In the meantime, we'll add a notification for users during peak hours and optimize the front-end to improve perceived performance."

For a business presentation:

"I recommend a three-part retention strategy: First, we need to implement an early warning system using our existing analytics to identify at-risk customers before they churn. Second, we should create a dedicated customer success team focused on our enterprise segment, where the financial impact is greatest. Third, we need to revise our onboarding process based on the exit interview feedback we've collected. I've prepared a detailed implementation plan with resource requirements and can have the warning system in place within 30 days."

Putting It All Together: Complete Examples

Example 1: Team Meeting Update

What: "Our team has completed 7 of the 10 planned features for the Q2 release. The remaining three features are currently behind schedule by an average of two weeks. Our test coverage has increased to 85%, but we've identified 12 new bugs that need to be addressed before release."

So What: "If we maintain our current pace, we'll miss our planned release date by approximately 10 days. This would push us into the holiday period, when deployments are frozen, potentially delaying the release until mid-January. This would impact the marketing campaign already scheduled for early January and could delay revenue recognition into the next quarter."

Now What: "I propose we prioritize the two features that have the highest customer impact and temporarily table the third feature for a point release in February. This approach would allow us to meet our original release date while delivering 90% of the expected value. We'll need to inform the product and marketing teams today so they can adjust messaging accordingly. I've already drafted a revised schedule and can share it immediately after this meeting for feedback."

Example 2: Executive Presentation

What: "Our employee engagement survey results show that while overall satisfaction remains high at 78%, we've seen a 12-point drop in scores related to professional development opportunities. This decline is most pronounced among mid-level employees with 3-5 years of tenure, where the score has fallen to 61%, well below industry benchmarks."

So What: "This engagement gap presents three significant risks to our organization. First, our turnover in this critical mid-level group has already increased by 7% this quarter, representing a potential annual cost of $1.2M in lost productivity and replacement expenses. Second, this is our primary talent pool for future leadership positions, so this disengagement threatens our succession planning. Third, we're seeing correlated declines in innovation metrics from these teams, potentially impacting our product roadmap."

Now What: "I recommend a three-pronged approach to address this challenge. First, we should immediately launch a targeted career pathing program for our mid-level talent, with clear advancement criteria and quarterly check-ins. Second, we need to expand our learning budget by approximately $200K to provide more specialized training opportunities. Third, I propose creating a cross-functional rotation program to give these employees exposure to different areas of the business. We can implement the first two recommendations within 60 days, and I've prepared a detailed budget and implementation plan for your review."

Adapting the Method for Different Communication Contexts

For Emails and Written Communication

  • Use clear section headers or bold text to distinguish between the three components
  • Keep the "What" section brief and factual
  • Consider bullet points for the "Now What" section to emphasize action items
  • Place the most urgent information at the beginning

For Presentations

  • Consider dedicating specific slides to each component
  • Use visual cues (colors, icons) to signal transitions between sections
  • Include more supporting details in the "What" section
  • Make the "Now What" interactive when possible

For Impromptu Speaking

  • Use transitional phrases to signal movement between components
  • Keep each section concise and focused
  • Emphasize the "So What" to maintain audience engagement
  • End with a clear, memorable action statement

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

  • Information overload: Including too much detail in the "What" section
  • Missing the "So What": Failing to explain why the information matters to this specific audience
  • Vague next steps: Providing "Now What" recommendations that lack specificity or accountability
  • Order confusion: Mixing up the sequence or jumping between components
  • Audience mismatch: Not adjusting the depth and focus for different stakeholders

Practice with Orratio

The What-So What-Now What method is simple in concept but powerful in application. Like any communication skill, it improves with deliberate practice. With Orratio, you can:

  • Practice applying this structure to various speaking scenarios
  • Receive AI-powered feedback on your delivery and content
  • Refine your ability to connect information to meaning and action
  • Build confidence in your communication effectiveness

Ready to make your message stick?

Start practicing with the What-So What-Now What method using Orratio's AI-powered speaking practice.

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