Who am I? What’s my story?

Great stories start with a great introduction. You have less than 10 seconds to grab your audience. Start by thinking about what your audience needs and give it to them. The reader needs to understand your fit for the role. Why not tell them upfront in your CV?

Introduce yourself with a great introduction of who you are and why you’re a great fit. Below is a fictional example (which I started with a real CV I helped a friend with). It is clear that Rachel is awesome and would be a great fit for a Director of Asset Strategy.

So, what do hiring managers actually look for in a CV? What do they need?

• Relevant experience. You’ve done this job (or close) before.

• Technical fit. You know their tools, systems, and processes.

• Scale and complexity. You’ve operated at their level or bigger.

• Problem-solving proof. You’ve cracked problems they recognise as hard.

• Credentials that matter. The certifications and qualifications their role demands.

• Results, not activities. You moved needles, not just turned up.

• Cultural signals. You’ll fit how they work (collaboration, autonomy, pace, language).

• Career logic. Your next move makes sense; you are not just escaping.

You have about 1/4 of a page and 7 seconds to get all of this across in an impactful matter. Phew. Not easy. So what are the short cuts people use to recognise and signal a great fit?

Names, Names, Names. Ab-Fab captured this perfectly. If the reader is hiring for an Oil and Gas role and they see Shell, you’ll get their interest. If they’re a banker and you have Deutsche Bank in your first three lines, you’ll get their interest. Surface the most recognisable names into your intro to demonstrate relevance, culture, scale and technical fit.

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers. The best way to show results, scale, complexity and problem solving is numbers. Who do you want to hire? Eddy who says “Leader of large scale complex transformations” or Saffron who starts with “Led finance transformations across 12 countries, and 16,700 employees”. I’d pick Saffron any day.

Your why. Life is complex. Maybe you got made redundant. Maybe you hate your boss. Maybe you feel stifled in your career. Maybe you’ve had a few set backs. Maybe you have little experience in this exact industry? The question to ask is: who do you want to tell that story? You or someone else? Write a clear one sentence or two about your journey and why you want this role.

Keywords. Your whole CV should include the right keywords for the role and the industry. Your introduction should include the most important. If they are looking for a CFO in a water utility who understands SAP .. then you better hit on your CFO skills, your utility experience and your SAP experience. If you’re not the perfect candidate? Then help the reader understand the equivalencies: Not CFO but Financial Leader for a company division of 200 people? Not a Water Utility expert, but experience in infrastructure projects. Not a SAP leader, but other ERPs.

The Impactful Introduction Formula

I find formulas take the strain out of writing. See my previous article on writing impactful experience lines. Here’s my formula to introduce yourself with impact based on the above.

NOTE: Your result should be 90 or so words in total. There are four sentences (Who, Proof, Results and Why). The first two sentences (Who and Proof) you can keep across applications, while sentence three and four (Results and Why) you should tailor for each application.

Impactful Introductions to stand out from the crowd

Here’s six examples across industries. These would be suitable for mid-career people. They are short, and they are bold. They create impact in seconds.

Final Thoughts

Does your introduction stand on its own? Print just your intro and ask a friend to read it. See what they think. Is it a the best representation of you? Is it quick? Does it sound “wow” with out sounding made up?

Try this a few times. When your friends react with “That’s impressive”, you’re done.

Should I tailor my introduction for each job? Yes. bring out what is important to that role. Don’t change who you are, but highlight specific facets of who you are and where you are going.

If I have have a cover letter do I need this introduction? Yes. Your cover letters can get detached from your CV. An introduction helps anyone who reads your CV understand who you are in 3-5 seconds.

Do I need a cover letter? With an introduction like this, do I need a cover letter? Not really. Maybe. Sometimes… yes. Cover letters still have a place, but I do find having a few high impact lines in an email and attach your CV with a powerful intro creates a string impression.

CV Template - Free to download

I’ll put one in place soon. I want to post this, but let me know if you need one right now.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

As well as CVs I have a set of example business slides in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

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PLEASE NOTE: I’m trialing some Amazon Affiliate links here. Mainly I’m curious how they work but I also need to be transparent I’ll make a few cents off your purchases.

Communicating with Impact: Public Speaking

Communication is a key skill for leaders. But what does this mean? I like to think it covers Public Speaking, One on Ones and your written communications. For the youtubers I’ll share a good example video and you can go from there.

• Scot Berkun’s Confessions of a Public Speaker I’ve read this many times, especially before giving important and career defining talks.

• Vinh Giang 43 minutes of solid communication advice he’s an Aussie with a great story and point of view on speaking in public. (So great hearing my accent on a huge youtuber).

• Paul Russell of Luxury Academy gives an alternate view to Vinh’s high energy. Paul is all about demonstrating control. Tactical silence. Confidence and not messiness. He also sounds like a billion pounds.

Communicating with Impact: Writing (for reports, pitches and slides)

Written communication is a key skill for leaders. I’m not talking about that well crafted email .. but written reports, consulting documents, business cases, slides for discussions, your start up pitch, or whiteboard sessions in workshops.

• Dan Roam’s Back of the Napkin learn how to create impact with a marker pen. This is a drawing book but also very good at helping you understand what to put on slides.

• Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle defined how many advisory consultants write their reports .. and probably how your boss expects you to create and write slides. She was a pioneer at McKinsey. Her method is a must read for consultants and mid-career managers.

• Simon Sinek’s Start with Why is simple. It is powerful. I use this a lot when structuring pitches and preparing certain kinds of talks. His TED talk is great and covers most of it, but he also has a book.

Corporate Culture … or the Unspoken Rules

I’m like to imagine I’m a Corporate Anthropologist. I like to pay attention to the way we interact, our rituals, our language and what we value in the company jungles. These people below nail how culture shows up and provide great advice. If you’ve ever thought “How did that happen?” “Why aren’t I getting noticed or promoted?” “Why did nobody tell me that?” check out the following:

• Gorrick Ng’s The Unspoken Rules this book is great for anyone joining the coporate world, or just a bit surprised about how things work. It is aimed at first in family university graduates .. and Gorrick knows what he’s talking about. He was first in family and more than made it at Harvard .. but not without some struggles. Also check out Gorick’s many talks on Youtube.

• Emily Durham’s 5 Unwritten Rules. Emily is a legend. Check out her great advice on getting a job… but this is about fitting in the workplace and is advice I wish I had in my 20s.

Getting Hired.

How do you get your CV right, network, get referrals and get interviews?

• I like Life after Layoff. Brian is targeted on later career people but he has decades of experience you want if you’re looking for a new role.

• Emily Durham is a great compliment to Brian. She’s young, experienced recruiter full of energy and some great insights. This is one example but suggest you look at her whole channel and podcast.

• Career Growth wth Lucy offers great advice on optimising your CV, and optimising LinkedIn. This video offers some great insights on how you can be “smart lazy” in your job search, and have recruiters try to catch you like Pokémon .. rather than the other way round.

Getting Promoted.

Worthwhile thinking about. I’ve coached many to get promoted to Manager, Director and Partner .. but I don’t see a lot of useful advice on this.

• Daniel Priestly’s video on how to become a Key Person of Influence is a very good model on how to move up from a Middle Manager to Executive, from a Consultant doing the business to a Partner leading the business. It’s simple … but hard work.

Writing Business Cases

I’m going to have to work on this one and find a few more examples.

• I read Finance for Engineers and found it very useful for the finance side of business cases. It’s expensive but comprehensive.

How do I know if my CV stinks?

