“So what” communication for PM’s
2 tools. 1 framework. Highly effective communication.
Communication is a PM’s bread and butter. In a survey by Lenny Rachitsky asking for the most essential PM skills while interviewing, communication took the #1 spot¹. This isn’t surprising: a PM’s core skill is influencing without authority, and you can’t do that without communicating well.
If there’s one tool that’s helped me become amazing at this skill, it’s the “So what” framework. The framework is so simple and yet so powerful, that I’ve started to think you can’t grow as a PM without it — in fact, it’s the one consistent piece of advice I’ve received from multiple mentors over my career. Here’s a quick guide to the framework, and where/ how to use it.
What’s the So What framework?
In essence, everything you write/ present should inherently answer the question “So what” for your audience.
It’s not novel, and is actually part of the 3-step Driscoll model of reflection, consisting of “What? So what? Now what?” as three stages of analyzing and learning from experiences². For me, the “So what” part is the crucial piece enabling a shared…
