What, So What, Now What

How many times you sit in a meeting, listening to a speaker or reading a document, after 5 minutes you wonder

“What are they trying to say?” “Why is it relevant to me?” “What is gonna happen next? Is there a plan?”

You are not alone!

Amazon encourages a straightforward framework for communication I find very useful: "What, So What, Now What." This style delivers a crisp message that packs a punch, offers context, and suggests a future course of action—all in less than 5 minutes.

What: Start with the Punchline

This is your headline, your "drop the mic" moment. It's a quantifiable, undeniable piece of information that makes everyone sit up and take notice. For example:

"On Oct 1, 2023, we dropped p99 latency of API abc by 80%, from x to y."

That's a result listeners can't ignore. You've got your audience's attention.

A common pitfall in “what” is weak punchline with over abstraction and weasel words. The presentaters throw lofty words like scalability, extensibility, “significantly” without substance.

Give the data, show, don’t tell, delight your listeners, shock them, get their attention is the essence of a good punch line.

So What: Context Matters

So you've captured interest, but why should anyone care? "So What" is your opportunity to relate the "What" to the bigger picture. Continuing from our example:

"API abc is the most used API in our service, being called 10 MM times per second on average across the globe. Customers use it in latency sensitive workflows. Now customers can call API abc on higher TPS and lower latency because of the improvements and save cost by up to 20%."

Now What: The Next Steps

You've wowed your audience with the "What," and convinced them of its importance in the "So What." Now, it's time to direct this energy into a productive channel. Lay out the future steps or expected actions:

"We will apply similar technologies to other popular APIs to improve their latency."

The "What, So What, Now What" framework aims for effective, efficient communication in today's fast-paced work environments. It cuts through the clutter, quickly keeps everyone on the same page, and most importantly.

When I tried this framework with my reports, often they would struggle to find the punchline or complete the speech in 5 minutes.

“I need more time to explain the details …” they complained.

“No you don’t. People who need the details will seek them out.” I usually say. “You need more practice to condense your message into what, so what and now what!”