Nearly every update answers three questions: where are we, what happens next, and what do you need from me. One slide each. Anything more is usually the presenter thinking out loud.
Slide one: where things stand
Start a blank presentation, pick a plain theme, and title the first slide Where we are.
A plain theme keeps attention on the content and prints legibly in black and white.
Write three bullets, each a fact with a number in it.
Numbers stop an update becoming a mood. 'Forty of sixty done' lands; 'good progress' does not.
Select the text box and use the Increase Font Size button until the text is comfortably large.
Someone at the back of the room decides whether your slide was worth showing.
Slide two: a chart people can read
Add a new slide with the Title and Content layout, then click Insert then Chart and choose a simple bar chart.
Bars are the easiest chart to read at a glance. Pie charts are harder to compare than they look.
A small spreadsheet window opens — replace the sample numbers with yours, then close it.
That little sheet is just the chart's data. Closing it keeps the chart, which surprises most people.
Delete the chart's legend if there is only one set of bars, and title the slide with the conclusion, such as Spending is under budget.
Tell the audience what to see. A chart titled Q3 Data leaves them guessing what you meant.
Slide three: what you need
Add a final slide titled What I need from you, with at most three specific asks.
This is the only slide that changes anything. Vague asks get vague nods.
Put a name and a date beside each ask.
An action with no owner and no date is a wish.
Reuse it every month
Save the empty version as Update – template.
Half the work of any update is the layout, and you only need to do that once.
Each month, open it and use File then Save As with the month in the name.
Save As protects the template and gives you a dated record of every update you gave.
Use File then Export then Create PDF/XPS to send it round afterwards.
A PDF looks identical for everyone and cannot be edited by accident.
Check yourself
If you can say yes to each of these, you have finished.
- Three slides: status, a chart, and asks.
- Every bullet contains a fact or a number.
- Each ask has an owner and a date.
- I have a blank template saved for next month.