How to Prepare Board Presentations as a Project Champion

I've built a lot of slides in 9 yrs at Google. Here are 9 practical tips I've learned: 1/ 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. Write your headlines first. Figure out your "flow." Don't flesh out your slides until you've nailed the storyline. This will save you hours of wasted effort later on. 2/ 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. Most people have way too many slides. Cut it down. The less flicking around you need to do, the more attention you'll get, and the sharper your message will be. 3/ 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 "𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁" 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱. Most content is written with no bias towards action. They get presented — and then forgotten — since there's no implied next steps. Do the opposite. Think hard about your calls-to-action and articulate it well. 4/ 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. Writing chronologically means you're burying the lead. You'll lose your audience quickly. Always lead with the conclusion instead. 5/ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀. Don't simply throw big numbers onto a slide and hope it'll impress. It won't work. Instead, help your audience out by thoughtfully benchmarking or indexing. 6/ 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆. Slides make it easy to get away with lazy thinking. So you often end up with colorful boxes with generic buzzwords, or bullet points with incomplete thoughts. Avoid this trap. Challenge yourself to articulate complete thoughts while still achieving brevity. 7/ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗱𝘂𝗵" 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆. Ask yourself if anyone would read what you wrote and go either "duh!" or "no sh*t!" If so, you're wasting people's time. Sharpen it until there's actual insight. 8/ 𝗕𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲. Your use of space always tells a story. Don't give disproportionate real estate to unimportant content. And vice versa. Otherwise you'll undermine yourself. 9/ 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 "𝗱𝘂𝗺𝗯" 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. Avoid littering your slides with corp-speak. Be straightforward whenever possible. Of course, this doesn't give you the right to ignore numbers or engage in generic platitudes. It just means that you find the simplest way to anchor your audience. Then you can back it up with detail. __ 𝗣.𝗦. Looking to nerd out a bit more? Grab the 50-page playbook I built for free: 🎯 hernglee.gumroad.com It's what I wish someone gave me at the start of my career. So I built it! __ 👋 Hi! I'm Herng, and I write about my learnings as a strategy manager at Google. Follow for more tips! ♻️ Reshare this post if it can help others!

𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞. She is also not a seasoned speaker and was very anxious about an upcoming board presentation. Her boss summed it up perfectly, “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞.” By that, she meant audience-first language, a persuasive structure, and a close that lingers long after she leaves the room. 𝐈𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭. The transformation did not come from adding more content. It came from precision. 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚.  An “Agenda” slide often feels like a warning label that says, “Here comes a meeting.” 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞. I coached Sandy to say, “This is what you can look forward to hearing.” That single shift moves a board from endurance to attention. 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.  Many executives open with, “I’m excited to share…” That focuses on the speaker’s feelings, not the board’s priorities. We replaced it with, “You will be pleased to know…” Board members do not need excitement. They need confidence. 𝐖𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. Board presentations are never standalone events. They are chapters in an ongoing story. Anchoring the opening to the last meeting instantly created continuity and credibility. 𝐖𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞. If you read your slides, you become optional. Slides should support the spoken message, not replace it. We elevated what she would say out loud: the meaning, the implications, and the priorities. 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰,” not just the categories. Without that, emerging topics like AI can sound like magic. Boards invest in strategy, not mythology. 𝐖𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬, sharpened vague language, strengthened transitions, and made the plan tangible by highlighting people. Then we engineered the close: a rhetorical question based on her main theme, a crisp recap, appreciation, and one final “Remember…” line designed to linger. My job is to help executives turn good content into communication that is clear, concise, credible, and delivered with a dash of flair. 𝐈𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐀𝐊𝐀, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞. #presentationskillsexpert #keynotespeaker #publicspeaking #frippvt

