executive-deck

Executive deck

A reporting deck is read, not performed. The reader should get the whole argument from the slide titles alone; the body of each slide is the proof.

Before building

1. Decide the single answer the deck gives. Write it as one sentence. That sentence is the title of slide 2 and the backbone of the whole deck.
2. Read every attached or referenced file fully. Figures, names and dates come only from there. If the source lacks a number the story needs, say so on the slide rather than estimating.
3. Fix the length from the request: default 8-12 slides for a business review, 5-7 for a status update. Fewer slides with a clear line beat more slides with everything.

Structure (pyramid, answer first)

1. Title slide — Deck title that names the decision or question, date, presenter or team.
2. Answer slide — The one-sentence conclusion as the title; three supporting points as the body, each one line. Nothing else.
3. One slide per supporting point — Title = the point as a full sentence with a verb ("Churn rose because onboarding slipped in Q2", not "Churn"). Body = the evidence: one chart or one table or 3-5 bullets, never all three. Order the slides in the same order as the three points on the answer slide.
4. Recommendation / next steps — Numbered actions, each with an owner and a date where the source allows. Title states what is being asked ("Approve the Q4 onboarding rebuild").
5. Risks or open questions — Only if real. Short.
6. Appendix — Detail tables, methodology, backup charts. Nothing in the appendix may be needed to follow the main story.

Slide rules

• Every title is a complete sentence stating a conclusion. If a title could sit on any deck ("Overview", "Results"), rewrite it.
• One message per slide. If a slide needs an "and", split it.
• Bullets: at most 5, each at most 12 words, parallel grammar, no sub-bullets. A bullet that needs a second line is a sentence for the notes, not a bullet.
• Numbers on slides carry unit and period. The source goes in a small footer line on that slide, not in a bullet.
• Charts: one series highlighted, the rest muted; title the chart with its takeaway, not its subject. Prefer bar for comparison, line for trend; no pie with more than 4 slices.
• Speaker notes hold the narration and the caveats, in full sentences. Write them for every content slide.
• Keep the deck's language consistent with the request and sources.

Turning a document into a deck

• Extract the document's conclusion first, then its three strongest supports; everything else is appendix or dropped.
• Never paste paragraphs onto slides. Each paragraph becomes at most one bullet, or a figure.
• Preserve the document's figures exactly; do not round further than the source does.

Design

Stay inside the app's default theme and layouts. Do not set custom fonts, colors or sizes unless the user asks for a specific look. Consistency across slides matters more than any single slide looking rich.

Before you say done

• Read only the titles, top to bottom: they must form a coherent argument that ends in the recommendation.
• The three points on the answer slide match the following slide titles in wording and order.
• No slide has more than one chart/table, or more than 5 bullets.
• Every content slide has notes.
• Tell the user the storyline in three lines and list anything you could not source.