A simple structure for any communication where you need to land a point — presentations, memos, proposals, even important emails.

The structure

Situation — where we are. Establish the context your audience already knows and agrees with. This is common ground.

Complication — what changed, or what’s wrong. This creates tension. Without a complication, there’s no reason to act.

Question — what we need to decide. Often implicit, but useful to state clearly. “So the question is: how do we respond?”

Answer — what we should do. Your recommendation, supported by the logic that follows.

Why it works

Most weak communications skip straight from situation to answer. “Here’s the context, here’s what I think we should do.”

The complication is what earns the recommendation. It’s why anyone should care. Skip it and you’re just announcing — not persuading.

Variations

Answer first. For executive audiences, lead with the answer, then backfill the SCQ as justification. They want the recommendation upfront; the structure still applies underneath.

Implicit question. Sometimes the question is obvious from the complication. Don’t force it if it reads awkwardly.

Multiple complications. Complex situations might have several. Group them, or pick the most important one to lead with.

Example

Weak: “Our NPS has dropped 15 points. I recommend we invest in customer success.”

Stronger:

• S: We’ve grown 40% this year and expanded into three new segments.
• C: But NPS has dropped 15 points, and churn in the new segments is 2x our core business. We’re acquiring customers we can’t retain.
• Q: How do we fix retention before it undermines the growth?
• A: Invest in customer success for new segments — dedicated onboarding, health scoring, proactive outreach.

Same recommendation. The second version earns it.

See also: Vertical Logic for structuring the argument beneath the answer, Clear Writing for the mechanics.