Communication Best Practices

These best practices come from CTA coaches, successful candidates, and review board judges. They cover five areas: delivery, diagrams, Q&A handling, time management, and body language. An anti-patterns section at the end covers what NOT to do.

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Presentation Delivery

1. Lead With the Business, Not the Technology

Open by restating the business problem and your high-level approach. Judges want to see that you understand WHY before you explain HOW.

Good Opening	Bad Opening
”The client needs to unify 3 BUs with different sales processes while maintaining regulatory compliance in EMEA."	"I am going to use Sales Cloud with a multi-org strategy and MuleSoft for integration.”

2. Tell a Story, Don’t Read a Checklist

Build your presentation as a narrative arc:

1. Context - restate the business scenario in your own words (shows comprehension)
2. Challenges - identify the 2-3 hardest architectural problems
3. Approach - your overall design philosophy for this scenario
4. Solution walk-through - walk through diagrams, explaining decisions
5. Trade-offs - acknowledge what you traded away and why
6. Risks & mitigations - show that you have thought about failure modes
7. Summary - one-sentence recap per domain

Figure 1. Seven-stage narrative arc for the CTA presentation. Each stage builds on the prior one, moving from business context to a closing domain sweep that confirms full scoring coverage.

3. Use the “Because” Framework

Attach “because” followed by a scenario-specific reason to every decision statement.

Weak	Strong
”I chose MuleSoft for integration"	"I chose MuleSoft because the scenario has 6 external systems needing shared transformations, and the client’s IT team has MuleSoft expertise"
"I recommend a single org"	"I recommend a single org because all 3 BUs share customers and need unified reporting, and the data volume is within governor limits”

4. Pace Yourself

• Aim for 40-43 minutes of your 45-minute slot, leaving 2-5 minutes for summary
• Practice with a timer until pacing is natural
• If falling behind, skip detail on lower-risk domains and summarize
• Never rush the conclusion - the “7-domain sweep” is your safety net

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Diagram Creation

5. Design for Readability, Not Beauty

Judges view your diagrams on a shared screen. If they cannot read it, it does not count.

Rule	Rationale
Maximum 10-12 boxes per diagram	More than 12 becomes unreadable
Use color coding consistently	One color per system or layer (not decorative)
Label every arrow	Unlabeled arrows force judges to guess
Include a legend	Especially for color codes and line styles
Use Lucidchart’s Salesforce shape library	Shows familiarity with standard notation

6. One Diagram, One Message

Each diagram should communicate a single architectural concept. Do not pack the system landscape, data model, and integration flow into one mega-diagram.

7. Show the Error Path

On integration diagrams, show what happens when the happy path fails. A single “error” arrow labeled “retry 3x, then DLQ” signals maturity.

8. Data Model Discipline

• Show only architecturally significant objects (not every custom object)
• Distinguish lookup vs master-detail vs junction
• Show external system objects and the integration boundary
• Include record volume estimates for LDV objects

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Q&A Handling

9. Listen Fully Before Responding

Let the judge finish their question. Interrupting or answering a different question signals nervousness and erodes rapport.

10. Restate the Question

“If I understand correctly, you are asking about [rephrased question].” This buys you thinking time and confirms you understood.

11. Structure Your Answer

Apply a consistent answer framework:

1. Direct answer - one sentence
2. Reasoning - “because [scenario-specific reason]”
3. Trade-off - “the trade-off is [what you sacrifice]”
4. Mitigation - “which I address by [mitigation]”

Figure 2. Four-part answer framework for handling judge questions during Q&A. The cycle repeats as follow-up questions arrive, keeping each response structured and concise.

12. It Is OK to Say “I Don’t Know”

Judges respect honesty over bluffing. If you do not know something, say: “I am not certain about the specific [detail], but my approach would be to [reasonable strategy].” Then bridge to related knowledge you do have.

