A senior partner at McKinsey once gave me a piece of advice that completely changed how I approach high-stakes meetings. And how you can use it in MBB interviews.

At the time, I was preparing for a client pitch that, if successful, could lead to + 19 mn USD in revenues to the firm I worked at.

I was trying to prepare for everything:

- every possible question

- every possible objection

- every possible scenario

My mentor, former senior McKinsey partner, looked at me and said:

“Alexandra, the goal is not to prepare for every possible direction the conversation could take. The goal is to know the 3 key messages you want the client to leave the room with. Because regardless of what they ask, you can always come back to those 3 messages.”

That advice stayed with me for years. And interestingly, it applies just as much to recruiting as it does to client work. Many candidates approach interviews the wrong way:

- trying to memorize hundreds of answers

- overcomplicating frameworks

- preparing for every possible question

But the strongest candidates usually do something much simpler. They know the few core messages they want interviewers to remember about them.

For example:

“This person shows exceptional ownership.”

“This person communicates like a consultant already.”

“This person has unusual leadership maturity for their level.”

“This person is intellectually sharp but also client-ready.”

Once those messages are clear, your stories, networking conversations, and interview answers become much more powerful and consistent.

Because great communication is not about saying everything.

It is about making sure the important things are remembered.