Slide prompts: one claim, supporting evidence, usable order

Last updated: 2 Oct 202611 min read

tutorial

A slide-deck prompt should specify the audience, meeting decision, claim per slide, supporting evidence, and what belongs in speaker notes. The deck is a different reading surface from the report: it should not paste paragraphs onto slides or suppress important caveats to create visual space. Each visual needs units and an explanation that survives without color alone. The file should retain editable text and a logical object order for assistive reading. Verify the slide's claim against the report ledger after every edit. Speaker notes may add context, but must not hold the only statement of a material limitation that changes the visible claim.

Operational case

North Quay requests a six-slide briefing. Slide two states 'Six of 47 inspections are overdue' and shows all three categories: 38 current, 6 overdue, 3 pending. Its first draft used a red segment for overdue without a text label, so the category was unclear without color. The revision adds labels and counts. A later slide asks for authorization to review the six overdue records; it does not recommend replacing equipment. The notes explain that the three pending records await validation, while the visible slide also states this limit. Reading-order inspection finds the chart title after the chart, and the order is corrected before release.

Slide 1: decision and scope.
Slide 2: 47 = 38 current + 6 overdue + 3 pending.
Slide 3: six overdue records and proposed review owner.
Slide 4: three pending validations; no assumed status.
Slide 5: review timeline and open questions.
Slide 6: authorization requested; limitations visible.

Performance and operating cost

For S slides and C material claims, verification is O(S+C) review steps when the ledger indexes claims by ID. Rendering and inspecting all S slides adds O(S) image operations, with extra time for charts and reading-order checks. Reusing the report's verified numbers reduces contradictory edits, but an automated copy can still move a caveat into notes or lose a category label. A dense deck may save slide count while increasing comprehension cost; trim by decision relevance, not by hiding uncertainty.

Common Mistakes

Do not paste the report into slides and call it a presentation.
Do not make a category depend on color alone.
Do not bury a limitation in speaker notes while the visible claim overstates certainty.

Connected lessons

prompt engineering

document delivery