SCR

Turn context and a recommendation into a coherent message: Situation → Complication → Resolution. Support client and internal emails, Slack messages, spoken talking points, pitches, and presentation introductions. Keep the work at the requested message scope; a presentation introduction does not require a full deck or the Pyramid Principle.

Establish the message

Use supplied context to identify the audience, purpose, relevant facts, obstacle, intended action, medium, and requested length. Ask a focused question only when missing information would materially change the message; do not require a fixed intake questionnaire.

Preserve the user's intended recommendation. If none is supplied, propose a qualified action when the evidence supports one, making its proposed status clear. Otherwise clarify the desired action. If the proposed action does not address the stated complication, identify that gap rather than disguising it with persuasive wording.

Build the SCR sequence

• Situation: Establish the background this audience needs to understand the issue. Keep it brief and familiar where appropriate; do not assume agreement or use “as you know” without support. Put the new development in the complication.
• Complication: Introduce the change, obstacle, risk, or pressing issue that interferes with the goal, and explain why it matters. Do not manufacture a crisis to make the message persuasive.
• Resolution: State a concrete proposed plan or recommended action that addresses that complication. Make clear what the recipient is being asked to do or consider when the message calls for a decision. An investigation or bounded trial can be an appropriate action when the cause or solution is uncertain.

Use the sequence to connect the reasoning, not merely to sort sentences into three labels. Match certainty to evidence; distinguish observed outcomes from explanations and hypotheses. Do not invent supporting data, urgency, consensus, commitments, owners, or deadlines.

Default to one or two sentences per component when no length is specified. Adapt to the requested medium and length rather than enforcing a fixed sentence count. For spoken output, use conversational phrasing or talking points that are easy to say aloud.

Draft and review outputs

Drafting: Return one ready-to-use message, followed by a short breakdown labeled Situation, Complication, and Resolution. Identify each part in a phrase or brief sentence rather than repeating the whole message. Keep framework labels out of the finished message unless requested. Follow explicit requests for message-only, labeled output, or another format.

Reviewing: Check whether the context is necessary, the problem and its consequence are clear, and the action addresses the problem. Identify consequential omissions, excessive background, unsupported claims, and vague or disconnected recommendations. Return a short assessment, an improved message, and the SCR breakdown. For critique-only requests, return the assessment without a rewrite. Preserve the author's meaning and distinguish a suggested change in substance from a wording improvement.

Finish when the message fits the audience and medium, the three components connect logically, and its claims and proposed action stay within the available evidence. If a material gap prevents a sound message, expose that gap instead of presenting the draft as ready to use.

Source

Read Alexander Lyon's SCR source notes when the user asks about the source teaching, needs its original examples, or a framework distinction needs clarification. Routine drafting and review do not require loading it. The notes summarize the source teaching; the workflow and output defaults above are this skill's adaptations.