| name | presentation-design |
| description | Presentation structure, narrative design, and slide layout principles. Covers the problem-solution-evidence arc, slide density rules (one idea per slide), slide type catalogue, opening hooks, and closing patterns. Use when structuring any slide deck — conference talk, demo, investor pitch, or team update. |
Presentation Design Skill
When to Activate
- Structuring a slide deck from scratch
- Reviewing a presentation for narrative clarity
- Choosing between narrative frameworks (technical talk, executive update, investor pitch)
- Writing an opening hook or closing CTA
- Adapting the same content for different audiences
- Reducing slide density when too many ideas compete on a single slide
- Selecting the correct data-slide headline format (conclusion-first, not metric name)
- Preparing a conference talk, demo day, or board presentation where audience engagement is critical
Narrative Arcs
Choose the arc based on the goal of the presentation.
Problem → Solution → Evidence (technical talks, demos)
1. The Problem — what breaks today, who suffers, how much it costs
2. Our Approach — what we built and why this approach
3. Evidence — demo, metrics, before/after
4. How to Get It — next steps, availability, call to action
Best for: conference talks, internal engineering demos, product launches.
Before → After → Bridge (transformation story)
1. Before — current state (painful, expensive, slow)
2. After — future state (fast, profitable, delightful)
3. Bridge — how to get from Before to After (your solution)
Best for: sales decks, executive presentations, change management.
Why → What → How (executive / board)
1. Why — the strategic opportunity or risk (1-2 slides)
2. What — the recommendation / decision needed (1 slide)
3. How — the plan to execute (2-3 slides)
Best for: board presentations, executive summaries, budget requests.
Choosing the right arc
| Audience | Arc |
|---|
| Engineers / practitioners | Problem → Solution → Evidence |
| Sales / customers | Before → After → Bridge |
| Executives / board | Why → What → How |
| Mixed | Why → What → How (keep technical detail in appendix) |
Slide Density Rules
One idea per slide. If you have two ideas, use two slides.
| Rule | Target |
|---|
| Words per slide | ≤ 40 (headline + bullets) |
| Font size minimum | 28pt for body text, 36pt+ for headlines |
| Bullet points | ≤ 5 per slide; prefer 3 |
| Images vs. text | One chart or image per slide, not multiple |
| Full sentences | Only for quotes — all other text in fragments |
The "squint test"
Hold the slide at arm's length and squint. One thing should stand out as the main point. If two things compete, split the slide.
Slide Type Catalogue
| Type | Purpose | Key layout rule |
|---|
| Title | Opening, section dividers | Large headline, no body text |
| Agenda | Show structure up front | 3-5 items max; use later as progress marker |
| Concept | Explain a single idea | Headline + icon or single diagram |
| Data | Show metrics or results | One chart only; headline states the conclusion |
| Demo | Live demo or screenshots | "Demo" label; fallback screenshot always ready |
| Quote | Social proof, customer voice | Large quote, attribution; no bullets |
| Transition | Section separator | Title only; restate section theme |
| Call to Action | Close the loop | One clear action; remove everything else |
Data slide rule
The headline on a data slide states the conclusion — not the chart title.
WRONG headline: "Monthly Active Users"
CORRECT headline: "MAU grew 40% YoY, driven by mobile"
Opening Hooks
The first 60 seconds determine audience engagement for the rest of the talk. Choose one:
1. Provocative question
Ask something the audience cannot immediately answer:
"How many of your production deployments would fail a GDPR audit right now?"
2. Surprising statistic
Use a number that defies expectations:
"The average developer spends 4.5 hours a week waiting for CI. That's 3 full weeks per year."
3. Short story (60 seconds)
A concrete incident with a clear protagonist:
"In March 2023, a single missing database index took down our checkout page for 47 minutes. This talk is about why that took us 3 hours to find — and the alerting system we built so it can never happen again."
4. Problem statement
Name the problem directly — no preamble:
"Code review is broken. PRs sit open for 4 days on average. By then, the author has context-switched twice and the reviewer has forgotten the ticket. Today I'm showing you how we cut that to 8 hours."
Closing Patterns
The 3-Point Takeaway
End with exactly three bullets — the most memorable structure:
## What to remember
1. [Most important insight from the talk]
2. [Second insight — complements, not contradicts]
3. [Actionable next step]
Single CTA (Call to Action)
One clear action — not a menu of options:
WRONG: "Check out our docs, follow us on Twitter, try the beta, or reach out on Slack"
CORRECT: "Try it today at clarc.sh/get-started"
Q&A slide
Never end on a blank slide. Always have:
- The Q&A invite ("Questions?")
- Your name, handle, or contact
- One reminder of the single most important takeaway
Audience Adaptation
Technical audience (engineers, practitioners)
- Show code snippets — but only 10-15 lines, syntax highlighted
- Include architecture diagrams
- Reference specific tools, libraries, versions
- Demo is expected and valued
Executive audience
- Lead with business impact (revenue, cost, risk)
- Avoid acronyms or define on first use
- Use analogies for technical concepts
- Keep detail in backup slides (appendix)
General / mixed audience
- Analogies bridge technical concepts ("It's like a traffic light for your code")
- Story-driven: one protagonist with a problem, your solution helps them
- Avoid industry jargon entirely
Checklist
