The Great Slide Deck Divide: Presentation vs. Documentation

At a Glance

The problem with double-duty slide decks, including:

• Conflicting purposes: presentation aid vs. standalone documentation

• Text-heavy slides that overwhelm audiences and compete with your voice

• The cognitive impossibility of audiences reading and listening simultaneously

• A practical two-deck approach that respects both presenter and audience

Hey folks,

Have you ever sat through a presentation where the speaker simply read dense, text-heavy slides verbatim? Or worse—have you been that speaker, wondering why your brilliant insights didn't land with the audience? Maybe the crowd seemed overly focused on the screen, rather than appreciating your boardroom dynamism. 

This is one of the most common mistakes I see in corporate presentations, and it's time we address the great slide deck divide.

– Jeff

P.S. I've got a free upcoming OKRs and Product Discovery webinar on April 22nd, opportunities to become a Certified Training Partner, and storytelling company training programs on the books. More details below. 

Article: The Great Slide Deck Divide: Presentation vs. Documentation

The problem with double-duty 

In most organizations, slide decks serve two conflicting purposes: They're expected to work as visual aids for live presentations while simultaneously functioning as comprehensive standalone documentation.

The result? Dense, eye-straining slides that undermine your presence as a presenter and force your audience into an impossible choice between reading your slides or listening to you.

Think about it: If your slides contain every word you're going to say, why are you there?

The two-deck solution

The solution isn't complicated, but it does require intentional design. We need to split our approach into two distinct parts:

For your presentation, focus on creating 5–10 simple, visually engaging slides that support your storytelling. Use compelling images, include only key data points or short phrases, and remember that you are telling the story, not your slides.

Then, place all the detailed information in a separate appendix that you can leave behind. This includes supporting data, charts, references, and explanations—information that stands on its own when you're not there to present it.

Before and after example

To illustrate the difference, consider these contrasting approaches to the same content:

BEFORE (Documentation-style slide) 

Title: Q1 Product Adoption Results 

• New user registration increased 18% over previous quarter 

• 72% of users completed onboarding process (up from 64% in Q4) 

• Feature X usage increased 27% following UI redesign 

• Customer satisfaction score improved from 7.2 to 8.1 

• Return visitor rate increased 14% 

• Key improvements included simplified navigation (52% positive feedback), streamlined checkout (38% reduction in cart abandonment), and enhanced mobile responsiveness (63% increase in mobile conversions)

AFTER (Presentation-style slide) 

Title: Product Adoption is Accelerating 

[Simple chart showing upward trend] 

18% Growth in Q1

The first slide makes people read. The second slide lets you tell the story while providing a simple visual anchor.

Handling Q&A effectively

"But what if someone asks for more details during the presentation?"

This is where preparation meets flexibility. When someone asks for specifics during Q&A, you can simply say: "Great question. Let me show you the data behind that conclusion."

Then navigate to your appendix slides where you've placed all that detailed information. This approach demonstrates both preparedness and respect for your audience's time during the main presentation.

The one-track human mind

Research confirms what we intuitively know: humans cannot effectively process written text and spoken words simultaneously. When you put up text-heavy slides, you're essentially asking your audience to multitask in a way their brains aren't designed to handle.

Your audience will either read your slides and tune you out, listen to you and miss what's on your slides, or switch back and forth, absorbing neither effectively.

Bottom line

If your audience could get all the information from your slides alone, they wouldn't need you in the room. Your presence as a presenter matters—make it count by creating a presentation deck that supports you telling the story, keeping your slides simple and visual, putting the detailed documentation in an appendix, and sharing the comprehensive version afterward.

What I’ve been up to

OKRs and Product Discovery Webinar: I'm hosting a free webinar on April 22nd exploring the critical relationship between OKRs and product discovery. We'll dig into how these practices reinforce each other when done well, and why discovery is essential for meaningful outcome-based goals. Register here. 

Storytelling Training Programs: I've been working with several leadership teams on improving their presentation and storytelling skills. It's been fascinating to watch the transformation as teams shift from dense, jargon-heavy slides to concise, impactful presentations and pitches that actually engage their audiences. If you’re interested, let me know. 

Certified Training Partner Program: We're expanding our Sense & Respond Learning offerings through partnerships with carefully selected and qualified training professionals. If you're interested in bringing our product management, discovery and OKR curriculum to your clients or organization, fill out this form.

Follow our Sense & Respond Learning LinkedIn page for more resources, including a new series of videos we've been publishing about implementing customer-centric OKRs. 

What’s new on the blog

Storytelling for Product Managers - The real differentiation in product management isn't AI or the latest technology—it's your ability to tell a compelling story. This article breaks down the three-part storytelling structure (situation, complication, resolution) that helps product managers communicate the "why" behind decisions, overcome obstacles, and create motivation around new initiatives. 

How to Fix a Weak OKR in 10 Minutes - Struggling with outcome-based goals? This practical guide offers a simple three-point checklist to diagnose and improve your OKRs. The article also highlights common anti-patterns to watch for, like unrealistic metrics or focusing on outputs instead of behavioral outcomes.