Hiring managers and recruiters see a lot of resumes. Surprisingly for many candidates, they don’t spend a lot of time reviewing each. A 2018 eye tracking study of recruiters said they spent 7.4 seconds reviewing each resume for an initial decision. (Ladders, 2018)

That’s 7.4 seconds on the CV you agonised over for hours. This is close to my experience of reviewing over 100 resumes in one sitting. We would quickly create a small “yes” pile, and a huge “no” pile. I’m sure some of those “no”s were great .. but their CV stunk at telling me they were great.

If you’re updating your resume, think about the role you want. Set a timer and review your resume for 10 seconds. If you don’t quickly see multiple proof points that you’re a great fit for your dream job .. then the hiring manager or recruiter won’t see it either. You know which pile you’ll end up in.

How do you write a CV that doesn’t stink, is effective and has impact in the first quick read?

What makes an effective CV?

An effective CV is one that gets you to the next stage. The next stage is an interview, a conversation about the job, a conversation about your fit or the future. What do hiring managers actually look for in a CV?

• Relevant experience. You’ve done this job (or close) before.

• Technical fit. You know their tools, systems, and processes.

• Scale and complexity. You’ve operated at their level or bigger.

• Problem-solving proof. You’ve cracked problems they recognise as hard.

• Credentials that matter. The certifications and qualifications their role demands.

• Results, not activities. You moved needles, not just turned up.

• Cultural signals. You’ll fit how they work (collaboration, autonomy, pace, language).

• Career logic. Your next move makes sense; you are not just escaping.

Recruiters look for demonstration of all of these things. What does “Demonstrated” mean? Provable facts. Numbers. Industry relevant language.

What makes an impactful CV?

A great example of an impactful CV is Neil Armstrong’s.

Within second you understand what he’s achieved, understand some of the complexity of his achievements and his role in it.

The evidence you provide under Experience drives the impact of your CV. There’s more to CVs, but the evidence of your experience will make the biggest impact on a go / no-go decision for an interview.

Like Neil Armstrong, you want your evidence to be powerful as “First man landed on the moon 1969”

BUT I am not Neil Armstrong!

Ok. I’m not Neil Armstrong either. The truth is, we have to work a bit harder on our CVs.

If we’re not Neil Armstrong how do we write an effective and impactful CV? I present my Magic CV Evidence Formula.

Magic CV Evidence Formula

I [powerful action verb] at [scale] with [complexity with keywords] and we achieved [quantified outcome] for [stakeholders]

The Magic CV Evidence Formula tells your reader: I did this, it was big and complex, and we created these results for these important people. I like the formula because it focuses on something you can prove, and is clear about what you did and what was achieved as a result.

The formula is made up of

[powerful action verb] Choose verbs that signal leadership level and impact. Eg: “managed” is mid-career and “orchestrated” is executive.

[scale] Use numbers to prove you’ve operated at their level. Consider budget, people, customers, geographies, transactions, or timeframes. Eg: 10 FTE, 350 FTE, $1M Budget, $100M, 3 year program, 6 regions.

[complexity with keywords] Show the hard parts. Regulatory pressure, legacy constraints, competing stakeholders, technical debt, or market disruption. Use keywords to weave in the exact technologies, methodologies, standards, soft skills and certifications from your experience relevant to the job requirements.

[quantified outcome] Numbers prove impact - percentages, dollars, time saved, quality improved, or risk eliminated.

[stakeholders] Name who cared about your win. Customers care about experience. Regulators care about compliance. Executives care about results. Boards care about risk and strategy.

The formula is magic because it works. One of the ingredients of the formula is it solves the “I vs We” problem in resume. I see a lot of people soften their CV achievements because they don’t want to take credit for the team’s results. This is valid, but you can solve this by saying what you did with “I [powerful action verb]” and then end with what the team achieved with “we achieved [quantified outcome]”. Mature leaders should know their impact, and what role they played in it .. but also not be delusional that it was all them.

Woven through the Evidence Formula are your keywords. Keywords are your CV’s search engine optimization. Humans scan for patterns and proof. Recruiters and ATS search for keywords. Industry specifics like: SAP, EMR, OPEX, Working Capital Management, Bed Management, Zero Harm, Psychosocial Safety Hazards… these demonstrate you know the business. Miss the keywords, and miss the interview.

Examples: The Magic CV Evidence Formula in Action

Let me share some examples of the Evidence Formula. Read these with a recruiter hat on. Would you recommend the before person progress to interview? The after person? As a bonus question ask yourself: What type of interview questions would I ask the before person compared to the after person? (HINT: Your CV can influence whether you get an interview and the quality of interest)

1. Government

Before: “I was CIO who managed complex IT modernisation improving service delivery”

After: “I led a $45M digital transformation across 12 agencies (2,400 staff), replacing 30-year legacy ERP systems and reducing citizen service times from 14 days to 48 hours while maintaining zero data breaches”

2. Mining

Before: “I was responsible for operations and dealt with challenging production issues and we increased output”

After: “Transformed underperforming underground operation (850 personnel, 24/7) by implementing predictive maintenance on drilling equipment, lifting production 12%, cutting unplanned downtime from 19% to 6%”

3. Consulting

Before: “I was senior consultant who delivered difficult client engagements and achieved business outcomes”

After: “I led enterprise architecture roadmap for ASX-listed retailer ($2.3B revenue) navigating omnichannel disruption and 15% market share loss. Identified $127M cost reduction opportunities and secured Board approval for 3-year transformation program”

4. Infrastructure

Before: “I was program director who managed complex smart meter rollout and we completed successfully on time and budget”

After: “Directed state-wide smart meter deployment (480,000 premises, $180M budget) leading 6 delivery partners, achieving 99.2% first time install success rate and enabling $34M annual OPEX savings”

5. Academia

Before: “I was technology leader who modernized university systems and improved student experience”

After: “Led cloud migration for 45,000-student university, transitioning 120+ applications from on-premise to Azure while maintaining 99.9% availability, enabling $2.8M savings and 40% faster student portal response times”

6. Financial Services

Before: “I was head of digital who implemented new platforms and we achieved regulatory compliance”

After: “Architected API-first banking platform serving 340,000 customers, integrating legacy core banking systems with modern microservices architecture, achieving APRA CPS 234 compliance 4 months ahead of schedule while reducing transaction processing costs by 38%”

Final Thoughts

Think high impact in a 10 second review. Your CV has less than 10 seconds to have an impact. Your evidence lines should be 1 to 3 lines long. I tend to have one or two 3 line items, and mostly 2 liners in my most recent (5-10 years) experience. After that try to get to one line long. Ariel 12pts is roughly 15-18 words a line, so you don’t have many words to create the impact you need. If you get this right the hiring manager or recruiter will then take more time to review and get you in for a conversation.

Leveling up your evidence lines. I’ll write a bit more about the power of keywords and names. These are important for ATS .. but frankly keywords are how our brains work. We want to see what we recognise. I’ll also provide some more examples in the future to help. But the core is the Magic Evidence Formula. Use it. Practice it.

Also check out Colin Lernell’s great video based on science* and reviews of 125,000 resumes. It’s good (* it’s good but it’s probably not science).

What else? You evidence lines are very important but not everything. I have some ideas for the rest of the CV, introductions, cover letters and networking to multiply the power of your new CV.

CV Template - Free to download

I’ll put one in place soon. I want to post this, but let me know if you need one right now.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

As well as CVs I have a set of example business slides in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

Leave a comment

When you present, people often hear the message they want to hear. It’s worse if they only read your slides from an email. People will fill in any blanks with their own thoughts. What should you do?

If you want your message to be clear, use your headline like a power tool. Headlines are your tool to make it clear to the audience what your point is.

Why are good headlines so important? Two reasons:

1. Making your message clear when you are in the room; and

2. Making your message clear when you are not in the room.

When you are in the room.

