Board deck outline with the story

Build a board meeting deck outline with slide-by-slide headlines, content, key charts and the decisions you need from directors.

Change note: Initial version

Prompt

Create a board deck outline for {{company}}'s {{meeting}} board meeting.

Business snapshot and results this period:
{{results}}

Strategic issues, risks or decisions for the board:
{{issues}}

Audience: {{board_profile}}
Time available: {{duration}} minutes

Design the deck as a story, not a data dump:
1. **Meeting objective**: what I want the board to know, discuss and decide.
2. **Slide list**: for each slide give a number, an assertive headline written as a conclusion (not a topic label), 3 to 4 supporting points, the best chart or table to show, and a time allocation. The total time must fit the duration and leave at least 40% for discussion of strategic issues.
3. **Order logic**: start with a one-page executive summary, then results against plan, then strategic issues, then decisions and asks. Put routine items in an appendix.
4. **Decision slides**: for every decision, write the exact resolution wording, the recommendation and the risks.
5. **Anticipated questions**: the 6 hardest questions the board is likely to ask, with a short suggested answer for each.
6. **Appendix list** and a pre-read checklist (what to send, and when).

Flag any data I should collect before building the slides. Where my information is missing, mark it as "[need: ...]".

Variables

• {{company}}Companytextrequired

  Default: Northwind Logistics

• {{meeting}}Meetingtextrequired

  Default: Q3

• {{results}}Results and snapshotlongrequired

  Default: Revenue $12.4M, plan $13M. Gross margin up 2 points to 31%. Lost our second-largest customer (8% of revenue). Cash $3.1M. Hiring plan behind by 6 roles.

• {{issues}}Issues and decisionslongrequired

  Default: Approve a $1.5M investment in a second warehouse. Discuss customer concentration risk. Update on CFO search.

• {{board_profile}}Board profiletextrequired

  Default: 5 directors: 2 investors, 2 independents, CEO; financially literate, time-poor

• {{duration}}Time availableselectrequired

  Options: 60, 90, 120

  Default: 90

Example output

**Objective:** Board approves the $1.5M warehouse investment and aligns on a customer concentration plan.

| # | Headline | Evidence | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q3 landed 5% below plan, with margins improving | Revenue vs plan bar chart; margin trend | 5 |
| 2 | Losing our #2 customer cuts 8% of revenue; the pipeline covers about half | Customer concentration chart; pipeline table | 15 |
| 3 | Gross margin up 2 points as routing savings take hold | Margin bridge | 5 |
| 4 | A second warehouse unlocks capacity but needs $1.5M and 14 months to pay back | Options table; payback chart | 25 |
| 5 | Hiring is 6 roles behind and the CFO search is on track | Hiring tracker; search timeline | 10 |
| 6 | Decisions and next steps | Resolution text | 10 |

Discussion time: 55 of 90 minutes.

**Resolution wording:** "The Board approves capital expenditure of up to $1.5M for a second warehouse, subject to lease terms within the presented range."

**Hardest questions:** What is the plan if no replacement customer arrives? What is the downside case on payback? Why is hiring late?

**Pre-read:** send the deck and a one-page summary five days ahead.

**Data to collect:** [need: pipeline by stage; warehouse utilisation by month].

Notes

Writing slide headlines as conclusions forces the story before the design work starts, and protecting discussion time keeps the meeting from becoming a read-out. Send the outline to your CEO before building the slides.