# Storytelling: Board Presentations

How to build a board deck that earns its time slot.

Board decks are decision-support tools. The audience is time-poor, context-rich, and looking for signal. Every slide must justify its existence. Lead with what matters from the first slide. If a slide doesn't change a decision or surface a risk, delete it.

---

## The seven-beat structure

```
Start ─────────────────────────────────────────────── End
│ Exec summary │ KPIs │ Progress │ Initiatives │ Risks │ Decisions │ Appendix │
```

Seven beats. The proportions flex to your context, but the sequence is fixed. Board members will scan for the first two beats immediately. Make them standalone.

| Beat | ~Share | Purpose |
|------|--------|---------|
| Executive summary | 10% | The whole deck on one slide |
| KPIs / scorecard | 15% | The numbers that matter |
| Progress vs plan | 20% | Accountability |
| Key initiatives | 20% | What you're betting on |
| Risks & blockers | 15% | What could go wrong |
| Decisions needed | 10% | Specific asks |
| Appendix | 10% | Available if needed |

---

### 1. Executive summary: *the whole deck on one slide*

**Purpose:** If a board member reads nothing else, this slide should be enough. Status. Key metrics. Decisions needed. Done.

**What belongs:**
- One-sentence company status (on track / off track / pivoting)
- Three to five headline metrics with direction arrows
- Two to three decisions you need from this meeting
- One sentence on the biggest risk

**What doesn't belong:**
- Narrative. Context. Explanations. History. Anything that requires a second read.

**Example headlines:**

> **Q3 on track.** <span class="dim">Two decisions needed.</span>
> **Revenue ahead of plan.** <span class="dim">Hiring behind.</span>
> **Off track on retention.** <span class="dim">Mitigation underway.</span>

**Best components:** Stat grid for the metrics. A single dark callout line for the biggest risk. Eyebrow + headline + subtitle for the framing.

**Common mistakes:**
- Making it two slides. It's one. Compress harder.
- Including anything that requires explanation. If it needs a footnote, it belongs in a later beat.
- Being vague. "Things are going well" is a label. "Revenue +18% vs plan, burn on target, need approval for Series B timeline" is a summary.

---

### 2. KPIs / scorecard: *the numbers*

**Purpose:** The quantitative health check. Revenue, growth, retention, burn, runway. Every metric compared to plan and prior period.

**What belongs:**
- Five to eight KPIs that the board agreed to track
- Actuals vs plan vs prior period
- RAG status (green/yellow/red) per metric
- Trend direction (up/down/flat)

**What doesn't belong:**
- Vanity metrics. Anything the board didn't ask for. Metrics without a comparison point.

**Example headlines:**

> **Scorecard.** <span class="dim">Q3 vs plan.</span>
> **Five green. Two yellow.** <span class="dim">No red.</span>
> **Revenue on plan.** <span class="dim">Net retention slipping.</span>

**Best components:** Stat grid (the primary tool here). Use the big number style for the headline metric, then a row of supporting stats beneath. Feature card row works well for initiative dashboards where each metric connects to a specific workstream. Capability list works for a more detailed metric-by-metric breakdown with RAG indicators.

**Common mistakes:**
- Too many metrics. If you have fifteen KPIs, you have zero. Pick five to eight.
- No comparison. A number without context is decoration. Always show vs plan and vs prior.
- Hiding the bad ones in the middle. Lead with the worst metric. Board members notice what you bury.

---

### 3. Progress vs plan: *accountability*

**Purpose:** What you committed to last quarter. What actually happened. Honest accounting. This is where trust is built or eroded.

**What belongs:**
- The commitments from the previous meeting
- Status on each: done, partially done, not done, deprioritized
- One sentence per item explaining the gap (if any)
- What you learned from the misses

**What doesn't belong:**
- Excuses. Long explanations. Reframing misses as wins. Anything that feels like spin.

**Example headlines:**

> **Q2 commitments.** <span class="dim">Three of five delivered.</span>
> **Plan vs actual.** <span class="dim">Honest accounting.</span>
> **Two misses.** <span class="dim">Both understood.</span>

**Best components:** Two-column (plan vs actual) is the natural format here. Left column = what you said you'd do. Right column = what happened. Timeline shows the sequence of milestones with actual vs planned dates. Update row lets you stack multiple commitment status lines. Step stack visualizes progress through phases. Capability list also works, with the question column as the commitment and the answer column as the result plus one-line explanation.