Not everyone has the attention span to read and interpret your carefully crafted slide. Not everyone will get the message from the talk you are giving. Your headline allows you to make your message crystal clear in 10 words in 30cm high lettering. Don't miss that opportunity.

When you are not in the room.

Headlines are also important after your presentation. Maybe the CFO is emailed your presentation. Will they come to exactly the same conclusion you did? Or do you expect them to interpret your driver trees, your donut charts and beautiful bubble charts? Your headlines help create the impact you want rather than leaving it to interpretation.

Also think about long after the meeting. Your report may be reviewed during the project, or maybe reviewed years after in an audit. Use your headlines to be clear in what you mean.

Good headlines are the conclusion you drew from the data

How do you write a good headline? It’s surprisingly easy to describe, but not that easy to do.

Your headline should be your conclusion. Your message. It should not be just a legend for the slide.

You may have heard of headlines being the “So what?”. The “so what” is the conclusion you took from the data, and the conclusion you wish your audience to consider… but none of that describes how to write a good headline.

Creating impact with headlines

Here's an example of a slide with a headline that is just a legend. We know it’s safety data but it is not clear what the slide’s message is. Ask yourself: with a non descriptive headline, who will then decide the conclusion? What will they decide?

Let's pretend there is a new Health and Safety Manager at ACME Company. If this new manager presented this chart to you, or you saw this in a report, what conclusion would you draw about that new manager?

A reader may think:

This new Safety Manager has done a terrible job. Things have gotten really bad in the last year. What's seems worse is they have just served up these terrible numbers with no point of view on the cause or solution. They should be fired. We can bring in someone else to get injuries back down. Peoples lives are at risk.

A slightly better headline would create a conclusion from the slide. The new headline below is effective and has impact… but would not be great for the new Safety Manager's job at ACME Company.

Looking at this slide, I would want to know i) why this increase was happening, and ii) what is being done about it? To answer these questions you'd need to adjust the content and the headline. It is normal to iterate after you've refined your headlines (and conclusions). I've made a few small adjustments to cover the "why the increase?".

Two questions for you to think about:

1. What would you add to the above slide to address the second question on "what is being done about it" ?

2. How useful is a slide without a “conclusion” or a “so what”?

Writing good headlines takes time and practice. It is worth the effort. By writing headlines you’ll test your conclusions … and often you will iterate your ideas and data till you’ve got something that is clear and well tested. In other words, writing your thinking down leads to clear thinking, which leads to better writing … and so on.

How to create good headlines?

Here’s five simple rules I use for impactful headlines, followed by examples:

1. Conclusion not label. Headlines should be your conclusion or summary of the slide;

2. Be concise. One line is succinct. This is about 8 - 12 words in a headline;

3. Be specific. Use numbers to reduce ambiguity;

4. Refine and trim. Iterate, as conclusions interact with content; and

5. Use the active voice (if appropriate).

Examples of slide headlines in action: from “poor” to “even better”

Have a look at the above progression from poor to better and ask yourself “Why is the last headline the best out of these four?” The three big reasons are:

1. Hit them with the exciting numbers up front. If you have a big number like 157%, use it. Make it the first thing they read or hear you say. If you’re unsure, try saying it out loud. Say “Revenue increased by 157%”. Then say “157% revenue increase”. Which sounds cooler, more powerful? Which is more exciting to say?

2. Get your terms right. Be clear on financial periods and currencies. If you work for a global corporation you want to use the right language, you want to be clear. You don’t want to be asked “is that calendar year or financial year?” “Is that USD or AUD?” Or worse “is that Revenue or Sales?” Being unclear on these details signals that you are not one of the big dogs.

3. Lead the future, don’t just report on the past. I’ve been asked uncomfortable questions like: “So what if revenue was up in the year we are about to close? what’s next?” Talk about the future and your plans. This isn’t necessary for all slides but I would include a reference to the future for most KPI slides. Also note I did not include a number for how much growth there would be next year. This is a judgement call, but I feel including two numbers may detract from your powerful message of the big 157%. I also think a little bit of curiosity is called for … if it follows a powerful message.

A word on active voice.

In the slide above, the headline is Injuries have increased 2.8x due to influx of new contractors. This headline is using the passive voice.

That headline could be changed to an active voice with Our new contractor workforce is driving a 2.8x increase in injuries. This may or may not be appropriate. This active version feels more accusatory. The active headline may get people angry at you rather than angry at the problem. Some corporate cultures like this style, and some not. If you’re not 100% sure, play it a bit safer.

Example 2 shows how you can improve a vague headline into something more meaningful and impactful. A simple way to improve your headlines is to keep asking yourself “How Much?” Instead of “significant”, ask “how much is significant?” Instead of “delays”, ask “how much are those delays worth?”

Example 3 is an example away from the quantitative. If you want people to understand your new architecture … help them understand why it is important for them.

Example 4 .. are all generally bad and should be avoided.

• Avoid statements that are hard to back up, like “bad management”. Making sweeping statements just erodes trust.

• Avoid hyperbole. “Incredible”, “Amazing”, even “Great” or “Terrible” should be avoided.

• Avoid grandiose promises for the future unless you are 2000% sure.

• The last one is OK, but avoid putting a number like a $11m overrun then the details show it’s a $12.6m overrun. Double check your numbers and make sure they match.

Examples 5 and 6 are both special cases.

Example 5 - You may want to ignore all the advice above and go with 5b over 5a. Why? That 7% may not be certain. You may want to focus on something else.

Example 6 - be careful with what you write, especially in high risk topics like redundancies. Consider that your document may be picked up in an audit, or a court case in the future. Simplifying things to a headline may be counter productive.

How do Headlines and Sub Headings interact?

The headline, sub-heading and body of the slide should all say the same thing. Just at different levels of detail. The body or content of your slide should provide charts or data to demonstrate your conclusion. The Subheading should summarise that data, and lastly the Headline should be the short sharp conclusion from that data.

One weird trick for better headlines…

A boss of mine from some years ago would sometimes lay out a printed report and cut the headlines and sub- headings off. Then flip through the headline only deck and ask “what story does this tell?” Then flip through the body only deck and ask again “what story does this tell?”, and “Do they match? Do they tell the same story?” “Can you get a clear message from either?”

This is worthwhile exercise to better understand the story in your data and in your report.

My last tip for headlines is a simple one.

If you are stuck, cover up your existing headline, and then look at the body of your slide. Next say out-loud what you think the most important thing about the data is. What you say is often a good starting point for a headline.

1. Research on assertion based headlines and impact on comprehension, retention and load.

“Essay responses from the 110 engineering students revealed superior comprehension and fewer misconceptions for the assertion–evidence group as well as lower perceived cognitive load.” The assertion headline group scored 39% better on the same comprehension test.

Garner, J., & Alley, M. (2013). How the design of presentation slides affects audience comprehension: A case for the assertion–evidence approach. International Journal of Engineering Education, 29(6), 1564-1579.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

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I’ll skip to the end.

Getting the right content on your slide is about understanding your audience and their needs.

Done? Is that enough information?

No?

Maybe I should start at the beginning. Have you ever had a client or boss look at you like this while you present?

A more modern take: have you ever lead a Teams call like this?

Understanding your audience avoids confusion

This confused look is what I think about when I pull together slides. I want to avoid this look. I want to avoid my boss, my client, my staff, my peers feeling confused, bored, angry when I present. So before I start on the slide, I think about three questions:

1. Who is the audience? What do you know about them and what assumptions can you make about them?

2. What questions would the audience have? Which one question should I address on this slide?

3. What level of detail does the audience need? What level of detail do they need in this report or presentation? Note that it’s not the level of detail you want to talk about .. it’s the level of detail they need.

