In this lesson
Build three short slide sequences, each focused on the question its audience needs answered.
Example
One dataset, three audiences
Use support tickets Jul 1,240, Aug 1,610, Sep 1,180 and Oct 1,050. Leadership needs a decision about a proposed weekend rota. Trainees need to learn how to identify a peak and a subsequent trend. A product-launch audience needs an introduction to a proposed help hub whose impact has not yet been measured. The same data does not prove that the hub caused the decline.
How it works
A business update usually connects evidence to a requested decision; a teaching deck connects an explanation to a learner action; a launch deck connects a proposed capability to a reason to try it. Their slide sequences should reflect those purposes.
The four monthly values show a trend. They do not explain its cause. Before saying that a rota or help hub reduced tickets, you would need evidence about the intervention and its effect.
Steps
Create three named sections: Leadership, Training and Launch. Plan three slides in each section, using title placeholders and keeping each section understandable without viewing the other two.
For Leadership create: Ticket volume declined after August; Weekend coverage needs a pilot; Approve a four-week rota experiment. Use the four values on the first slide and label the rota as a proposal.
For Training create: Read the four monthly values; Identify the peak and the decline; Check your answer. Put Which month peaked? on the question slide and August: 1,610 on the answer slide.
For Launch create: Repeated questions need a clearer entry point; Proposed help hub: checklist, buddy, equipment; Measure repeat contacts during the pilot. Avoid claiming that the untested hub already reduced tickets.
Choose appropriate layouts for evidence, a question and a proposed feature. Add at most three short supporting points per slide, and move explanation detail into speaker notes rather than turning the slide into a report.
Rehearse each section for two minutes. Use Rehearse with Coach if available, or a timer and a colleague. Ask them to identify the decision, answer the teaching question or explain the launch’s next action.
Try it yourself
- Add one fourth slide to each section. Leadership: define who measures the rota pilot. Training: ask for the August-to-October numerical fall. Launch: specify one measurable success condition without asserting it is already met.
- Read the launch section and underline every past-tense result claim. Remove or qualify any claim not supported by the four monthly values or by a supplied source.
Show expected result
- Training answer: August is the peak, and August-to-October falls by 560 tickets.
- Leadership requests an experiment; Launch describes proposed capability and measurement, rather than presenting an invented causal result.
If something goes wrong
- The leadership deck reads like a software feature tour.
- Move the decision and its supporting data to the start. Keep only the feature detail that helps leadership choose; move the rest into notes.
- The teaching version reveals the answer before the learner thinks.
- Put the question and answer on separate slides, or use a reveal you have tested. Keep a version with a separate answer slide for viewers without animation.
Quick check
Try these questions after the exercise. Check the result in your app before marking the lesson complete.
Choose an answer for all 3 questions to check your understanding.
Optional: try it with Copilot
If you have Copilot, try this after the exercise. Keep the original file and compare its suggestions with your own result.
Using only Jul 1240, Aug 1610, Sep 1180 and Oct 1050, draft three-slide outlines for leadership, teaching and an unmeasured help-hub pilot. Separate observations from hypotheses.
More from Microsoft
These Microsoft guides cover the tools used in this lesson.
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