The Arc: Setup → Insight → Action

Every executive deck moves through three phases. Setup orients the executive: here is the situation, here is why it matters today, here is what question this deck answers. Insight shows the finding or recommendation: here is what we discovered, here is what we recommend, here is the evidence. Action asks for the decision: here is what you need to approve, here is the ask, here is the deadline and the consequence of delay.

Content that does not fit one of these three phases does not belong in the main deck. Background on your company's history with the problem? Appendix. Methodology detail that the technical team requested? Appendix. Alternative options that were considered and rejected? Appendix (with a one-slide summary in the main deck that names the alternatives and states why they were rejected). The main deck is a decision document. Everything that does not serve the decision goes elsewhere.

## DECK ARC — THREE-PHASE STRUCTURE

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
PHASE 1: SETUP (slides 1-3)
Purpose: orient the executive to the situation and the stakes.

Slide 1 — Title + one-sentence ask (optional but effective)
Slide 2 — The situation: what is happening and why it matters now
Slide 3 — The question: what decision this deck enables

LENGTH: 2-3 slides. If setup exceeds 3 slides, you are providing
background, not orientation. Move the excess to the appendix.

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
PHASE 2: INSIGHT (slides 4-9)
Purpose: deliver the recommendation and the evidence.

Slide 4 — The recommendation (clearly stated, specific, actionable)
Slides 5-8 — Evidence: data, peer examples, pilot results
Slide 9 — Risk and mitigation (the primary objection, addressed)

LENGTH: 5-7 slides. Each slide one story. Evidence slides answer
the questions the recommendation generates, in order of likely priority.

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
PHASE 3: ACTION (slides 10-12)
Purpose: make the ask and define what happens next.

Slide 10 — The ask: specific decision, specific amount, specific date
Slide 11 — Implementation path: what happens after approval
Slide 12 — Next step: the single action required to move forward

LENGTH: 2-3 slides. The ask should be impossible to miss.
If the executive has to search for what you are asking them to do,
the action phase has failed.

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
TOTAL MAIN DECK: 10-12 slides + appendix
Content not fitting this arc → appendix