Let’s imagine you’re presenting a report on a new Customer Engagement System. Maybe it’s an App, a CRM, a process or a new outsourced partner. This would touch many areas of the business. So we can imagine what the CFO would be interested in? What would a leader in Operations or the COO be interested in? Technology would be very interested if it was a new system, and Customer and the CMO would be very interested if it was a Customer Engagement System. I’ve had a go at the three questions (who is the audience, their questions, the level of detail they need) below.

You should ask yourself these questions before you start designing a single slide. Here are some examples:

In this example, schedules and timelines come up often. The body of the slide carries a lot of weight here. Below on the left is what I would call a high level schedule for the above CFO, CMO and COO. On the right is a more detailed schedule for the CIO who is probably very worried you’ve forgotten critical items which will fall to them to fix.

Some examples of getting it wrong

My approach is that each slide should address a single question. That question can be broken down into Six Ws of Who, What, Where, When, How or Why. The details of the answer should be in the body of your slide.

Before I get into some advice on how to do this well .. let me share a few examples where things went wrong.

I once had a first meeting with an Executive at a new client. I was more junior and new to the company, and I was brought in by a more senior person. That Partner spent 40 of the 60 minutes explaining in detail how our company worked. All the divisions. All the products. All the services. All the highly nuanced matrixes in 3D. We were not invited back.

Another time as a partner in charge of Utilities, I had a Cyber Security sales person request a meeting to discuss cyber. I assumed it would be about the criticality of cyber to utilities clients? Instead, it was a 70 page deck on the technological details of cyber threats, cyber resiliency, cyber risk management, cyber audits, cyber something. They read every word on every page. When I asked if we could talk about the client context, they kept reading. When I tried to leave they blocked me physically until they finished the deck.

Sometimes it is too little detail. I have had people ask for funding of hundreds of thousands of dollars in small projects, and they present one or two lines. After asking a few questions you find it is not correct, or not complete. This sort of approach does not create confidence.

Once I witnessed the aftermath of a Project Manager presenting the costs for their project to the CFO. They presented cost tables without totals. They presented reasonably detailed but disorganised numbers. After pulling out a calculator the CFO confirmed the project was likely to be millions of dollars over the budget. They had to work this out themselves. This did not go well.

These are all examples where people got the audience wrong, the questions wrong and the level of detail wrong.

The easiest way to get lost is to talk about what you want to talk about. Try understanding the audience more. You can do this by asking: Who is the audience? What question(s) do they have? What level of detail do they need?

The Six Ws

Once you understand your audience more, how do you decide the content you need? I tend to answer one question per page. I also break questions up into the Six Ws: Who, What, Where, When, How and Why. Below is a brief description of each, and for many a link to more detailed examples and slides you can use:

Who questions. Who is being impacted? Who is on the team? Explain the skills or experience of the team? Who is responsible for what? I have tips for answering “Who Questions” and examples of People Questions Slides

What questions. What is it? What does it look like? What did we spend? What is the architecture? I call these “what” questions, and see examples in the latest version of my Consulting Powerpoint Template;

Where questions. Where are we going (not metaphorical, but physically)? Where are our people? Where are our assets? Maps are our second most intuitive interface, why not use them. I haven’t added these to the template yet … but will in the future;

When questions. When will something happen? When will this project be delivered? When do we start? This is an important one to master and I have tips for using and plenty examples of timeline and “when” style slides;

How questions. How is one of the Six Ws. I’ll die on that hill. Includes questions like: How does this process work? How does this complex system work? How do we pay bills? More examples on slides that show how things work; and

Why questions. Why are we over budget? Why should we change? Why is this market different? Why should we adopt this strategy over this one? The “Why” questions are important, and often the hardest. I’ve got some tips and some good “why” question slides too. I would also check out the Executive Summaries page to answer the age old question of “Why are we here?”

I’ve also created a handy matrix to help decide what sort of content to use on a slide depending on the question and the level of detail.

Other slide types include Executive Summaries, Agendas and Section Breaks (AKA Dividers). That’s it for now. Next we go into making awesome headlines.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it and have fun.

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Getting good at slides is a dark art. It can mean the difference between getting $10 million of funding, or not. It can mean the difference between a promotion, or not. It can mean the difference between an interesting meeting, or a dull painful exercise which leaves your audience with a sour distasteful memory.

Getting good at slides is important in the corporate world. The first skill to master when making impactful slides is:

Be Consistent.

It sounds simple. But it is not. I read hundred page decks where each slide is a unique experiment. This makes me have to work hard read each and every page. This also makes me want to throw the deck in the bin.

Being consistent with your slides makes it easy for the reader to understand your message. It is a good idea to be consistent. You can do this by following a few rules:

1. Use the right template - use your firm’s template or guess what? I have a consulting template for you to use here. If you’re not sure which template to use in your office, just ask;

2. Do not move things around - this is an easy rule to say but hard to follow. The easiest way to make your deck look unprofessional is have the headings jump to different places each slide. Don’t; and

3. Stick to the constraints in the template - if your headline is “Ariel 32pts left aligned and one line” keep it like that.

What do I mean by constraints? and the “things” you shouldn’t move around? These “things” are what I like to call the Anatomy of a Slide. I’ll use this slide as an example.

The Anatomy of a Slide

The main components of a slide are:

1. Headline

What is it? A sentence at the top of the page that summarizes the main takeaway or insight;

Why is it important? Like a headline in a newspaper it grabs attention, it tells people your key message and makes them curious to know more; and

What does good look like? One line. Should be the key message you want the viewer to remember and tell others. Should include data. Can use emotive language, but be careful.

2. Subheading

What is it? Sits below the Headline and summarises the content of the slide below;

Why is it important? Slides are often graphical or data driven. The subheading should clearly and quickly explain the point you are making with the data below; and

What does good look like? Two lines maximum. Summarises the data below and your conclusion(s). Does not add in new data. Does not include emotive language. The Subheading is the text based summary of your work.

3. Sticker

What is it? A little note on slides as a warning or direction for the reader;

Why is it important? This is more about protecting you and the firm. Until something is ready to release to the client call it “DRAFT”. It’s not 100% but it is a good habit; and

What does good look like? Just stick it on until everyone agrees “we are done”. Can use to assign who does what eg: “DRAFT MN” or “DRAFT LD”.

4. Body

What is it? This is the data or the detail of the content that you want to show;

Why is it important? Headlines are not enough. Show data or information to attempt to demonstrate your point; and

What does good look like? Use facts and data. Try focusing on one idea per page. Use “pictures” (charts, diagrams etc) that demonstrate one of the 6 Ws: What, Where, When, Who, How or Why. The detail shown should depend on what the audience needs, eg: The CFO may want detailed cost breakdowns, while others may want to see a summary of profit over time. This body is the graphical summary of your work.

Other features of a slide include:

A. Breadcrumbs

What is it? This forms a map to track where you are in a document;

Why is it important? Reports can span 20, 50 or over 100 pages. More than 10 page and you should use breadcrumbs; and

What does good look like? Simple and consistent. Document Title should be the default. Use Section names for long reports. Use questions and question numbers for responses (eg: Grant Submissions, Applications, RFT responses) eg: “Q17.1 Please show and detail your Proposed Program Plan”

B. Company Logo

What is it? Your organisation’s logo. It should be a visual identifier;

Why is it important? The logo partly there to remind the reader who produced this report. It’s also partly there so if it’s sitting on your client CFO’s desk other people think “wow they must be awesome”. But it is mostly there if individual pages are separated out physically or digitally; and

What does good look like? Just the logo. Once only per page, and in the same place. Present but unobtrusive. Readers often know who you are, and paid a lot of money for their report. Overuse can be obnoxious.

