What You Need to
do to Win a Case Study Competition
For JDC, the time/marks breakdown is:
20 minute presentation 30% of total marks
3 hour preparation 70% of total marks
The presentation is more important, since marks are given out right after the presentation, whereas with the content they are given during the presentation, the question period, and also after the team is done.
Very important: the ability to explain content on the slides will determine winners. I.e. Simplifying slide content and explaining it to the judges.
Structure:
-Begin as a story to explain the situation.
-Move into the problem when the situation is clear.
-Show that you are there, and that you understand the issue.
-e.g. “There were several problems at this point…”
-Keep the audience in suspense.
In story outline:
1. Set out characters
2. Set out situation
3. Set out problem
In explaining the problem, if information is sufficient, explain:
Business Model – The Engine of the Business
-Make a pictogram to explain it.
-Show visually where the problem is, i.e. “This is where the model is broken.”
-See the Business Model Generator at http://www.dramatispersonae.org/bmg/
Agenda Slide
-Instead of agenda slide, use a title slide which says the case name, as well as:
-Part A: The Story
-Part B: The Issues
-Part C: The Solutions
-Part D: The Epilogue
-Smile!
-Include some theatrics
-Emphasize basic numbers of the business
-Emphasize important points, i.e. “This is what is driving this business.”
-Make sure that hand-offs are clean. Make a clean segue from one speaker to the next.
-Bilingual emphasis on key points is a good idea.
-Expect some questions in French but answer in English.