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PART VI: Slide Design

PART VI: Slide Design

A slide can contain the right message and the right visual and still fail if the audience cannot process it quickly. Case competition slides are viewed under difficult conditions. Judges are simultaneously:

  • looking at the slide;

  • listening to the presenter;

  • thinking about your argument;

  • taking notes;

  • evaluating your recommendation;

  • and preparing questions.

Your slides should make that job easier, not harder. Part VI focuses on two principles:

  1. Design for the person sitting furthest from the screen.

  2. Show only what the audience needs at that moment.

The objective is not to create the most beautiful deck in the competition. Good slide design makes good thinking easier to understand.

Chapter 11: Build for the Back Row

A slide that looks perfectly readable on your laptop may be almost impossible to read from the back of a presentation room. That creates a simple design rule: Don't design for your screen. Design for your audience. Your slides need to communicate quickly and from a distance. Avoid:

  • tiny text;

  • long paragraphs;

  • complicated tables;

  • excessive footnotes;

  • cluttered charts;

  • unnecessary decoration;

  • overly precise numbers;

  • and anything that forces the judge to squint.

If the judges are trying to read your slide, they are probably not fully listening to you.

The Slide Has Two Communicators

Every presentation has two things communicating simultaneously:

THE SLIDE

Shows:

  • the message;

  • the evidence;

  • the visual;

  • the important numbers.

THE PRESENTER

Provides:

  • interpretation;

  • context;

  • explanation;

  • emphasis;

  • connection.

These two should complement each other. They should not compete. If your slide contains every sentence you plan to say, the audience has a choice: Do I read or do I listen? Don't force them to make that choice.

Reduce the Cognitive Load

Every slide asks the audience to process information. Consider what happens when a new slide appears. The judge must quickly determine:

  1. What am I looking at?

  2. Where should I look first?

  3. What does this chart show?

  4. Which number matters?

  5. What is the presenter saying?

  6. How does this connect to the previous slide?

  7. Why does this matter to the recommendation?

That is a significant cognitive task. Good design reduces the effort required to answer those questions. You can reduce cognitive load through:

  • fewer words;

  • clear hierarchy;

  • simple visuals;

  • consistent formatting;

  • meaningful whitespace;

  • clear labels;

  • logical sequencing;

  • selective emphasis.

The easier the slide is to process, the more attention the audience can devote to your argument.

Design for Distance

Before finalising the deck, move away from the screen. Can you still read:

  • the title?

  • the chart labels?

  • the important numbers?

  • the axes?

  • the key callouts?

If not, neither may the judges. This becomes particularly important with:

  • financial tables;

  • implementation plans;

  • alternative matrices;

  • sensitivity analyses;

  • market maps.

Teams often try to squeeze too much information into these slides because the underlying analysis contains significant detail. Remember: The judge does not need to see your spreadsheet. The judge needs to understand what the spreadsheet discovered.

Don't Shrink. Simplify.

One of the most dangerous PowerPoint habits is solving an overcrowded slide by reducing the font size. The slide does not fit. So the team makes the text smaller. It still does not fit. So they make it smaller again. Eventually everything fits. But nobody can read it. When something doesn't fit, don't immediately ask, "How can we make this smaller?" Ask:

  • "What can we remove?" or:
  • "Should this become two slides?" or:
  • "Can we communicate this visually?" or:
  • "Does the audience actually need this?"

Simplification is usually better than shrinking.

Whitespace Is Working Space

Teams sometimes see empty space and think: "We could put something there." Don't. Whitespace helps the audience understand:

  • what belongs together;

  • what is separate;

  • what deserves attention.

It also gives important information room to breathe. A slide does not need to look full to be complete. Empty space can be evidence of good editing.

Simplify Tables

Tables are particularly dangerous in case presentations. Imagine a financial comparison containing:

  • seven alternatives;

  • eight metrics;

  • three years;

  • percentages;

  • dollar amounts;

  • assumptions.

It may be analytically impressive. But the judge cannot interpret it in twenty seconds. Ask: What conclusion from this table actually matters? Perhaps the real message is: Alternative B creates the greatest value with the lowest initial investment. Show the key metrics supporting that conclusion. Put the detailed analysis in the appendix.

Simplify Numbers

Financial analysis often creates unnecessary visual complexity.