An SVP told me she had to present a major strategy shift to her board, and she knew they weren't going to like it. She ran the numbers. She explored alternatives. She knew this was the right decision. But she also knew the board would push back…hard. They'd question her assumptions. They'd challenge her math. They'd ask "why not do this instead?" And she needed to be ready for every question—not defensive, but confident. Here's what she did: Instead of simply rehearsing her talking points over and over, she used AI to simulate the board conversation before it happened. She gave AI the context:  👉 Her proposal (the strategy shift she was recommending) 👉 The board composition (CFO focused on cash flow, tech founder focused on innovation, nonprofit leader focused on mission) 👉 Her reasoning (why the change in direction, why now, what she'd already considered) Then she asked: "Given what you know about this board and this proposal, what are the 10 toughest questions they'll ask me? What objections will they raise? Where will they think my logic is weak?" AI gave her 12 questions she hadn't fully thought through. Questions like: → "How do we know this won't hurt our competitive position?" → "What's your contingency plan if revenue doesn't recover as projected?" → "Why these departments and not others?" She wasn't ready for most of them. So she spent the next two days pressure-testing her answers. Not writing a script; but thinking through her reasoning so she could speak confidently no matter how the conversation went. When she walked into the board meeting and those questions inevitably came up, she answered them with clarity, data and confidence instead of scrambling. One board member even complimented her on how well prepared her presentation was. Here's what made the difference: ✅ She didn't use AI to write her presentation and run with that. She used AI to think through the conversation she was about to have. ✅ She didn't ask AI for answers. She asked AI to help her find the gaps in her own thinking. ✅ She prepared for the questions, not just the pitch. That's strategic AI use. Have a high-stakes presentation coming up? Don't just rehearse what you want to say. Simulate the conversation. Pressure-test your thinking. Be ready for the questions you haven't considered yet. ⭐ BONUS TIP: If you’re using ChatGPT, you can tap the “Use Voice” feature and actually practice answering the questions aloud with a responsive voice in real-time. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

If you're a VP Sales, it doesn't make sense to spend 47 hours building a board deck nobody will read. - Slide 1: "Exec Summary" - 8 bullet points that say nothing. - Slide 12: Pipeline waterfall that's already outdated. - Slide 19: Competitive win rates broken down by segment, geography, and lunar phase. Much more important convos are happening in the hallway 10 minutes before the meeting starts: "How confident are we in Q4?" "Honestly? We're nervous about the Oracle renewal and three enterprise deals just went dark." THAT'S the conversation that matters. A VP's board deck should reflect that. Rather than spending 40 hours a quarter creating a deck that consists of only 3-4 slides that include insights that will legit drive action, you might wanna consider something like this: 1. Start every board presentation with 60 seconds of no bullshit reality. No charts. No context. Just the real situation and what keeps you up at night. 2. Focus on tracking outcomes vs activities. Instead of 47 metrics, focus on 4 that actually predict revenue: - Pipeline coverage by close date (NOT stage). - Rep productivity by tenure cohort. - Customer expansion rate 6 months post-sale. - Win rate vs. top 2 competitors. 3. Surface problems before they become disasters (and have clear, specific asks). "We’re behind on ENT. Need your support to open a few doors. Can you introduce us to X, Y, and Z." Lemme repeat that last part: Here's. Where. We. Need. Board. Support. THAT'S how leaders get resources. Not 23 slides explaining why everything is "on track." PS -  If you’re serious about making your board part of the solution, Vieu helps you map where your investors (and also advisors, customers, partners etc.) can actually open doors with target execs. Instead of vague asks, create a structured “Go-to-Network” with quarterly intro motions. Your network can give you more pipeline than you think. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gsmsbSwS Remember that your credibility comes from solving problems, not hiding them. Because the only thing worse than admitting problems is running out of runway to fix them.

In the first edition of my newsletter, I shared the concept of "sharing before ready" and how it helped me prep for board meetings. Here’s a glimpse: I had the privilege of working for Max Yoder at Lessonly, where he wrote the book Do Better Work, which is required reading for me annually. One of the chapters, "Share Before Ready," is a value I’ve applied repeatedly, especially for board meetings and complex projects. What does "share before ready" mean? From Do Better Work (pages 18-19): "When what’s getting done matches what’s needed… Communicating more is the surest way to do that. When we shorten feedback loops, allowing others to preview and inform what we’re working on, we increase our odds of ending up with gold.” Do you want gold? I know I do. Unfortunately, when I decide to power through and silo my work, or deliver a polished, finished product without feedback…I deliver bullsh#t. This hasn’t been more true than when I started at Jellyfish and prepared for my first board meetings. Long story short, I was delivering sh#t, not gold. The reason? I wasn’t sharing before ready. Thanks to Andrew Lau, who introduced a "share before ready" who has implemented our version of share before ready, called red teaming, where part of the executive team plays the role of a board member, asking hard questions and poking holes in your story. My first red team board decks were brutal. But I realized they were just another version of sharing before ready, and now, I welcome the red team process. Steps to Share Before Ready 1. Outline Ideas: Spend 30-45 minutes drafting a rough outline. What message are you trying to convey? I start with a Google Doc filled with initial themes and talk tracks. 2. Get Initial Feedback: Seek early feedback from your CEO or manager to confirm your direction. From Max: “Find people who���ll benefit from your project’s success, respect you enough to challenge your ideas, and have time to help.” 3. Build First Draft: Use the feedback to create a skeleton draft of your section. For me, this includes main points and supporting data. 4. Red Team First Draft: Bring in your CEO, manager, or peers. I often include our sales leader, CEO, and co-founder. Ask them to challenge your data and assumptions. 5. Build Second Draft: Using first-round feedback, build out the first formal draft with more details and data. 6. Red Team Second Draft: Add fresh eyes to the second red team by involving additional peers. 7. Rinse and Repeat: Continue refining with red teams until your board meeting section or project is fully prepared. Preparing for board meetings (or pushing major projects forward) is challenging and daunting, but sharing before ready allows growth and nailing the board meeting! Involve your team early on and challenge yourself; you will thank me later.