**Common mistakes:**
- Redefining success after the fact. If you said "ship v2" and shipped v1.5, say that.
- Skipping this section entirely. Some teams just show a forward-looking plan. Boards notice.
- Burying the misses in body copy. Lead with what didn't work.

---

### 4. Key initiatives: *what you're betting on*

**Purpose:** Three to five things that matter most right now. Each gets one slide: what it is, where it stands, what's next.

**What belongs:**
- Initiative name and one-sentence description
- Current status (on track / at risk / blocked)
- Key milestone achieved since last meeting
- Next milestone and expected date
- One risk or dependency per initiative

**What doesn't belong:**
- More than five initiatives. Focus demands constraint. Feature lists. Tactical details.

**Example headlines:**

> **Enterprise launch.** <span class="dim">On track for Q4.</span>
> **Platform migration.** <span class="dim">60% complete. At risk.</span>
> **New pricing model.** <span class="dim">Testing with 12 accounts.</span>

**Best components:** Eyebrow (initiative name) + headline (status) + subtitle (what's next). One slide per initiative. Product slide showcases a specific initiative with visual context. Collage slide works when an initiative spans multiple workstreams worth showing together. Dot flow works if you want to show a timeline of milestones. Dark callout for an at-risk initiative that needs board attention.

**Common mistakes:**
- Too many initiatives. Three to five. Strict limit.
- No status indicator. Every initiative needs a clear on track / at risk / blocked signal.
- Missing the "what's next." Boards want to know what happens between now and the next meeting.

---

### 5. Risks & blockers: *what could go wrong*

**Purpose:** What's already going wrong. What could go wrong. What you're doing about it. This is where you earn trust by surfacing problems before they become crises.

**What belongs:**
- The biggest risk, given prominence
- Two to four additional risks or blockers
- For each: likelihood, impact, mitigation
- Anything you need the board's help with

**What doesn't belong:**
- Theoretical risks that are unlikely and low-impact. Risks you've already fully mitigated. Risks listed to show you're thorough but that don't need board attention.

**Example headlines:**

> **Biggest risk.** <span class="dim">Key hire hasn't closed.</span>
> **Three blockers.** <span class="dim">One needs board action.</span>
> **Churn risk is real.** <span class="dim">Mitigation plan in appendix.</span>

**Best components:** Dark callout for the single biggest risk, giving it the visual weight it deserves. JEDUF shows the risk spectrum from acceptable to critical, helping the board calibrate severity. Capability list for the remaining risks (left column = risk, right column = mitigation + status). Two-column works for a likelihood/impact matrix approach.

**Common mistakes:**
- Hiding bad news in the appendix. If it's a real risk, it belongs here.
- Listing risks without mitigations. A risk without a plan is just anxiety.
- Being falsely optimistic. Boards prefer "this is a real problem and here's what we're doing" over vague reassurance followed by a surprise next quarter.

---

### 6. Decisions needed: *specific asks*

**Purpose:** The reason this meeting exists. What you need the board to approve, discuss, or decide. Specific. Actionable. Concrete.

**What belongs:**
- Two to four specific decisions
- For each: the recommendation, the alternatives considered, the tradeoff
- What happens if no decision is made (the default path)
- Any pre-reads or context needed (link to appendix)

**What doesn't belong:**
- FYIs disguised as decisions. Updates that require no action. Decisions you've already made.

**Example headlines:**

> **Two decisions needed.** <span class="dim">Both time-sensitive.</span>
> **Approve Series B timeline.** <span class="dim">Recommendation: Q1.</span>
> **Choose pricing strategy.** <span class="dim">Option A vs Option B.</span>

**Best components:** Two-column for Option A vs Option B comparisons. Quote pair presents both sides of a decision with equal weight, letting the board see the tradeoff clearly. Eyebrow ("Decision 1 of 2") + headline (the ask) + subtitle (your recommendation). Capability list if you have multiple decisions to lay out in sequence.

