The Slide Hierarchy

A deck contains four types of slides, and each type has a different structural template and a different reading pattern. Using the wrong template for the wrong slide type creates friction — the executive's reading pattern is calibrated for a content slide and they encounter a section divider formatted like one. The mismatch costs cognitive load that should be directed at the decision.

1. Title Slides — orient the audience Deck title, date, presenter, audience. Minimal. The executive reads the title slide to confirm they are in the right meeting. Nothing else should be demanded of them here. No data, no headlines, no early argument. One exception: a one-sentence "what this deck asks you to approve" is acceptable on the title slide and often effective in establishing recommendation-first framing before the deck begins.
2. Section Dividers — reset the reader The section name, large. One sentence stating what this section covers. No body copy. No charts. The divider exists to signal a transition and give the executive a moment to shift their mental frame. When a section divider is formatted like a content slide — with body copy and a call-out — the reader looks for evidence that is not there. The confusion is brief but real.
3. Content Slides — make the argument The four-element structure: headline, body, call-out, source. Every content slide makes exactly one claim. The headline states it. The body supports it. The call-out extends it to the decision. Content slides are where the argument lives. They should represent 70-80% of the deck.
4. Appendix Slides — hold the detail Same four-element structure as content slides, but referenced rather than presented. Each appendix slide is labeled "Appendix [letter/number]" and referenced by a main-deck slide ("See Appendix B for full methodology"). The appendix is where the CFO goes when they want more than the chart on slide 7 provides. Build it with the CFO in mind.