C. Footnotes

What is it? Use for sources or citations. Can be used for qualifiers that must accompany the data;

Why is it important? Sources increase your transparency, and often increase the reader’s trust. “Where did you get the data?” and “How recent is it?” are common conversations points, so why not cut to the chase? and

What does good look like? Simple, clear and consistent. I use “Source Organisation Name (Date). Document Name or URL.”

D. Page Numbers

What is it? The current page number;

Why is it important? If a reader has a query in a meeting or after it is easy to say “I have a question about the data on page 7” rather than “I have some doubts about the data in the report”; and

What does good look like? I prefer just the page number, not page / page total (eg: 5/178).

If you have all these in place you have what I call the Basic Slide. This is where you often start from. Keep a Basic Slide at hand plus a cover page and you are ready to do anything.

Future articles I’ll delve into how to make killer slides, plus after that: making killer decks.

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it and have fun.

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I’m finally done with a “Version 1.0” Powerpoint template for High Impact Documents. These slides are for:

• Consultants - very similar to McKinsey, BCG, Bain, the Big 4 or Big Tech consulting would use;

• Managers - internal communication for medium and large companies; and

• Making documents - not TedX presentations but proposals, business cases, project plans etc.

What does Version 1.0 mean? To me it means I have the basic slides in there and fairly common charts, dividers, title pages to help you get going. It’s free as in “free” as well as free from any constrained IP. However please consider:

• Charts and Slides - I’ve drawn all the charts, scenarios and data are fictitious unless a source is noted on the slide;

• Images - are generated from AI with licenses;

• Icons - are from the Noun project and released under Creative Commons. I have included in the notes links to the each artist and the original icons; and

• Place holder text - I like to use William Blake’s poem The Tyger instead of Lurum Ipsum. Mainly because I like it as a poem.

Version 1.0 done and delivered. Certainly not perfect but it’s 126 slides and a good start to anyone starting in management, or learning consulting or even starting their own consulting business.

The question that nobody asked is “What’s your favourite slide?” I do like my Plan on Page slides … and I do like a good Waterfall. These are the two I’d use a lot. Love a good Driver Tree.. but they only have impact in certain situations. If I had to really call it? Executive summary slides is where most people need help and my approach seems to work.

What’s next?

I’m not the fastest poster, but I have a few ideas for the future, I’d like to:

1. Set up a landing page for the Template so it’s always in one spot and make future changes there;

2. Create some tutorials on the anatomy of a slide;

3. Create tutorials on making killer slides for management and consulting;

4. Create tutorials on making impactful decks. How to make killer business cases, project overviews, proposals etc.

I have a few other ideas that could help. I’d love to hear peoples thoughts on:

• How to write a CV that 2x your value;

• How to write compelling bios and (your) performance reviews; and

• Some of the steps to perform well and get promoted in a consulting firm.

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Download the latest Business Template for High Impact Documents…

I’ve hopefully simplified the download of the Powerpoint. It will be on the High Impact Documents Downloads landing page.

PDF Version for viewing online (remember if you want the .PPTX use the link above):

Mark Nold Business Template - VERSION 1.0

10.3MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Free "High Impact Documents" template for managers and consultants. This is just the PDF version for online reading.

Download

Version 1 of Consulting Powerpoint .PPTX editable template (via Google Drive): High Impact Documents PowerPoint template (Version 1.0 30/11/24)

A neat package of “Version 1.0” Powerpoint template for High Impact Documents.

Why create these slides? I have 30 years of consulting and business experience, I want to share some practical tools and skills for new consultants, new managers and future leaders.

What are these slides? Powerpoint has become the lingu-franca for business. Excel for numbers and Powerpoint for documents. This is a template and collection of slides for business decks. Specifically for:

• Consultants - slides very similar to McKinsey, BCG, Bain, the Big 4 or Big Tech consulting would use;

• Managers - slides for internal communications in medium and large sized companies (let’s say $1B+ revenue); and

• Making documents - not TedX presentations… think more: proposals, business cases, project plans etc.

What does Version 1.0 mean? To me it means I have the basic slides in there and fairly common charts, dividers, title pages to help you get going. It is also free from any constrained IP but please consider:

• Charts and Slides - I’ve drawn all the charts for you to use as you like. The scenarios and data are fictitious unless a source is noted on the slide;

• Images - are generated from AI with licenses. Thus they should be free from any copyright claims;

• Icons - are from the Noun Project and released under Creative Commons. I have included in the notes links to the each artist and the original icons; and

• Place holder text - I like to use William Blake’s poem The Tyger instead of Lurum Ipsum. Mainly because I like it as a poem.

Download the latest Business Template for High Impact Documents…

Version 1 of Consulting Powerpoint .PPTX editable template (via Google Drive): High Impact Documents PowerPoint template (Version 1.0 30/11/24)

Above is a .PPTX version of the template and a PDF (below) for easy viewing. To download the .pptx follow the link above and then click on the dowload link (see example below).

PDF Version for viewing online:

Mark Nold Business Template - VERSION 1.0

10.3MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Free "High Impact Documents" template for managers and consultants. This is just the PDF version for online reading.

Download

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Sigh. I’ve put off updating the deck as Agenda slides are pretty dull. So I’ll get right to it. My point of view on Agendas are:

1. Agendas are important. It is easy to always include one;

2. Agenda's are a bit dull, so I like to align them with Section Breaks; and

3. Just do it.

Agendas are important for a couple of reasons, for both you and your audience. If you spend some time on an agenda:

• Your audience will know what to expect, what you’re going to cover and what comes next;

• You will find it easier to stay on track and not be derailed;

• You will be able to work out timing beforehand .. and tune your deck; and

• You will look more professional than many of your peers with one slide.

If you are not convinced, try asking Reddit’s r/Consulting How important is an "Agenda" slide? Some great responses include:

“Really important. Otherwise everyone will sit there not knowing what you are going to cover, for how long and when they can ask questions.”

“No one reads the pre-read.”

“Who cares, it takes 5 minutes to make and 30 seconds to present, just do it. If they’re really that pressed for time, put it in the meeting description. But they won’t read it.”

“Just do it. Why do we debate such things?”

“Absolutely essential.”

“It also allows them to manage their expectations.”

My advice: Use a simple agenda slide. Make your Agenda slide similar to your section breaks. I like to have a map at the start, and then show people how you are progressing through the map. Here’s a few examples of this:

In the deck (below) I’ve included more example Agendas. Some have descriptive text (good for a report you send out) and some have times (very useful for longer sessions or workshops.

You have options, but simple is often best with agendas.

What’s new in Business Template Deck : 24th August 2024

I’m getting closer to a “complete” example / template deck. My original plan is that Version 1.0 would have examples of:

A core Basic Slide; Cover Pages; and Executive Summaries. Then slides to answer “questions” for Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How questions. Section Breaks and Agenda Slides would complete the example deck.

This little project is getting pretty close to a Version 1.0. Once complete I plan to create some tutorials and look at other topics to help new managers and consultants.

Bonus Slide: Stakeholders Engaged With

This is a power slide… but only in some industries. I’ve used this slide the few times I’ve worked in Health and Education. I’d also consider it for other complex Public Sector organisations like: Public utilities, Police, Transport and bigger Departments.

I would include this one slide before or after your agenda. It’s a “more is more” slide. This slide works because it makes it clear which departments and people you’ve sought input from. This is important when making changes in organisations that have a complex outcomes to consider like Health, Education etc. They want to know you have engaged for support, and have a chance at a comprehensive view.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

I read a lot of consulting decks. I get lost sometimes. Imagine working really hard on a report, a proposal, a business case and your boss saying “I just don’t get it…”

This happens a lot.