Presenting to the Board? Here’s What Seasoned Leaders Do Differently. Board presentations are where leadership visibility and strategic influence collide. And for many executives I coach, presenting a complex acquisition or a major strategic investment is where their credibility is truly tested. So how do confident, high-performing leaders earn the board’s trust in those moments? They don’t just present, they frame, elevate, and influence. Here’s what that looks like in practice: 🔹 They lead with why now. The best board presenters don’t start with the deal; they start with the strategic rationale. Why this acquisition? Why this partner? Why this timing? 🔹 They stay at the right altitude. Operational detail stays in the appendix. The focus is on alignment with long-term goals, shareholder value, and competitive advantage. 🔹 They offer a clear decision framework. Rather than pitching a single answer, they lay out the options considered, trade-offs weighed, and why the proposed path is optimal. 🔹 They’re proactive about risk. Board members respect leaders who name integration risk, control issues in JVs, or possible cultural mismatches and show how they plan to mitigate them. 🔹 They make the value real. Whether it’s synergies from an acquisition or expected ROI from a strategic stake, they visualize the upside—and the impact on long-term growth. One client I coached had to present a joint venture with a global tech partner. Through our work together, she shifted from “explaining the deal” to telling the strategic story: why it fit the firm’s innovation roadmap, how decision rights would be protected, and where the real value lay. Her confidence and clarity changed the tone of the entire conversation. 💬 Leadership at this level isn’t just about what you say but how you frame decisions for the people who oversee the whole business. If you're preparing for an upcoming board presentation, I’d encourage you to ask: Am I sharing information… or shaping the future? If you desire support in effectively presenting to your board or generally improving your executive presence, please reach out. #ExecutivePresence #BoardLeadership #StrategicInfluence #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment

I have watched executives deliver polished presentations to boards that accomplish nothing. They share updates, walk through slides, and check boxes - but they never actually engage the board in solving problems. Great board presenters do four things differently: First, they figure out how and when to pull board members into the conversation, planning specific moments in their presentation where they will ask for input on what they are trying to achieve. Often starting well in advance of the presentation or even the meeting. Second, they understand that boards do not want to rubber-stamp decisions. Instead, they present work that is mostly complete but has room for refinement based on board feedback, leaving space in their plan for the finishing touches or presenting alternatives. Third, they recognize that board members need contextualization. Boards need to be brought on a brief journey explaining the reasoning and circumstances behind decisions, as boards do not often view an organization through the lens of daily operations. Fourth, they remember that boards are not homogeneous groups. They tailor their approach to both group dynamics and individual board members, anticipating how each person will respond and how to engage them effectively. When presenters get these elements right, board meetings become strategic sessions where experienced leaders contribute meaningfully to important decisions instead of simply approving or vetoing what management has already decided. The point of a board presentation is getting the board to help you succeed, not just approving what you have already decided.

Most early stage founders are bad at board meetings. I was one of them! Not because they lack effort, but because they think the job is to impress instead of to operate. After 38 board meetings as a CEO, I learned the opposite lesson: the best board meetings feel boring, structured, and almost inevitable. Nothing dramatic happens because all the real work happened before the meeting itself. These are the 6 things I wish I understood before my first meeting. Don't make the same mistakes I did! 1/ No surprises. Ever. Every board member gets a 1:1 call before the meeting, plus an open invitation to talk after reviewing the materials. If something is controversial, the board meeting should never be the first time it is discussed. The board meeting exists for alignment and decisions, not discovery. 2/ Write monthly updates, especially when things are messy. Good months write themselves but more importantly, bad months build trust. Boards do not expect perfection, they expect predictability. Consistent reporting reduces anxiety, removes guesswork, and turns the board into a support system instead of an audit committee. 3/ Run a real agenda and stick to it. Ours never changed: > 15 min minutes and formal votes > 60 min financials and core KPIs, presented by execs, not the CEO > 15 min break > 30 min major topic one > 30 min major topic two > 30 min for overflow and investor only meeting Structure creates focus. If you don't have this you are in for a wild ride to nowhere. 4/ Do NOT pitch. The fastest way to lose trust is to treat your board deck like a fundraising presentation. When everything is polished and optimistic, board members stop asking how to help and start wondering what is being hidden. Calm, clear, consistent reporting shows control and leads to better decisions faster. 5/ Let your team present. Boards gain confidence when they see depth beyond the CEO. It also forces ownership, because people speak differently when they are accountable in front of the board. 6/ Design for clarity, not beauty. You will not be judged on how pretty your deck is. You will be judged on how easy it is to understand. Clean structure, consistent formatting, and readable charts reduce cognitive load and make hard conversations productive instead of exhausting. If there is one unifying idea behind all of this, it is this: A board meeting is not a performance It is the mechanism by which uncertainty gets removed from the business. When you run it that way, trust compounds, decisions speed up, and the board becomes leverage instead of pressure.