  • Compare:
    • $9,873,462.71 with: $9.9M or:
    • 17.3842% with: 17.4%

The first may be more mathematically precise. The second may be more useful for communication. Your level of precision should reflect the decision. In many cases, your numbers are estimates based on assumptions anyway. Excessive decimal places can create the illusion of precision without improving the decision.

Simplify Charts

Charts should communicate the insight—not prove that you know how to use Excel. Remove elements that do not help:

  • unnecessary gridlines;

  • redundant legends;

  • excessive data labels;

  • decorative borders;

  • irrelevant categories;

  • unnecessary decimals.

Then ask: Can the judge see the pattern immediately? If yes, the chart is doing its job.

Consistency Matters

Consistency creates professionalism and, more importantly, reduces cognitive load. If every slide follows completely different design rules, the audience has to keep relearning how to read your deck. Establish rules for:

  • fonts;

  • font sizes;

  • headings;

  • alignment;

  • margins;

  • chart styles;

  • footnotes;

  • page numbers;

  • colours;

  • spacing;

  • terminology.

Then follow them.

Consistency of Language Matters Too

Design consistency is not only visual.

  • Suppose one slide says: High-Value Customers
  • another says: Premium Segment
  • and another says: Tier-One Consumers

Are these the same people? The team may know. The judges may not. Use consistent terminology throughout the presentation. The same applies to:

  • recommendation names;

  • phases;

  • alternatives;

  • financial metrics;

  • strategic priorities;

  • customer groups.

Do not make the audience translate your terminology.

Consistency Without Monotony

Consistency does not mean every slide must look identical. Different information requires different visual treatments.

  • A financial slide may look different from an implementation timeline.
  • A customer journey may look different from an alternatives matrix.

What should remain consistent is the visual language:

  • typography;

  • hierarchy;

  • spacing;

  • colours;

  • formatting;

  • terminology.

The deck should read like a single presentation. Not four teammates' slides pasted together.

The Back-Row Test

Before finalising the deck:

  1. Put the presentation into slideshow mode.

  2. Stand several metres away.

  3. Look at each slide briefly.

  4. Ask:

  • Can I read the headline?
  • Can I identify the key evidence?
  • Can I see the important number?
  • Can I understand the basic visual?
  • Do I know where to look first?

If not, simplify.

Discover Your MadMAD Skills Principle

Don't make the judges work harder than necessary to understand your thinking.

Good design reduces friction between your idea and your audience.

The Bottom Line

Build for the audience, not your laptop. Use:

LESS TEXT + CLEAR HIERARCHY + SIMPLE VISUALS + WHITESPACE + CONSISTENCY

And when a slide becomes overcrowded: Don't shrink it. Simplify it.

Chapter 12: Don't Design Your Deck Like a Poster

A presentation slide is not a report.

  • It is not a textbook.
  • It is not a spreadsheet.
  • It is not a poster designed to communicate everything without a presenter.

You are standing beside it. That matters. The slide only needs to contain the information the audience needs at that moment in the argument.

The Presentation Is Layered

Think about the information available to your audience as several layers.

  • MAIN DECK: What the judges need to understand the argument.
  • PRESENTER: The explanation and interpretation that brings the slide to life.
  • APPENDIX: Supporting detail that may become important during Q&A.
  • ANALYSIS: The deeper work your team completed to conclude.

These layers should not contain the same amount of information. A common mistake is trying to move everything from the analysis into the main deck. Don't. The purpose of analysis is to discover the answer. The purpose of the presentation is to communicate the answer. Those are different tasks.

The Information Hierarchy

Divide potential content into three categories.

MUST KNOW

The judge needs this to understand or believe the recommendation. Examples might include:

  • the root problem;

  • critical insight;

  • recommendation;

  • major financial impact;

  • implementation;

  • significant risk.

This belongs in the presentation.

USEFUL TO KNOW

It strengthens the argument but does not require extensive attention. Examples might include:

  • secondary research;

  • supporting financial metrics;

  • additional customer information;

  • secondary implementation details.

Some of this may appear briefly in the presentation. Some may belong in the appendix.

NICE TO KNOW

It is interesting but not necessary for the decision. This is where teams often get into trouble. They spent time discovering the information, so they feel compelled to show it. But: The amount of effort required to discover something does not determine whether it belongs in the presentation. If it does not strengthen the argument, leave it out.

