Slides That Help Executives Decide
What presenting monthly to a CMO taught me about clarity, alignment, and storytelling
Most executive presentations fail for one simple reason.
The slide exists, but the message does not.
That is why meetings run long, decisions get deferred, and follow-ups multiply.
Lynn Lucas is a CMO at Pure Storage, and I present my slides to her every month. That repetition has been one of the most valuable learning loops of my career. Presenting to executives quickly teaches you that success is not about visual polish. It is about helping them decide.
When you ask executives what they like to see, you stop designing slides for them and start designing slides with them.
Through many discussions with Lynn, one pattern kept showing up. Executives do not want more slides. They want clarity. They want judgment. They want a point of view formed before the meeting starts.
Executives do not reward effort. They reward clarity.
These ideas are core to how I teach presentations in my digital course, Becoming a Slidesmith. They are not about design tricks. They are about thinking clearly and communicating like a leader.
Big Idea 1: Write a descriptive slide title in 7 to 9 words
Your slide title is not a label.
It is the slide.
A great slide title summarizes the big idea in one declarative sentence. Seven to nine words force discipline. It makes you choose what matters. When possible, use alliteration or a triad to make the title memorable.
Bad title:
Q3 Pipeline Overview
Better title:
Pipeline Growth Is Slowing in Enterprise Accounts
The difference is intent. The first title forces the executive to do the thinking you should have done. The second makes the point instantly.
Here is a simple test.
If an executive only read your slide titles, would they understand the full story?
Memorable titles act like headlines. They guide attention, set context, and earn trust.
If you cannot summarize the slide in one sentence, you are not ready to present it.
Big Idea 2: Everything on the slide must align with the title
Once the title is clear, everything else becomes easier.
Every graph, visual, number, and line of text should support the idea stated in the title. Nothing is neutral. Every element either strengthens or weakens the message.
Think of slide elements as bricks.
The title is the wall.
If a brick does not help build the wall, remove it.
If your title says Enterprise Deals Are Stalling at Procurement, your chart should highlight deal age by stage. Your annotations should point to procurement delays. Visual emphasis should guide the eye to the problem.
Misaligned slides force executives to ask clarifying questions rather than make decisions.
Alignment is respect for your audience’s time and attention.
Big Idea 3: Tell stories, especially if you are analytical
Storytelling is the hardest skill for analytical minds to master. It is also the one that elevates careers.
Many smart leaders hide behind data because it feels safer than telling a story. But data explains. Stories connect. Without a story, even correct data rarely leads to action.
Once storytelling becomes natural, every presentation becomes an opportunity to lead. Executives remember stories because stories simulate experience. They help people think, decide, and act.
I teach a simple consulting framework called SCR: Situation, Complication, Resolution.
Situation
Our enterprise pipeline grew 18 percent year over year.
Complication
However, deals are taking 30 percent longer to close due to new procurement reviews.
Resolution
We are adjusting the deal strategy by engaging procurement earlier and equipping sales with legal support.
This structure mirrors how executives think: what is happening, what changed, and what you recommend.
Data tells, and stories sell. Stories are flight simulators for our brains.
Stories turn information into judgment.
The common thread across all three ideas is intent.
Clear intent in the title.
Clear alignment in the slide.
Clear narrative in the story.
Executives are not looking for perfect slides. They are looking for clear thinking. When your slides reflect that, you stop presenting and start influencing.
That is the difference between reporting information and earning trust.
Before your next executive meeting, rewrite your titles, cut one slide, and ask for feedback.