How to Build Can't Miss Board Presentations It seems to be Board presentation season across my client base, and so I thought I would take a moment to outline a few items that I use every time. 1 - Consider the true audience. You are not presenting to the entire Board. You are usually presenting to one person, and at most two people. If you don't know who your most important person in the room is, look at the first money in (likely very influential) or the biggest last money in (likely with the highest liquidation preferences). Let's call them types, however. In general, these types of people are called "the visionary" and "the accountant". As a CEO, the "visionary" was likely your first investor and still supports you through the ups and downs. The "accountant" just wants to see the returns. Don't bore me with operating. If the operating works, it will show up in cash flows. 2 - Big Headline and Business Case Up Front - In 1 One Slide. Don't bury the lede. Nick Kaplan said I could have been a journalist. Here are my 3 rules for the first slide. a: Make it clear your year 1 capital and/or resource ask. Don't forget new hires in this number. (table) b: Revenue potential and/or TAM (3 year graph) c: Operating income or cash flows (3 year graph) d: Finally, Make your headline the reason it's a burning need to do this. If it sounds like it's a "nice to have", it will become a "never will." Your goal is to have your visionary say on this slide "that doesn't sound like a huge ask." And for your accountant to lean in and look forward to more details. 3 - Customer Experience Even if they are not experts on what you are presenting about, most people can imagine what the consumer will do. At least one slide on the consumer journey is useful. A pretty screenshot and a simple boxes and arrows flow diagram will work. Inspire someone! 4 - Timeline Most people know the risks are made up or overly optimistic, but the timeline they will remember. Try to make it as accurate as you can. 5 - Pro Forma Over 3 Years Gross -> Net Revenue -> Contribution -> Operating Income. 6 - Organization What people investment commitments it will take to make this happen, and the roles and where they fit into the org. Or is it a new org? 7 - Change Management How you will get from here to there. Who will be in charge of ensuring this happens? Does it require new ways of working? What are the top risks to this happening and how are you dealing with it? I like to focus on values and process changes here. Often people just assume a little money and "more of the same" will make it happen. If it requires a shift in thinking, that must be captured somewhere. If it does require a shift in thinking, it better have a dedicated leader or team. 8 - Technology What new technologies are you putting in and why? These are just a few of the top items I think about. Your goal is always to completely sell your best supporter in the first slide!

Heads of Product present their roadmap to the board at least two times a year. This presentation is crucial for gaining the board's trust and ensuring alignment with the product's direction. Several Supra members recently shared valuable tips via our Slack group for delivering an effective roadmap presentation to the board 👇 1/ Before working on your slides, it's essential to understand the board's expectations and what they hope to learn from your presentation. Collaborate with the founders or CEO to identify their key interests and concerns. Tailor your presentation to address these points effectively. 2/ Aim for simplicity in your presentation, even if the roadmap is complex. A clear, concise slide with three columns - "now," "next," and "later" - can go a long way. Some members found success using these frameworks: • Gibson Biddle's roadmap format. Thanks, Joshua Herzig-Marx, for this awesome template: https://lnkd.in/esPEcqq9 • The McKinsey horizons framework: https://lnkd.in/eNtbzP-R 3/ Follow a clear narrative structure that connects to business priorities. Start with organizational strategy, show an aligned product strategy, THEN present your roadmap items. Make it explicit how your plan maps to the overall strategic priorities that the board cares about and that the entire executive leadership team is behind it. 4/ Anticipate questions and pre-handle objections. Board members often won't even know (or be able to articulate) their concerns, but these will still influence their feelings about your roadmap. Identify potential objections about your strategy, prioritization, or dependencies, and address them proactively in your presentation. 5/ Demonstrate how your roadmap will contribute to the metrics the board values. This should be a goal any time you talk to leadership. Show them how your plan will make them successful and deliver tangible business outcomes. What other tips would you add to the list? Share in the comments. 👇