How to Create Slides That Suit Your Superiors: 11 Tips

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Personal Development, Leading & Managing Section | 2

How to Create Slides That Suit Your Superiors: 11 Tips

By Nancy Duarte | MIT Sloan Management Review | April 01, 2024 

Extractive Summary of the Article | Listen

The author recently interviewed 20 of her customers, all in senior roles at Fortune 100 companies, and asked them their biggest pain point in presenting to higher-ups and even colleagues. What she heard consistently was that it can feel like Goldilocks bouncing from one option to the next, testing to figure out what’s “just right.” Does the audience want deep reports? Sparse slides? Something in between? Like … what?  Before you make your next proposal or request of the executive team, use this list of 11 tips for your next set of slides as a guide. 

Four aspects that you can consider the building blocks — the basics you should never proceed without.

1. Start with an executive summary. Begin the slide deck with a tight executive summary that follows a three-act structure: stating the current realities, clearly state the problem or opportunity your idea addresses and its potential impact, and explain how your recommendation solves the problem or exploits the opportunity and the next steps you’re proposing.
2. Have a logical organization. The arc of the deck — the package from beginning to end — should make sense. If your audience reads only the headline of every slide, the order should be coherent and make most of the case for you. The content below each slide’s headline must support the statement made in the title.
3. Make it skimmable. Help your audience to quickly grasp the point without getting bogged down in details. Create a clear visual hierarchy. Guide the reader’s eye through the content: Use bold headings, bullet points, and numbered lists to break down information into digestible pieces. Highlight key takeaways or conclusions in a different color or font size to draw attention to these critical points.
4. Focus on concise insights. Every slide should serve a purpose and contribute directly to the decision-making process. Distill complex information. 

Five Preferences to Confirm With the Person You Want to Reach:  If you haven’t yet, start by asking the person you’re presenting to what they generally prefer. They probably know themselves well but have not been asked to articulate how they like to receive information.

1. Ask how dense is too dense. Some executives prefer detailed slides with comprehensive data. Others favor a more high-level approach. 
2. Confirm the delivery format and timing. Some execs like information presented to them. Others prefer a pre-read of the material followed by a discussion.  If your audience didn’t review your material in advance, ask at the top of the meeting whether they would like you to present it or would prefer to read through it and then discuss it. 
3. Find out how much data visualization they prefer. When execs can see what you’re saying, they often can better understand the impact of your idea. Does the exec want to understand exact numbers? Bar charts allow them to move their eyes across a series of specifics. Does the exec want to know the shape of a trend over time? Line charts can show the pattern.
4. Identify which details need spelling out. How well do the people you’re presenting to know the landscape and function of the company and products you’re talking about?  Either eliminate internal jargon and acronyms or unpack those bits, especially if your proposal deeply involves expertise outside of the executives’ domain.
5. Ask whether appendices will be useful. When you’re organizing a presentation, you often troll data, read through complicated reports, and even hire external experts to figure out what’s best for the company. Do your execs want access to that supporting data? You can add a document to the end of the presentation as an appendix to show all of the data and source material.

Two Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills:  Getting materials in place is the biggest step. They will be your best tools for selling your ideas. But there are two extra areas to pay attention to as a presenter: how you handle questions and how you use every experience to improve (ask for feedback).

3 key takeaways from the article

1. Giving presentation – it can feel like Goldilocks bouncing from one option to the next, testing to figure out what’s “just right.” Does the audience want deep reports? Sparse slides? Something in between? Like … what?  Four aspects that you can consider the building blocks — the basics you should never proceed without: start with an executive summary, have a logical organization, make it skimmable, and focus on concise insights.
2. Five Preferences to Confirm With the Person You Want to Reach: ask how dense is too dense, confirm the delivery format and timing, find out how much data visualization they prefer, identify which details need spelling out, and ask whether appendices will be useful.
3. Two Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills: anticipate questions and practice how to handle and how you use every experience to improve (ask for feedback).

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Topics:  Personal Development, Leadership, Presentation Skills, Communication