Structure is important. One important part of structure is signalling your structure with a good agenda / contents and Section Breaks to tell people where they are in your story. There’s a lot more to a good structure, but Section Breaks are a good start.

We use dividers or Section Breaks to create “chapters” in longer reports. Section Breaks aren’t exactly fun to talk about. But, there are good Section Breaks and bad Section Breaks. I like to use Section Breaks to help the audience understand my reports better. My tips are:

1. Section Breaks should visually stand out from the the rest of the report;

2. Section names should be unambiguous and set expectations; and

3. Section Breaks should show where you are in the agenda.

To illustrate lets look at a publicly available report. This example is a 95 page McKinsey report on the Future of Trash for New York City Sanitation. 95 pages is a long report, and needs a way of organising.

This report is dense with text and many pictures. How does it rate on three tips above?

Visually Stand Out: I like that the section breaks are visually different. The section break is a simple block green, not photos and minimal text. This contrast well against the other visually busy slides.

Unambiguous and set expectations: I like the “Challenges for Shared Containers” section break heading. However, I do wonder as a reader that the heading is very specific to “Shared Containers”. Are there not more challenges? Other vague titles like “Pathway to Containerization” do not help.

Show where you are in the agenda: This is a 95 page report. Showing where you are in the agenda would help the reader navigate.

Doing a quick make over of the section break slide results in:

After the make over, this version still stands out from the rest of the report and puts the current section in context. This alows the reader to check “Ah here I am in the story”.

PLEASE NOTE: This report was created by the NYC Department of Sanitation with help from McKinsey. A full Oprah style make over would require more. I’d start with better headlines and more “so what?”.

There are other publicly available consulting report examples at Consulting Reddit Wiki. These examples .. are not exactly great and I don’t feel are representative of the best. However, they are examples, and they are available 😶

A similar list is at the Analysts Academy.

A quick scan of publicly available examples from McKinsey, BCG, PwC, Deloite and Oliver Wyman is below. You can see how things vary.

My personal belief is that once you’re heading to 10 pages I think you should have a few sections breaks. Why not make them better? Why not make it easier for the reader to track where you are?

What’s new in Business Template Deck : 21st April 2024

Not much this time. I’ve snuck in a few extra slides, plus a tidy up of the section on Section Breaks. I do prefer break slides that show where you are. I also prefer to use plain break slides if the report is fancy and full of pictures. Conversely if the report is plain with simple blocky charts and text, then I’d use breaks with fancy pictures. This is more my preference though.

My go-to Section Break slide is the first slide below. Crisp and low ink. This stands out in complex decks. I also like using little arrows to help point out where you are, just in case the contrasting colour on the text doesn’t tell you.

If you want to move the arrow I recommend you select it with a click, then use your keyboard up or down arrow to move it. That way it will stay perfectly aligned.

I’ve added a few slides I thought were missing in the deck. More Structure Slides for charts and text. Several Stakeholder Engagement slides, these are good to show the people you’ve engaged with and some of their (expressed) thoughts. Lastly another Customer Experience slide. I included this one as I’ve often seen CX and internal KPIs say different things. Sometimes it’s a lag and sometimes it’s completely at odds. This generates a good conversation.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

The best executive summary on a report is one you can read quickly, be inspired to action, and then throw away the rest of the report.

No one wants to read a 113 page report. This is hard to face when you’ve spent days or weeks on your 113 page report. You suffered. You shouldn’t make your reader suffer too. Take it easy on them and put your message up front. Then let your reader decide how much they want to delve into your document.

The same is true of presentations. Wouldn’t it be great to: show one slide; have a great in-depth conversation; dip into the rest of your deck when needed; then walk away with a clear agreed outcome?

A good executive summary* can help you do this.

How? I use a one page SCQA.

Situation: Sets out a starting point. What is our common ground?

Complication: Identifies the threat. What has changed?

Question: Defines the question(s) you will answer. What is the scope of this conversation?

Answer: Provides your solution to the challenges. What do you propose to do about problem?

SCQA writen in clear direct language makes for an impactful Executive Summary. An alternate way to think about SCQA, is that it is as a way of: defining the problem; being clear about the scope of the conversation; then giving your best answer.

Why does SCQA work for executive summaries? I’ve used SCQA for many presentations, proposals and reports. I think SCQA works because:

Common ground with the audience gets everybody nodding. So start with an unarguable starting point. ;

People need a reason to act, to fund your project, to stop or start doing things. Introduce a change, a threat, or an opportunity to drive change;

Bounding the scope of the discussion is important for concise discussions. You can do this by defining a clear set of questions.;

Being able to share early drafts and get feedback is important. You should draft the S, C and Q on day one of your report writing; and

You don’t want your reader having to find the answer on page 47. Tell them the answer upfront on page 1.

* as part of a well prepared deck. You can’t skip the hard work, sorry.

What’s new in Business Template Deck : 10th April 2024

I’m getting closer to a Version 1.0 release of the Business Template. In this BETA release I’ll cover “Executive Summary” slides. Being able to write a good executive summary is an important skill for any manager or consultant. SCQA is how I do it, and it works if you practice it.

I’ve created example Executive Summary slides in my Business Template Deck. Each is based on SCQA. Pick one that suits your style.

My recommendations for high impact Executive Summaries are:

• One page, and one page only;

• Practice and follow the guidelines for SCQA;

• Focus on getting the “questions” right. Even if you get the answer wrong, good questions will get people thinking;

• Don’t use the words: Situation, Complication, Question, Answer. It’s a bit trite;

• Try headings like: Previously, Threats, Problems, Solutions. Or short summary sentences; and

• No matter what you call them, stick to SCQA.

If you’d like to know more about SCQA…

SCQA was popularised by Barbara Minto in 1987. She was McKinsey’ first female MBA professional hire in the 70’s. Barbara was adept at structured thinking and helping others get better at it. She also invented the acronym MECE and wrote a great book on structured thinking, problem solving and deck writing called The Pyramid Principle.

I’ve been given a copy, and bought three copies of Barbara’s book. Each I’ve lent out and never seen again. This book is that good.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

Clear writing is clear thinking.

I was thinking about how skills in business writing can make a difference to a career. It made me think of William Zinsser’s On Writing Well. To paraphrase, Zinsser says practicing clear writing, helps you practice clear thinking, which in turn helps you practice clear writing.

Writing is where you test ideas. Where you refine ideas. Writing is where you can move from “I feel good about this idea” to “I’m confident in the idea because I’ve cut out the junk, tested it and refined it.”

Clear thinking is an important skill to succeed. Learning how to write clearly can help become a clear thinker. In turn your writing will become clearer and so on.

Clear thinking from clear writing is the core reason why I am creating this template and sharing what I’ve learnt.

I’m getting closer to a Version 1.0 release of the Business Template. This BETA release I’ll cover “How” slides. You’ll see a lot of how slides in management and consulting. Most common ones are process diagrams, but value chains are a very high level business process.

Common How Questions include:

How does this process work?

How do we get our product to market?

How should our new IT system work?

How does this complex <social, environmental, cultural> system work?

How does this <document, approval, payment> go from here to there?

How slides are useful pictures to help people understand how something works; how groups interact; and importantly what are the interfaces between people, departments or organisations. These types of pictures often lead to improvements or understanding of why things work the way they do.

I’m now sharing some “How” slides for my draft “High Impact Documents” template. This template is intended to help early career business leaders improve their communication skills. It’s also a resource I can point others to in the future.

Template Deck Updates : 1st March 2024

I’m organising the High Impact Documents deck by “questions”. I believe that in a good deck, each page answers an important question for the reader. One way of organising questions is into Who, What, Where, When, Why and How questions (or the 6Ws).

