The task
You have 20 minutes to present a project, an idea, or a recommendation to a mixed audience: your manager, a couple of execs, peers who already know the work, and a stakeholder who knows nothing. You have plenty of material and zero structure. The goal is a 10-slide outline with one message, three supporting points anchored in evidence, slide titles that read coherently if a stranger scans them, and a final slide with a concrete call to action.
When AI helps — and when it does not
AI is excellent at distilling messy notes into a slide sequence, suggesting visuals, and writing speaker notes. It is poor at knowing which point is politically sensitive in your org — if a recommendation contradicts a sponsor’s prior position, AI will not flag it. Read the deck against your stakeholder map before sharing.
What to feed the AI
- Audience + their primary goal (decide, align, learn, fund)
- One-sentence message you want them to leave with
- Three supporting points with the evidence behind each
- Time slot (20 / 30 / 45 min)
- Format constraints (in-person, hybrid, slides only, Loom)
- Anything explicitly out of scope or pre-decided
Copy-ready prompt
Outline a 10-slide work presentation.
Audience: <list of roles>
Audience primary goal: <decide / align / learn / fund>
One-sentence message: <line>
Time slot: <minutes>
Format: <in-person / hybrid / Loom>
Out of scope or pre-decided: <list>
Supporting point 1: <line> — evidence: <data / quote>
Supporting point 2: <line> — evidence: <data / quote>
Supporting point 3: <line> — evidence: <data / quote>
For each of 10 slides, return:
- Title (under 8 words, a sentence not a topic)
- One supporting bullet
- A visual idea (chart / image / table)
- 30-word speaker note
- A "cut if short on time" flag for slides that can be sacrificed
Structure:
- Slide 1: hook tied to audience pain
- Slides 2-4: point 1 (build → evidence → implication)
- Slides 5-7: point 2 (same structure)
- Slide 8: point 3 (single slide if shorter)
- Slide 9: risks / open questions
- Slide 10: concrete call to action with owner and timeline
Concrete CTA only. No "let's keep the conversation going."For decision-seeking meetings: “Add a recommendation slide before the CTA, with the 2 alternatives I considered and rejected.”
Recommended output structure
10 numbered slides with title, bullet, visual idea, speaker note, and cut-if-short flag. A short note on which 2 slides to drop if you lose 5 minutes.
How to check the output is usable
- A stranger reading only the titles in order gets the argument
- Each point is built on evidence, not opinion
- The CTA names who, what, by when
- Risks / open questions appear before the CTA, not after
- The cut-if-short slides are genuinely cuttable
Common mistakes
- One-message-per-slide forgotten — slides with three points blur into one
- No call to action — meetings without a CTA end and nothing happens
- Background eating slides 1-4 — exec audiences walk away by slide 3
- Visual ideas described in words only — they will not happen at the meeting
- Letting AI invent data — every chart needs your number
- Politically risky points without disclosure to sponsor — bad surprise
FAQ
- 20 vs 45 minutes? 20 = 5-7 slides; 45 = 10-12. Q&A budgeted separately.
- Should I rehearse? Yes — once timed, once for energy. Twice is enough.
- What if the audience hijacks? Use the cut-if-short flag to drop slides live and still land the CTA.
Related
- PPT outline AI — broader presentation outline workflow
- PPT outline prompts — additional outline variants
- Presentation speaker notes prompts — speaker notes after the outline
- AI generate PPT tutorial — outline → slides workflow
- Self introduction — opening 60 seconds
- Storytelling outline — story-shaped presentations
- Manager update email AI — written companion to the talk
Tags: #AI writing #Job search #Workflow