Our programmes
Formerly Story-Lining Visuals
Supercharge Your Slides
Turn slide decks into messages that leaders can read, follow and approve.
In many organisations the slide deck has replaced the report. It is read before the meeting, discussed in the meeting and often used to record the decision. Supercharge Your Slides is a practical workshop on creating slide decks that are story-lined and storyboarded for pre-reading, with visuals that make it easy for management to endorse or approve a report or proposal.
The problem it solves
Most slides present information instead of messages. Titles are labels, charts are chosen by habit and the key point is buried. The audience has to work out the 'so what' themselves, and decisions are delayed.
Who it’s for
- Analysts, consultants, engineers and managers who build decks for others to present or read
- Teams whose papers and proposals go to management committees or boards
- Anyone who has sat through 'death by PowerPoint' and wants to avoid causing it
Format
- Duration: 3 days in-house
- Group size: Up to 12 participants, 2 facilitators
- Preparation: Optional e-learning: Creating Impactful Presentation Slides
- Tools: Participants work in PowerPoint or Keynote, on their own decks
- Delivery: At your premises or a venue of your choice
Learning objectives
By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:
- Develop slide decks that are story-lined and storyboarded for pre-reading. Once is enough, twice is too much, thrice is poison
- Write lead-in statements so each slide carries a clear message
- Choose the right slide and chart type for every message
- Develop visuals that make it easy for management to endorse or approve your report or proposal
Programme outline
Module 1
Bottom-up and top-down thinking
Find the message before you design the slide.
- Bottom-up: highlight the data that matters most and supports your hypothesis
- Top-down: start from the answer and build the executive summary
- Write messages that are brief, to the point and summarise the data
Module 2
Story-lining and storyboarding
Plan the whole deck before building individual slides.
- Choosing the storyline for the objective of the deck
- Storyboarding the deck: title, executive summary, agenda, content, summary and conclusion slides
- Boardroom vs. ballroom slides: decks for small decision-making groups vs. large audiences
- Pre-read decks vs. presented decks
Module 3
Drive change, not just present information
Make every slide carry a message that moves the decision forward.
- Creating messages, not slides: lead-in statements, key messages and headlines
- Lead-in and lead-out statements that flow from slide to slide
- The squint test, evidence, data sources and signposting
- Eliminating junk from slides
Module 4
Identify the comparison
Work out what the data is really saying before choosing a chart.
- Composition: percentage of the total
- Comparison: changes in items or over time
- Distribution: items within a numerical range
- Relationship: correlation between variables
Module 5
Choose the right slide or chart
Build clear slides that are easy to understand at a glance.
- Quantitative slides and charts, and when not to use a pie chart
- Qualitative slides: lists, flows, timelines, maps and organisation charts
- Thinking like a designer: arrangement, emphasis, contrast and white space
- Applying your organisation's template consistently
How the workshop runs
- Participants bring a real deck and rebuild it during the workshop
- Before-and-after reviews of individual slides and whole decks
- Hands-on practice in PowerPoint or Keynote with facilitator coaching
- Each deck is checked against the Supercharge Your Slides 10-point checklist
What participants take away
- Participant workbook with slide types, examples and quick guides
- The Supercharge Your Slides 10-point slide checklist
- The 'Choosing the right quantitative chart' guide
- A rebuilt deck from your own work
The outcome
Self-explanatory decks that leaders can read without a voice-over, where every slide has a clear message, the right chart and a source, and the deck leads to a decision.
Questions
Do we need design skills?
No. The workshop is about messages and structure first, then simple design rules anyone can apply in PowerPoint or Keynote.
Can we use our own corporate template?
Yes. We work with your template, so the decks are ready to use straight after the workshop.
Is this the same as OSCAR Presentation Skills?
No. OSCAR Presentation Skills covers the whole presentation, including delivery. Supercharge Your Slides focuses only on building compelling slide decks.
Explore our other programmes
Programme 1 · Previous programme
OSCAR Presentation Skills
Structure, deliver and defend a presentation that gets a decision.
Programme 3 · Next programme
Mastering Executive Presentations
Win over the boardroom when time is short and the stakes are high.
Bring Supercharge Your Slides to your team
Every programme is run in-house and tailored to your organisation. Tell us about your team and we will come back with a proposal.