I use this approach for drawing on a white board and drawing slides. Whiteboards and slides are very similar … except you have more time to think with slides. Pulling apart problems into the 6Ws* makes it easier to explain complexity, and create solutions.

Years ago I read Dan Roam’s excellent Back of the Napkin. And it stuck. The book is about drawing on whiteboards, butchers’ paper or napkins. This is a great skill to have, and relevant to creating impactful slides.

I recommend the book Back of the Napkin. I also bought the workbook Unfolding the Napkin. This was great as it’s full of exercises to practice the skills in Back of the Napkin. You’ll know if you’re the practice type ... if you are, get them both.

*.. On the 6Ws (What, Where, When, Why and How). OK there are really “5Ws and a H” … but that’s a mouthful.

What is new in the High Impact Documents deck?

How slides are useful … but I do not use them often. I’ll try to explain my reasoning further below.

To start with, when do I use how slides?

Communicating the reasons for System (specifically IT systems) design.

High level business processes.

Supply Chain discussions.

Defining who is responsible for what, when and how between organisations.

Understanding complex highly interactive systems. eg: Ecology, Energy use, Homelessness…

Process Map slides

I tend to use how slides when I have to communicate clearly on: lines of responsibilities, how things interact, scope within a much larger process. But I rarely use them for process slides.

So, when do I not use how slides, and why?

Low level business processes.

Detailed Data or Systems Architecture.

Long term process documentation.

I often see people creating process diagrams in PowerPoint. While it is OK, I think it leads to costly documentation that is left forgotten in a drawer. Detailed process and systems documentation should go in your organisation’s architecture repository. Systems like Archimate (or Blueworks or many others) can be central repositories so that your process(es) are:

1. Integrated. Process, data and IT systems can be linked. If a system is planned to be changed, you can highlight every process that will be disrupted;

2. Available to be updated. If a process is changed then it can be documented centrally and everyone can see it. That includes people working on the process and those supporting it.

In summary, my rule for the use of “how slides” is:

If I need to communicate and influence the specifics of a process: use a slide. If not, just use the process repository or another slide type.

You will have to draw and show process slides. I have many times. I like to save it for complex situations. Here’s two examples of complex enough situations:

Just over 20 years ago I was working for an owner operator company engaging with several EPCs (Engineering construction firms). It wasn’t super complex but we had three companies working together in a $4B project in another country. We had to consider each companies: contracts; processes; IT systems; local laws; tax and customs.

Twelve years ago I was working for a very large multi-national. Very similar challenge but this time it was $40B and 8 EPCs. The real difference was how much more we automated due to the sheer scale.

In both projects, who did what and how made a huge difference in getting equipment to the port and released in time. If you have a similar problem it is worth doing a slide (or two) to make sure everyone from each company is on the same page. Using swim-lanes and consistent process mapping symbols is really helpful here.

Having said all of that about process slides, there are three types of How slides I really like using: Value Chains, Customer Journeys, and Systems Diagrams. In the future I would like to go into these in detail, but here are some initial thoughts on each:

Value Chain slides

On the left below is your standard Value Chain slide. I would typically colour these in the client’s company colour (which is red or orange where I’m from).

I you want more impact I have created “fancy” value chain diagrams like the one on the above right. I like to use pictures of the business’s assets to make it less abstract, easier for people to get “that’s us, our business”. I also like to reverse the supply chain and start with the customer. This reversal helps put people in the “It starts with the customer” mindset. This “Fancy Value Chain” approach does not always work, but it always generates more discussion.

Customer Journey slides

Customer Journeys can be used in retail, online, insurance or grocery shopping. I believe they are powerful diagrams to use in other processes such as: Procurement, IT Support, HR. Any time you have significant interaction with Internal Customers a Customer Journey will probably lead to more insightful conversations than a Level 3 Process Map.

Systems Diagrams slides

A Bain Partner I used to work for would often point out great books I should read. One that really stuck was Donnella Meadow’s excellent Thinking in Systems. Based on Meadow’s book (and a few more) I’ve used Systems Diagrams to help model Youth Homelessness; Energy Demand; Country Hospital Beds and other complex systems. I’m certainly no expert in this area, but I find Systems Diagrams a useful tool to better understand complex problems. I rarely use them in deliverables, as they are more working tools. The best way I find to use them is to build them as a team with inter-disciplinary experts.

Please download the latest PowerPoint High Impact Documents template below or grab a PDF to have a look at on your favourite device.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

The latest slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better and advance their careers. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

It is a natural tendency for people to focus on “how” or “what”. We’ve all seen presentations with 20 slides on how something will work in the future .. and nothing on why we should change. I used to be very guilty of this, and I think it’s a common trait, especially with technical specialists.

Fight this urge to explain how you will build something, or what will be built. Try to start with why it needs to be built or why we need to change. People are more likely to support you or help you if they understand why.

Common Why Questions include:

Why are we over budget?

Why doesn’t our current approach work?

Why should we change?

Why is this market different?

Why should we adopt this strategy over this one?

You often need a page to help people unpick “why”. There’s also a bonus benefit: if you start researching and writing “why” you may understand the challenge better yourself.

I’m now sharing some “Why” slides for my draft “High Impact Documents” template.

Why am I sharing this template? Powerpoint is a common tool for consultants and managers alike. I’d like to help early career business leaders gain skills for their future, and I’d also like a resource I can point others to in the future.

Template Deck Updates : 8th Feb 2024

I’m organising the High Impact Documents deck by “questions”. I believe that in a good deck each page answers an important question for the reader. “Why” type of questions are often the hardest to answer in a compelling way. Conversely, while difficult these are the slides that I’ve found other leaders email around, stick on a wall, or even laminate and walk the halls saying “this is the problem we’re trying to solve”.

What is new in the High Impact Documents deck?

I’m now adding slides for typical answers to Why Questions. These are the more difficult slides… but also have the highest potential to become your Killer Slide that inspires people. You know you’ve made a killer slide when people laminate it and take it to all their meetings.

When do I use why slides?

At the beginning of business cases, proposals etc. Why not “Start with Why”?

As part of a drill down for a specific initiative;

To explain complicated problems like “Why are we massively over budget?”

When I want one slide to have an exploratory discussion on a topic;

Part of workshops so we can all know some of the under pinning business drivers; or

Work-shopping solutions to complex problems.

There’s no hard rules for why slides, just consider the detailed required for your audience.

Charts that are great at exploring why questions include: Waterfall Charts, Bubble Charts, Driver Trees and Systems Diagrams, Four Quadrant charts and more.

I use all of these regularly. An example: Use a quick bubble chart to discuss a proposed competitive strategy. This one is made by drawing two lines and a few circles on a page but can lead to really interesting discussions.

In the example it looks like Client Company C (in green) is struggling. It looks like all their competitors are either (perceived) better or cheaper. They’re in the dangerous undifferentiated middle.

This generates interesting questions and discussion:

How could we improve the perception our clients have of the value we bring?

Is there a niche we are excellent at that we should be focusing on?

Is our pricing right? Are our underlying costs right?

I’ve seen single slides like this help bring people together to understand a business problem … and then solve it .. together. I’ve also had other leaders (only a few times) laminate a single slide like this to help them have better conversations with their staff and stakeholders.

Why charts are powerful. So if your next deck doesn’t have a bubble chart, or a waterfall chart or a driver tree … ask yourself .. “why?”.

Please download the latest Powerpoint High Impact Documents template below or grab a PDF to have a look at on your favourite device.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

All very common questions. A high level three step plan just doesn’t cut it. and a 2,378 WBS item MS Project Gantt chart rarely does the job either.