13. Watch for Hints

Judges sometimes embed guidance in their questions. “Have you considered [X]?” usually means they think you should have. Treat it as a gift, not an attack.

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Time Management

14. Set Hard Phase Timers

Set hard timers on your phone or laptop during the 180-minute prep phase:

Phase	Timer	Action if Over
Read & analyze	20 min	Stop reading, start designing
Solution design	60 min	Freeze design, start diagramming
Diagrams	50 min	Stop adding detail, start slides
Slides / narrative	30 min	Stop polishing, do final review
Review & buffer	20 min	Last chance to fix critical gaps

15. The 80/20 Rule for Diagrams

Put 80% of diagram time into the first 3 diagrams (the “Big 3”) and 20% into everything else. A polished Big 3 scores higher than 6 rough diagrams.

16. Prep Your Q&A Notes

Set aside 5-10 minutes of prep time to jot down anticipated questions with short-form answers. Judges commonly probe error handling, data migration approach, security model justification, and governor limits awareness.

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Body Language and Presence

17. Camera and Audio Setup

• Position camera at eye level (not looking down)
• Use a headset or quality microphone (audio clarity matters)
• Ensure adequate lighting on your face
• Close all notifications and unnecessary applications
• Test screen sharing before the exam

18. Maintain Eye Contact with the Camera

Look at the camera, not the screen, when making key points. This gives the impression of direct eye contact with the judges.

19. Use Deliberate Gestures

When walking through diagrams, treat your cursor as a pointer. Move it deliberately to the area you are discussing, and avoid random cursor movement.

20. Manage Nervous Energy

• Take a deliberate breath before answering each Q&A question
• Slow your speaking pace when you notice yourself speeding up
• Keep water nearby and take sips during natural pauses
• Remember: the judges want you to pass - they are evaluating, not attacking

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Anti-Patterns: What NOT to Do

The mistakes below cost candidates the most points, based on feedback from CTA coaches and judges.

Anti-Pattern	Why It Fails	What to Do Instead
Reading slides aloud	Shows no understanding beyond what is written	Use slides as visual anchors, explain in your own words
Technology-first design	Signals solution looking for a problem	Start with business requirements, then select technology
Ignoring domains	Missing even one domain risks failing that domain’s section	Use the 7-domain sweep at conclusion
”Enterprise best practice”	Not a justification - every scenario is different	Cite the specific scenario requirement that drives the choice
Over-engineering	Complexity without justification signals inexperience	Simplest solution that meets requirements; justify every added layer
Defensive posture in Q&A	Makes judges probe harder	Welcome questions, treat them as collaboration
No error handling	Signals happy-path-only thinking	Show error path on every integration diagram
Monologue answers	Loses judges’ attention	Keep answers to 60-90 seconds, then check for follow-up
Inconsistent diagrams	Different terminology across diagrams confuses judges	Use the same system names, colors, and abbreviations everywhere
Clock panic	Rushing the last 10 minutes undermines everything before it	Set phase timers and respect them

The presentation killer

The single biggest anti-pattern is failing to address all 7 domains. Even a brief mention in the conclusion (“For governance, I recommend a CoE model with a CAB for release management”) beats silence. Judges score each domain independently. A zero in any domain can fail you regardless of strength elsewhere.

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Cross-Domain Connections

• Review Board Presentation & Q&A: detailed presentation structure and Q&A strategies
• Review Board Artifacts & Deliverables: what artifacts to create and how
• Communication Decision Guides: flowcharts for time allocation, diagram priority, Q&A response
• Review Board Complete Guide: prep strategies from CTAs

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Sources

• CTA coaches (Andrew Hart, Mike Gill, Apex Hours panel)
• Ladies Be Architects community guidance
• FlowRepublic CTA coaching framework
• CTA Gang of Four mock board feedback
• Successful CTA candidates’ retrospectives (2024-2026)
• Nancy Duarte, “Slide:ology” (presentation design principles)