It is more detailed than I would prefer as an agenda, but it serves two key purposes. It gives a snapshot of the areas and key discussions you will have in the rest of the presentation. It uses symbols to indicate comparison to previous values or targets (see this makeover for more on using symbols in financial slides). It uses shapes to define the key areas you will discuss and the key metrics in each area. It isnвЂ™t just cramming all the details on a slide in a tiny font. The Executive Summary doesnвЂ™t contain all of the details. HereвЂ™s a slide based on an Executive Summary for a makeover in a recent workshop. I see an Executive Summary like a slightly more detailed version of the agenda. It often reduces their anxiety because they find out that you will be addressing their key concerns about the topic. This helps the audience know where the journey will take them. The Executive Summary is just a different way of displaying these key messages.ДЄt the start of each presentation, I suggest you share an agenda that is the high level outline of what you will cover. Figure out the key messages and put the rest of the detail in hidden backup slides or in supplementary files. This idea fits very well with what I say in my workshops and in my latest book GPS for Presentations. He wanted to know the key information, not all the details. It reminds me of a CFO boss I had who told me that he would never read more than one page of my report, so make it only a single page. The participants had been asked by their boss to include a summary slide at the start of the presentation, and wondered what I thought of that idea.ДЄn Executive Summary comes from written reports, where busy executives can get the highlights of the report by just reading this first part of the document. In a couple of recent customized workshops I was asked about Executive Summary slides.

Overview slide