Why Amazon bans slides (and what we use instead) At Amazon, most meetings don’t allow PowerPoint. No slides. No bullet-point decks. To outsiders, that might sound like a gimmick. It’s not. It’s a throughput optimization. Amazon runs on documents—narratives packed with data, charts, risks, context, and clarity. A typical monthly business review is 4–5 pages. It covers hits, misses, metrics, debates, and forward-looking bets. These docs are hard to write but easy to read. And that’s the point. This practice is rooted in the work of Edward Tufte, the foremost authority on data visualization. He argued that PowerPoint has the lowest information density of any communication format. Its structure hides logic, dilutes nuance, and flattens thinking. Tufte’s core principles: * Show the data * Erase non-data ink * Maximize the data-to-ink ratio Amazon applies the same mindset to writing: maximize the information-per-word ratio. Every paragraph competes for survival. Every word must earn its place. Or as Strunk said in The Elements of Style: "Omit needless words." Why does this matter? Because Amazon is large and fast-moving. Leaders don’t need decoration—they need clarity. Narrative documents are high-bandwidth tools for decision-making. They scale better than slides. Clear thinking → clear writing → clear decisions. That’s why we don’t do slides.
This paradigm has been upended by doc writers increasingly relying on AI to do the thinking for them, eliminating one of its key benefits: clear thinking. What was once a powerful practice a few years ago is far less effective today. I see the same happening in class, students increasingly rely on AI to do the thinking for them, eroding their critical thinking skills.
Based on those principles only the dashboard with the data is required. Personally, I don't think the problem is the format. It's how the format is used and if people have done their prework. Sadly big consulting have churned out so many decks through India that this format is probably forever tainted...
There’s still a role for slides - good decks can play the same role as 4-5pp docs - but otherwise this is spot-on. chartjunk : decks :: “wordjunk” : docs Yes, I’m coining “wordjunk.”
Thanks for sharing this. I’d love to hear more about how Amazon implemented this and some of the challenges faced in the process. Can you point me towards any online resources?
Fitting then that this should be insightful.
this is one of the best things in Amazon. Meetings that are run in this way are MUCH better. it takes some time to become a good writer but the results are fantastic. A good doc will make a good meeting. Slide decks have their value for outside interactions, there are basically no reasons to use a slide deck for an internal meeting, it’s just about your skill level in writing the doc.
I agree! Leaders don’t need decoration—they need clarity !
Very informative
Love this, Adam. Hope you’re doing well