**Common mistakes:**
- No clear recommendation. Present your recommendation with reasons, alongside the alternatives.
- Being vague. "Approve $2M additional spend on hiring" is a clear decision. "Discuss strategy" leaves the ask undefined.
- Too many decisions. Boards can handle two to four per meeting. More than that and nothing gets proper attention.

---

### 7. Appendix: *available if needed*

**Purpose:** Detailed data, methodology, deep dives, supporting analysis. Available on request when a board member asks "tell me more about X."

**What belongs:**
- Detailed financial models
- Customer-level data
- Technical architecture details
- Full competitive analysis
- Methodology behind key metrics
- Anything referenced with "details in appendix" earlier

**What doesn't belong:**
- Anything that changes a decision. If it matters, it belongs in the main deck.

**Example headlines:**

> **Appendix.** <span class="dim">Supporting detail.</span>
> **Financial model.** <span class="dim">Full assumptions.</span>
> **Churn analysis.** <span class="dim">Cohort-level detail.</span>

**Best components:** Stat grid for data tables. Code slide for technical architecture or implementation details. Stack grid for multi-dimensional data where you need to show several items at once. Capability list for detailed breakdowns. Two-column for methodology explanations. Keep the same visual system. The appendix should feel like part of the main deck.

**Common mistakes:**
- Using the appendix to hide bad news. If something is important enough to influence a decision, it goes in the main deck.
- No clear navigation. Number your appendix slides (A1, A2, A3) and reference them from the main deck.
- Making the appendix longer than the main deck. If your appendix is 30 slides and your deck is 12, you're probably presenting the wrong things.

---

## The "so what" test

Every slide should answer: "So what does this mean?"

Revenue is up 18%. **So what?** It means you're ahead of plan and can invest more aggressively in hiring.

Churn increased 2 points. **So what?** It means your onboarding changes aren't working and you need to revisit the approach.

You shipped the new pricing page. **So what?** It means you're ready to test enterprise pricing next quarter.

If a slide presents a fact without a "so what," add the implication. If there is no implication, delete the slide.

The headline is where the "so what" lives. Lead with the implication: **Revenue ahead of plan.** <span class="dim">Investing the surplus in engineering.</span>

---

## RAG status

Red/Amber/Green indicators are useful shorthand. They become useless when:

- Everything is green (you're not being honest)
- Everything is amber (you're hedging)
- The colors have no definition (what does "amber" mean for this metric?)

**Rules for RAG:**
- Define thresholds upfront. Green = within 5% of plan. Amber = 5–15% off. Red = more than 15% off or qualitative blocker.
- Red is a signal. Use it willingly.
- Five to eight metrics with RAG status work best. Fifteen dilutes the system.
- If a metric has been amber for three consecutive meetings, it's red. Persistent amber is a failure to escalate.

Use RAG in the Stat grid component. The big number in the metric's color (or a colored dot/indicator beside it). Keep colors subtle. They should recede into the background as quiet indicators.

---

## Adapting for board type

### Investor board

They care about: returns, growth, market position, capital efficiency, exit path.

- Emphasize KPIs and financial performance
- Compare to market benchmarks and comparable companies
- Frame decisions in terms of shareholder value
- Include runway and fundraising timeline

### Advisory board

They care about: helping you succeed, understanding your challenges, offering connections and expertise.

- Emphasize risks and blockers (this is where they add value)
- Ask specific questions ("do you know a VP Sales with enterprise experience?")
- Less financial detail, more strategic context
- Be more candid about uncertainty

### Internal leadership / exec team

They care about: operational detail, cross-functional dependencies, team health, execution speed.

- More granular on progress vs plan
- Include team-level metrics (hiring, velocity, satisfaction)
- Decisions can be more tactical
- Skip the financial overview if it's shared separately

---

## Adapting for stage

### Early-stage (pre-Series B)

- Fewer KPIs (you might only have three that matter)
- Progress vs plan is about product milestones and qualitative learning
- Risks are existential (product-market fit, runway, key person)
- Decisions are about direction and big bets
- Appendix is lighter. You have limited historical data at this stage.

