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Free tool · Structure

Presentation outline builder: a storyline, slide by slide

Pick the occasion, the audience, the goal and your slot. You get a storyline of action titles that you can rewrite, reorder and trim before it becomes a deck.

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Occasion
Audience
What should happen afterwards
Your slot

20 minutes: 5 for questions, 15 talking, about 10 slides.

15 of 15 minThe slides fit your talking time.

10 slides 19 brackets to fill in

Reorder with the arrow buttons. On a computer you can also drag the handle or press Alt with an arrow key inside a title.

  1. Title0.5 min

    Topic, presenter, date and the decision in one line. No agenda slide: the next slide is the answer.

  2. Recommendation1.8 min

    The answer first: the recommendation, the two or three reasons behind it and what it costs. Everything after this slide proves it.

  3. Reason 11.4 min

    One reason stated as the title, with the single chart or number that carries it. The proof moves here if the proof slide is cut.

  4. Proof 11.4 min

    The data behind the reason, readable in ten seconds: one chart, one source, one date.

  5. Reason 21.4 min

    One reason stated as the title, with the single chart or number that carries it. The proof moves here if the proof slide is cut.

  6. Reason 31.3 min

    One reason stated as the title, with the single chart or number that carries it. The proof moves here if the proof slide is cut.

  7. Options1.8 min

    Options side by side on the few criteria that decide it, with the recommendation marked.

  8. Costs and benefits1.8 min

    Cost, benefit and the assumption each rests on, as one table or one chart. Figures are rounded and the source is named.

  9. Risks1.3 min

    Two or three risks with likelihood, impact and the first response. Short enough to read aloud.

  10. Decision2.3 min

    One slide, one question: what is decided, who decides today and what happens next.

Appendix: detail for questions, not timed

Left out Click one to add it back at its place.

Turn the outline into a deck

Your titles go into the brief, so the draft follows your storyline and leaves the brackets visible instead of inventing facts.

10 slides, 15 min

Show the brief

Create a decision presentation for executives about [topic]. Goal: get a decision. The slot is 20 minutes, 5 of them for questions, so about 15 minutes of talking. Use exactly these 10 slides in this order. The titles are drafts: fill the brackets from my material and keep every title a full sentence that states the message. 1. [Topic]: our recommendation and the decision we need (0.5 min) 2. We recommend [option] and ask for a decision on [what] by [date] (1.8 min) 3. [Reason 1 as a full sentence: why this option is right] (1.4 min) 4. [Evidence for reason 1: the figure, its source and its date] (1.4 min) 5. [Reason 2 as a full sentence: why this option is right] (1.4 min) 6. [Reason 3 as a full sentence: why this option is right] (1.3 min) 7. We compared [number] options, and [option] fits best on [criteria] (1.8 min) 8. It costs [amount] and returns [benefit] within [period] (1.8 min) 9. The main risks are [risk A] and [risk B], and each has an owner and a response (1.3 min) 10. We ask for a decision: [option], with [budget], starting [date] (2.3 min) Put detail for questions in an appendix after the last slide, behind a divider titled Appendix. Add speaker notes with the minutes planned for each slide. Use the figures in the attached [file]; where my material does not answer a point, leave a visible placeholder and do not invent a figure.

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How to use the outline builder

  1. Describe the talk

    Pick the occasion, the audience and what you want people to do, then set your slot. Add the topic if you already have it.

  2. Read the storyline

    Each card is one slide: a title written as a full sentence, a note on what belongs on it and a time estimate. Brackets mark the parts only you can fill in.

  3. Make it yours

    Rewrite titles, drag cards or use the arrows, delete what the audience does not need and bring back slides that were left out for time.

  4. Check the time

    The bar shows how your slides fill the talking time. If it runs over, delete or merge slides until it fits.

  5. Open it as a brief

    Open the outline in the editor, review the page plan and let the AI draft the slides from your titles.

Sources

How it works and what it rests on

Where a number is our own rule of thumb, we say so.

Slide count. The tool turns your slot into talking time by keeping minutes for questions: none in a 5-minute slot, then 2, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes for slots of 10, 15, 20, 30, 45 and 60 minutes. It plans one slide for every 1.5 minutes of talking and rounds down, which gives 3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 20 and 26 slides. These are our own planning allowances, explained in the guide on how many slides a presentation needs, and one timed rehearsal will correct them.

Order. Every storyline puts the answer first and the ask last, following the pyramid principle from Barbara Minto's book The Pyramid Principle. The openings of decision and update decks use the situation, complication and question pattern known as SCQA. The investor pitch follows the slide order in Sequoia Capital's article Writing a Business Plan, and the 10-20-30 rule of Guy Kawasaki is the reference for its length.

