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Chapter 21: The Recommended Deck-Building Process

Chapter 21: The Recommended Deck-Building Process

Case teams often build presentations in slide order.

  • They start with the title slide.
  • Then the situation.
  • Then analysis.
  • Then alternatives.
  • Then recommendation.

That sounds logical, but it can create a problem: the team begins producing slides before it knows exactly what the argument needs to be. A stronger process builds the communication architecture first, then turns that architecture into slides. Use the following process as a guide. Adapt it to the timing, rules, and characteristics of the competition.

Step 1: Decipher

Understand the case and communication challenge. Before building anything, establish:

  • who the audience is;

  • what decision they need to make;

  • what the central problem is;

  • what they care about;

  • how much time you have;

  • what evidence will matter most.

Ask what kind of presentation this case requires. This keeps you from defaulting to a memorised template.

Step 2: Define the Core Message

What do we want the judges to believe?

  • Complete: At the end of this presentation, we want the judges to believe that __________.
  • For example: Customer retention, not acquisition, is the primary driver of declining profitability, and a targeted loyalty strategy is the most attractive response.

That core message becomes the centre of the deck.

Step 3: Build the Story

Create the logical sequence.

  • Use the communication structures introduced earlier: Situation → Complication → Question → Answer.
  • Then: Proof → Execution → Impact.
  • Or simplify it to: Problem → Insight → Decision → Action → Value.

The exact sequence may change. The important point is that each section should create the need for the next.

Step 4: Storyboard

Write one sentence for every slide. Do not design yet. Write the takeaway. For example:

  1. High-value customer churn is driving the decline in profitability.

  2. Deteriorating customer experiences cause the decline.

  3. Retention offers greater economic value than additional acquisition.

  4. Three credible strategic alternatives exist.

  5. The targeted loyalty strategy provides the strongest fit.

  6. The strategy generates positive value under all three scenarios.

  7. A pilot-first approach limits execution risk.

  8. This strategy restores profitable growth.

Read the titles in sequence. Do they tell the story? If not, fix the story before building slides.

Step 5: Identify the Evidence

What proves each message? For every storyboard sentence, ask:

  • What fact supports it?

  • What analysis supports it?

  • What calculation supports it?

  • What research supports it?

  • What visual would make it easiest to understand?

For example:

  • Message
    • Retention offers greater economic value than additional acquisition.
  • Evidence
    • customer lifetime value;
    • acquisition cost;
    • churn rate;
    • incremental contribution.

Now the slide has a reason to exist.

Step 6: Build the Slides

Now open PowerPoint. Only after the:

  • audience;

  • core message;

  • story;

  • slide messages;

  • evidence

are clear should the team begin visual production. This makes slide building much faster because you already know what the slide needs to accomplish. The question changes from "What can we put here?" to "What is the clearest way to communicate this message?"

Build in Parallel but Integrate First

Competition time may require several teammates to build slides simultaneously. That is fine. But divide the work after the team agrees on:

  • the storyboard;

  • recommendation wording;

  • key terminology;

  • anchor numbers;

  • visual conventions.

Otherwise, parallel work can create four different decks that need to be stitched together later.

  • Think: Align → Divide → Build → Reintergrate
  • Not: Divide → Build → Discover We Disagree
Step 7: Edit

Remove anything that doesn't earn its place. This may be the most important step. Ask:

  • Do we need this slide?

  • Do we need this chart?

  • Do we need this bullet?

  • Do we need this number?

  • Does this evidence change the decision?

  • Could this live in Q&A instead?

Remember the deck becomes stronger not only through what you add, but through what you remove.

Edit for Time Before Speaking Faster

If the presentation is too long, do not tell everyone to speak faster. Return to the deck. Ask which content is least important to the argument?

Cut:

  • repeated explanations;

  • low-value background;

  • unnecessary analysis;

  • secondary numbers;

  • redundant visuals.

Protect:

  • the problem;

  • key insights;

  • recommendation;

  • proof;

  • implementation;

  • impact.

Step 8: Practice

Deliver the presentation. Time may not always allow a full rehearsal during competition, but practise as much as circumstances permit. Practice reveals problems that PowerPoint cannot. You may discover:

  • a slide takes too long to explain;

  • a transition feels unnatural;

  • the financial story is unclear;

  • two slides repeat the same idea;

  • a chart is hard to interpret while speaking;

  • the conclusion arrives too late.

The deck may look finished and still not be presentable.

Step 9: Test

Have someone unfamiliar with the case watch it. When competition rules and time allow, this is one of the best tests available. Do not explain anything beforehand. Then ask:

  • What was the problem?

  • What did we recommend?

  • Why did we recommend it?

  • What evidence was most convincing?

  • Where did you get lost?

  • What do you still not believe?

Don't ask only: "Did you like it?" You are testing understanding, not popularity.

Step 10: Refine

Fix where the audience gets lost. Use feedback to improve:

  • story;

  • slide order;

  • wording;

  • visual hierarchy;

  • speaking;

  • transitions;

  • timing.

Then test again where possible. Deck building is iterative: Build → Deliver → Observe → Adjust.  The deck is not finished because the slides exist. It is finished when they communicate effectively.

Put together, the process becomes:

  1. Decipher: What does this communication challenge require?
  2. Core Message: What must the judges believe?
  3. Story: What sequence makes that logic clear?
  4. Storyboard: What is the message of every slide?
  5. Evidence: What proves each message?
  6. Build: What visual communicates it best?
  7. Edit: What can we remove?
  8. Practice: Can we deliver it?
  9. Test: Can someone else follow it?
  10. Refine: Where do we need to improve?

That is a far stronger process than "Open PowerPoint → Start making slides."

Discover Your MAD Skills Principle

Build the presentation in thinking order not slide order.

The slides are the output; the thinking comes first.

The Bottom Line

A strong deck is built through: Decipher → Message → Story → Storyboard → Evidence → Build → Edit → Practice → Test → Refine. Adapt the process when time or competition rules require it, but preserve the logic: Know what you are trying to communicate before deciding how it should look.

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