I’m now sharing some “When” slides for the draft “High Impact Documents” template. The aim is to share this Powerpoint template with early career consultants and future managers to help you communicate better.

Template Deck Updates : 23rd Jan 2024

I’m organising the High Impact Documents deck by “questions”. My approach is that each page answers a single question on Who Questions, What Questions, and Where, When, Why and How. Then provide examples at different levels of detail.

What’s new and cool?

I’ve added some example When Questions slides. Project plans are the typical type of slides. Later I’ll add some calendar slides and other goodness.

My experience with “When” slides is it’s all about the required level of detail. Your audience expects you to have a detailed plan in MS Project or Excel or similar. But they rarely want to walk through it step by painful step.

Executives, leaders and clients generally want to know:

What are the main steps?

When will you impact them?

What do you need from them? (Funding, sorting risks, resources from their department etc)

and … the right level of detail they need to feel assured you have it in hand.

The last one is the killer. The right level of detail is often hard to judge. My approach is to start with one of two slides:

1. A high level plan slide with 3-5 blocks showing the approach; or

2. A more detailed plan on a page they can see the timing, purpose, main steps, deliverables and resources needed.

These slides are backed up by:

a) A Detailed Plan of activities, outcomes and timelines (WBS in MS Project or Excel);

b) A Resource Plan (This is nearly always in Excel or P6. Detail who do you need, how many hours/days/months, costs); and

c) Contingency Plan (this can be detailed resource contingency plan or +30% budget. Be careful of adding contingency in more than one place.)

“Plan on a Page” Slide

This Plan on a Page slide is one of my favorites. I’ve used it for nearly two decades now and it answers most questions you get. I use it in project discussion, business cases, formal proposals, remediation plans.

When you’re asked for a “Plan on a Page” this is it. As long as you do the right level of planning behind it, it works.

The aim is to have all the key information your stakeholder needs on one page. The project team may need more, but this typically suffices for leaders outside the project. The sections are:

Timing: Duration, start and end. I don’t use exact dates here;

Purpose: Answer the really important question. Why are you doing this phase? Imagine that if you can’t sufficiently answer this question; then that phase / funding / resources will be cut and you’ll be struggling;

Activities: A break down of your major steps to complete. This is constrained in space so just give the high level to have a good conversation and give people confidence you have all the major steps covered;

Deliverables: I like to emphasise specifically what is a “must deliver”. In a proposal this could be the contracted deliverables the client will sign off on. For your company project this may be critical artifacts you need before you can proceed (Business Case, Funding Approval Form B546, Resource Commitment File etc);

Resources Required: This one I change depending on situation. It could be Costs, Major Risks, Blockers, Media Announcables. I like to use this for the items I want their support on. What resources do I need from them and how long? What organisational risks do I need them to help solve? How much money do I need?

In my experience this is a good slide to use and is worth learning.

Kickstarter style “Plan on a Page” slide

I do have another favourite. This one I’ve stolen copied borrowed from several Kickstarters I’ve backed. This chart is a great way of communicating project status, especially when it’s to do with new products, innovation or projects with a lot of external dependencies.

Why is this slide good?

Binary completion status. It’s either done or not done. I get chills when I see projects that are 76% complete because most of the items are 95% but nothing is 100% complete.

Binary started status. You can see what is started and not started. Simple.

Allows for detail without being overwhelming. I’ve seen projects with three to ten rows like this. It’s very easy to consume.

No dates. Typically I see people report one date such as “We will ship to customers by Dec 2025”. This allows you to not be continuously late as you report on each and every step. This is important in innovation and Kickstarter-land. If each step has a specific date you’ll loose the support of your backers as logistics messes with you every time. It’s a good lesson to learn.

My least favourite “When” slides so far.

There’s a trend to try to show more iterative processes in plan slides.

I’m not a fan of these slides .. as they tend to have a low information to ink ratio. The intent is to emphasis the iterative nature of the approach (eg: Agile). I like this but I feel there is a way that can be more impactful. I haven’t found a better way yet .. but will work on it. Maybe next time.

We’re now into 2024 so welcome back and hope you have some exciting career moves to make this year.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

Template Deck Updates : 11th Jan 2024

A quick reminder that I’m organising the deck by “questions”. I believe that in these sort of decks, each page should answer a single question, and generally questions are either Who Questions, What Questions, and Where, When, Why and How Questions. So each of these gets a section of examples. Plus Executive Summaries and some other goodies like Section Breaks.

What’s new and cool?

I’ve added some more example Who Questions slides. These are more focused on bios. I think this is becuase at the back end of 2022 I read and led the production of a lot of bios (one project had 109 One Page CVs)

The trick with an “who” slide is to work out what is important to the reader. My experience is that readers (Execs, Clients, Team Leaders, Procurement …) ask these questions:

Industry Experience: What previous leading companies have these people worked for? What recognisable company names are there? Are they companies better than mine? Have they solved similar challenges?

Skills: What skills do they have? Do they specifically name the processes, systems, technology, products we have? How many years experience?

Education and Certification: Does their education and certification match the requirements? Does it show they’re keen about their career and skills? Does it help me, the reader easily choose one candidate over another?

Roles: What is their role on this project? Is it a good fit for what I see on paper?

I’ve also added some What Questions slides. For me these help answer questions like:

Q: What are the components? Use a framework slide.

Q: What did it cost? Use a simple graph, a chart or a table.

Q: What are the details? Use a box slide for paragraphs of text, or combinations of graphs and text.

My favourite is the Double Donut. I normally loath Pie Charts, but I’ve found the Double Donut to be great for market share discussions. It sets the expectation that the future isn’t certain but also give you a good feel of what the overall picture will be. My feeling is that most understand that pie charts aren’t the best at accurate representations, therefore they’re good for wobbly figures like future market projections.

I also like donuts. Jam ones. Cinnamon ones. Strawberry with sprinkle ones.

Anyway, I’m back from taking a break and uploading right now :) Any feedback will be welcome.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

Template Deck Updates : 13th Dec 2023

I’ve made a few new slides (linked below) and importantly decided how to organise the sample deck. When I create a slide I’m typically trying to answer one question on the slide. I ask myself:

Is it a who question? a what question? or where, when, why or how question?

What level of detail does the audience need? Really detailed or straightforward?

Based on this I’m organising the examples into Who Questions, What Questions, and Where, When, Why and How Questions sections plus: Cover Pages, Executive Summaries, Section Breaks, Agenda and eventually a bit about the deck. Within each section I’ll have examples from the detailed to the more high level, and some in between.

What’s new and cool?

Other than organising I’ve added two lots of new examples: Who Questions and Section Breaks.

The slides that answer “Who Questions” are designed to answer questions like: Who is in what position? Who is their boss? Who is your team? Who are you? and range from the really simple to the more complex.

I like my Section Breaks. If you have a big document it’s easy to get lost. I like to use Section Breaks (and breadcrumbs) to help the audience keep track. The way I do it is through having an agenda on each section and showing where you are in the agenda. Simple but effective.

It’s now uploaded and ready to go. I’d love to read your feedback.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

Example slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

I’d like to share how I create “High Impact Documents”. First I need a reasonable template and examples. Attached is my take on a very basic template with cover pages, a basic page and section breaks. I’d like your feedback before I launch into adding in example content pages of layouts and specific charts and images. We all know the pain of going back and editing lot of pages.

It’s a bit of an adventure but the intent is to help future managers and early stage consultants. Right now I’d love feedback from more experienced hands to get the template into a good shape.

Consulting Power Point Template - Free to download

The latest slides like the above and a hundred more are available in my Free to use Business Template. My aim is to help new managers and consultants communicate better and advance their careers. Download, use it, and have fun writing.

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