Don't Confuse Effort With Importance

Imagine your team spends forty-five minutes building a competitor analysis. You discover that the competitors are largely similar. It does not significantly affect your recommendation. Should you show the slide? Maybe not. Teams sometimes think: "But we spent forty-five minutes on it." That time helped you reach the conclusion. It does not create an obligation to show the work. Analysis can be valuable without appearing in the final deck.

Don't Prove That You Did the Framework

This is particularly important with frameworks. You may have completed:

  • SWOT;

  • PESTLE;

  • Five Forces;

  • Value Chain;

  • stakeholder analysis.

That does not mean the judges need five framework slides. Perhaps your PESTLE analysis revealed one important regulatory change. Show the regulatory change. Perhaps your Five Forces analysis revealed that supplier power is increasing rapidly. Show that insight. The judge does not need proof that you completed the framework. They need the insight the framework produced.

The Slide Is a Moment in the Story

Every slide exists at a particular point in the argument.

  • Ask: What does the audience need to know right now to understand what comes next?
  • Not: What else could we tell them?

Suppose the next section recommends market expansion. At that moment, the audience may need to know:

  • why growth is necessary;

  • which market is attractive;

  • why the organisation can compete there.

They may not need:

  • the complete history of the company;

  • every competitor;

  • all demographic information;

  • every market-sizing assumption.

Those details can live elsewhere.

Use Progressive Disclosure

Sometimes information needs to be introduced in stages. Instead of one slide containing:

  • the problem;

  • three causes;

  • five supporting numbers;

  • financial impact;

  • recommendation;

consider creating a sequence:

  • Slide 1
    • Profitability has declined for three consecutive years.
  • Slide 2
    • The decline is being driven primarily by customer churn.
  • Slide 3
    • High-value customers account for most of the lost profit.

Now the audience discovers the logic with you. Each slide has a clear job.

Use the Appendix Strategically

The appendix is not a dumping ground for every slide you deleted. It should contain information that may help you defend the recommendation during Q&A. Examples might include:

  • detailed financial assumptions;

  • sensitivity analysis;

  • additional market research;

  • competitor comparisons;

  • alternative calculations;

  • implementation detail;

  • supporting frameworks.

Ask: What questions are the judges likely to ask that require evidence beyond the main presentation? Build appendix slides around those questions. That turns the appendix into a Q&A resource, rather than a graveyard for rejected slides.

The Delete Test

For every piece of information on a slide, ask: If we remove this, does the audience understand the argument just as well? If yes, consider removing it. Then ask: Would this information help us answer a likely Q&A question? If yes, move it to the appendix. If no: Delete it. That can be uncomfortable. It is also one of the most important presentation skills.

The Must-Know Test

Before finalising the main deck, classify every significant piece of content:

Level Question Likely Location
Must Know Does the judge need this to understand or believe the recommendation? Main Deck
Useful to Know Does it strengthen or defend the argument? Main Deck or Appendix
Nice to Know Is it merely interesting? Usually Remove

The goal is not to make the presentation smaller for its own sake. The goal is to protect the audience's attention for the information that matters most.

Discover Your MadMAD Skills Principle

Just because you know it does not mean you need to show it.

Strong teams perform extensive analysis. Strong presenters show the right amount of that analysis.

The Bottom Line

Your presentation is not intended to be a record of everything your team did. It is a carefully selected argument. Separate information into:

MUST KNOW → USEFUL TO KNOW → NICE TO KNOW

Keep the main deck focused on what the audience needs to: 

  1. understand the problem,
  2. believe the recommendation,
  3. see that it can work,
  4. make the decision.

Everything else must earn its place.

Mad Skills Drill

Before moving forward, conduct a Slide Design Audit. Choose several slides and evaluate them using four tests.

  • The Back-Row Test
    • Can you read and understand the slide from several metres away?
  • The Cognitive Load Test
    • Can the audience understand where to look without studying the slide?
  • The Information Test
    • Label the content: Must Know | Useful to Know | Nice to Know
    • Remove or relocate unnecessary information.
  • The Delete Test
    • For each major element, ask: If we remove this, does the argument become weaker? If not, consider removing it.

Then run one final test on the entire deck: Does this feel like a single presentation created by one team, or a collection of slides created by four people? If the message, terminology, hierarchy, and design remain consistent from beginning to end, you are ready to move from designing the presentation to delivering it.

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