[03] The Golden Rule of Slide Creation

Crafting a Cohesive Presentation: Making Each Slide Part of the Story

Creating a powerful presentation involves more than just a series of slides. Each slide should serve as a crucial part of your overall narrative. Here’s how to ensure your slides tell a compelling story.

The Anatomy of an Effective Slide

Each slide is composed of three key elements:

• Key Message (Action Title): This is the main takeaway, placed prominently at the top of the slide (highlighted in red).
• Body (Slide Body): The bulk of the slide, containing all the supporting content for the key message (highlighted in blue).
• Footnote: Additional notes or references, positioned at the bottom of the slide (highlighted in green).

The key message of each slide should be a pivotal part of your overall story. To integrate these key messages seamlessly into the narrative, follow this essential tip:

Arrange all slides in order and read only the key messages from start to finish. They should collectively align with the SCR (Situation, Complication, Resolution) storyline of your entire presentation.

A Perfect Example: McKinsey's USPS Future Business Model

One exemplary case of this approach is McKinsey's USPS Future Business Model project. In this presentation, even without reading the body content, the key messages alone convey a clear and coherent story.

USPS Future Business Model Table of Contents

Each key message in the presentation aligns perfectly with the SCR structure, which you can see reflected in the table of contents.

• Key Message 1
• Key Message 2
• Key Message 3
• Key Message 4
• ...

Supporting Your Key Messages with the Slide Body

While the key message drives the storyline, the slide body provides essential support. Each slide’s key message should present a claim, opinion, or significant finding. For instance, in McKinsey’s USPS presentation, they predict that reducing labor hours will become increasingly challenging for USPS.

The slide body should offer the data, materials, and information that underpin the key message. It’s important that the slide body doesn’t simply repeat the key message or introduce new points. Instead, every element of the slide body should reinforce the key message. Any supplementary information should be reserved for the appendix at the end of your presentation.

The Golden Rule of Slide Creation

The fundamental rule for crafting each slide is simple: Place one key message in the header, and ensure all content in the slide body supports this key message.

When you view your presentation as a whole, it should appear seamless and straightforward. This clarity and cohesion are the hallmarks of an effective presentation. 🫡

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that each slide contributes meaningfully to your overall narrative, making your presentation not just a collection of slides, but a powerful storytelling tool.