Selection. Every slide in a storyline has a priority. The opening, the answer and the ask always stay. For a short slot the tool keeps the slides with the highest priority and lists the others as left out for time, so you can bring them back. Audience and goal move the priorities: executives and investors get costs and risks earlier, people new to the topic get a context slide, a decision goal brings forward options and numbers, and an action goal brings forward owners and dates.

Titles. The titles are templates, not facts. They are written as action titles, full sentences that state the message, and the parts in brackets are for you to fill in. The tool invents no figures and makes no claims about your business. The time per slide is an allowance, from half a minute for a title slide to two and a half for a decision slide. If the allowances add up to more than your talking time, the tool shortens them in proportion, so the first outline starts inside your slot.

Your edits stay in your browser, and nothing leaves it until you open the brief. The brief is cut to 1,800 characters when the outline is longer, so use Copy outline when you need the full list. Sources as of October 2026.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How do you create a presentation outline?

Write the ask and the answer first, list two to five reasons as full sentences, put them in order and add one proof for each. The titles of those slides are your outline. This tool drafts that structure for your occasion and slot, and you rewrite it.

How many slides should a presentation have?

Plan one slide for every one to two minutes you will talk, after subtracting time for questions. A 10-minute slot holds 5 to 7 slides and a 20-minute slot 8 to 12. Appendix slides do not count, because you show them only when someone asks.

What is the best structure for a business presentation?

Answer first: the audience gets your conclusion on slide 2, then the reasons with their evidence, then the ask. This follows the pyramid principle and suits decisions, updates and proposals. Pitches and trainings have their own orders, which the builder offers.

What is an action title?

A slide title written as a full sentence that states the message, such as Renewing for three years saves €42,000, instead of the topic label Contract. Read in order, the titles tell the story without a single chart.

How do you structure a presentation for executives?

Lead with the recommendation and the decision you need on the second slide, keep two or three reasons, bring costs and risks forward and end on the ask. Executives rarely need the background, so give it a short context slide or send it as a pre-read.

Do you need an agenda slide?

Rarely. In a short deck the summary slide does the agenda's job, because it states what you will argue. This builder leaves the agenda out and goes from the title to the answer and then to the reasons.

Can AI create a presentation outline?

Yes, an AI can propose one from a brief, but you still decide what you recommend. Treat the first outline as a draft, check that slide 2 holds the answer and that every title states a reason, then let the AI build the slides from your edited titles.

Keep reading

  • GuideStructure a presentation

    How to structure a presentation for work: lead with the answer, match the order to your purpose, use skeletons for decisions, updates, pitches and proposals.

  • GuidePyramid principle

    The pyramid principle by Barbara Minto: give the answer first, group the support and order it. With a worked example and an outline you can reuse for a deck.

  • GuideAction titles

    Write slide headlines as full sentences. Six rules for action titles, twelve before-and-after examples and a quick test you can run on any deck.

  • GuideHow many slides?

    5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes? Plan one slide per 1 to 2 minutes of talking, subtract the time for questions and leave the appendix out. With a table and examples.

  • Free toolAction title checker

    Paste your slide titles and get a score for each: verb, number, so-what and length, with a rewrite hint. Free, runs in your browser, English and German rules.

  • Free toolSlide count calculator

    Enter your time slot, the minutes for questions and the format. This free calculator returns the number of slides, a range and a minute plan per slide.

More on this topic

Storyline and structure

  • GlossaryGhost deck

    A ghost deck is a draft presentation built from slide titles and rough sketches before any data exists, so a team can agree on the story first.

  • GlossarySo what

    The “so what” is the implication of a fact: why it matters to the audience and what they should do about it. Definition, examples and a test for slides.

  • GlossaryMECE

    MECE means mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive: a way to split a problem into parts that do not overlap and leave nothing out. With examples.

  • GlossaryIssue tree

    An issue tree splits one key question into sub-questions, branch by branch, so every part can be analyzed and nothing is missed. Includes a worked example.

  • GlossarySCQA

    SCQA stands for Situation, Complication, Question, Answer: a four-step opening that shows your audience why your answer matters. Definition and example.

  • GlossaryKey message

    A key message is the one idea you want your audience to remember and act on after a presentation or a slide. Definition, examples and how to write it.

Put it into a finished deck

Describe your talk in a sentence, add your files and get an editable PowerPoint deck. The brief from this page is filled in for you.

Build this presentation

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