presentations

Presentation Strategy and Best Practices

Structured frameworks for planning, structuring, and designing effective presentations for any audience.

Core Frameworks

Problem-First Framing (Pyramid Principle)

Lead with the answer or recommendation first, then supporting evidence. Never open with "how we did it" — open with "what the problem is and what we recommend."

SCQA Structure:

1. Situation — the stable context the audience already knows
2. Complication — what changed or went wrong
3. Question — the question the complication raises
4. Answer — the recommendation (state this first, then support it)

Apply SCQA to the opening slide before revealing methodology or detail.

See references/frameworks.md for worked SCQA examples and Pyramid Principle depth.

Rule of Threes

Limit each presentation to 3 key messages. Structure each key message with 3 supporting arguments. Use a 3-act arc: setup → confrontation → resolution.

• Cognitive basis: working memory handles 3 items reliably
• Apply at the deck level (3 sections) and the slide level (3 bullets max)
• When you have more than 3 points, find the grouping pattern, not more slides

Assertion-Evidence Slide Design

Every slide follows this structure:

• Top of slide: A single declarative assertion — 2 lines maximum, ~10-15 words
• Body: Visual evidence supporting the assertion (diagram, chart, image, table)
• Target ~20 words total per slide (assertion + any labels)
• Replace bullet lists with visual evidence wherever possible

Bad assertion (topic label): "Q3 Performance" Good assertion (claim): "Q3 latency dropped 40% after cache rollout"

Guy Kawasaki 10/20/30 Rule

• Maximum 10 slides per deck
• Maximum 20 minutes of speaking time
• Minimum 30pt font size

Apply as a constraint check after structuring the deck. If a draft exceeds 10 slides, identify which slides can merge, become appendix, or be cut.

Nancy Duarte Sparkline

Frame the narrative as a contrast between "what is" (current reality) and "what could be" (future vision). Make the audience the hero of the transformation, not the presenter or product.