### Growth stage (Series B–D)

- Full KPI scorecard with financial and operational metrics
- Progress vs plan is quantitative. You committed to numbers.
- Risks shift to execution and market (competition, hiring, retention)
- Decisions are about resource allocation and strategic bets
- Appendix includes detailed cohort analysis, financial models

### Public company / late stage

- Highly structured with regulatory awareness
- KPIs aligned to what you report externally
- Progress vs plan is strict. You guided the street.
- Risks include compliance, reputation, market perception
- Decisions require clear governance and documentation
- Appendix is comprehensive and auditable

---

## Adapting for frequency

### Monthly

- Lighter deck (8–12 slides)
- Focus on KPIs and any urgent decisions
- Progress vs plan is more tactical (this month vs last month)
- Skip the full initiative review. Highlight changes only.
- Appendix is minimal

### Quarterly

- Full seven-beat structure (15–20 slides)
- This is the canonical board deck format
- All sections get full treatment
- Appendix supports deep dives during the meeting

### Annual

- Strategy-heavy (20–30 slides)
- Add: full-year retrospective, next-year plan, long-term vision
- KPIs include annual trends and multi-year trajectory
- Initiatives section becomes a strategic roadmap
- Decisions include budget, team plan, major bets for the year

---

## Appendix strategy

Your appendix is your credibility insurance. Build it right:

**What to include:**
- One detailed slide for every claim in the main deck that a board member might challenge
- Financial model with assumptions visible
- Customer data that supports your narrative
- Competitive landscape detail
- Methodology for any non-obvious metric

**How to reference it:**
- In the main deck, add small references: "Detail in A3" or "See appendix for methodology"
- Number appendix slides clearly (A1, A2, A3...)
- Group by topic, matching the order of the main deck

**When to pull it up:**
- When asked. Only then.
- If a discussion is going in circles, offer "I have the detail in the appendix. Want me to pull it up?"
- If you anticipate a specific challenge, know the appendix slide number before the meeting starts

---

## Common mistakes

### 1. Too much detail
A board deck is a decision tool. If your deck has 40 slides, you're presenting a document. Cut to 15–20. Move the rest to appendix.

### 2. No decisions asked
Meetings exist for decisions. Send updates by email. Always bring at least one specific ask.

### 3. Hiding bad news in the appendix
Board members notice. If something is going wrong, surface it in the main deck with your mitigation plan. Being the one to raise it is a strength. Being caught hiding it is fatal.

### 4. Too many slides
A 45-minute board meeting with 30 content slides means 90 seconds per slide. That leaves no room for discussion. Aim for 12–20 slides in the main deck. Spend the time on discussion.

### 5. Using the deck as a report
A board deck is selective. Surface what matters for decisions. Different job. Different output.

### 6. No "so what" in the headlines
"Revenue: $4.2M" tells the board nothing. "Revenue 18% ahead of plan" tells them something. "Revenue ahead, accelerating hiring" tells them what it means. Always land the implication.

### 7. Burying the lead
Put the conclusion first. Board members will scan ahead. Lead with findings, then provide supporting evidence. Inverted pyramid structure.

### 8. Being falsely optimistic
Boards have seen hundreds of decks. They can smell spin. "This is hard and here's our plan" earns trust. Candor compounds.

---

## The headline pattern for board decks

Same bold-then-dim system. Board headlines follow their own rhythm:

**Narrative deck headlines** tell a story:
> **The old playbook** <span class="dim">stopped working.</span>

**Board deck headlines** state a fact and its implication:
> **Revenue ahead of plan.** <span class="dim">Accelerating hiring.</span>
> **Retention slipping.** <span class="dim">Root cause identified.</span>
> **Three of five delivered.** <span class="dim">Two pushed to Q4.</span>
> **Approve budget increase.** <span class="dim">$500K for platform team.</span>

The bold part is the signal. The dim part is the "so what" or the action. Together they form a complete thought that works even without the slide body.

---

## One more thing

Board meetings are conversations with a visual aid.

Your deck exists to make the conversation more efficient. It gets everyone to the same starting point faster, so the discussion can happen at a higher level.

If you're spending more than 15 minutes presenting and less than 30 minutes discussing, your deck is talking when it should be supporting.

Build a deck that makes the discussion better.
