Board Deck Narrative Skill

This skill builds the complete narrative and slide structure for a board presentation — from opening framing to closing asks. It produces slide-by-slide content guidance, not just a list of topics.

Required Inputs

Ask the user for these if not provided:

Company stage and context (Seed / Series A / Growth — and where you are in the year)
Board meeting type (Regular quarterly / Annual / Special / Fundraise-related)
Key themes for this meeting (e.g. strong growth quarter / pivoting strategy / hiring challenge / fundraise update)
Key metrics to feature
Decisions needed from the board (if any)
Time available (e.g. 60 min / 90 min)
Audience (investors only / investors + independent directors / mixed)

Output Structure

Board Deck Narrative: [Company] — [Quarter/Period]

Meeting type: [Regular quarterly / Special] Time: [X minutes] Narrative theme: [The one-sentence story of this quarter — e.g. "We hit our revenue target, but activation is the problem we need to solve together."]

Opening Frame (Slide 1–2)

Slide 1: Title

Company name, quarter, date
One-sentence framing of the meeting's narrative arc

Slide 2: Agenda

List of sections + time allocation
Flag which sections need board input vs. are informational

Presenter note: Board members are busy. Tell them in the first 2 minutes what you need from them today. It changes how they listen.

Business Performance (Slides 3–6, ~15 min)

Slide 3: Scorecard / KPI Dashboard

Content: Key metrics vs. targets for the quarter. No more than 6 metrics.
Format: Traffic-light table (Green / Amber / Red against plan)
Narrative: [1–2 sentences — the headline story of the quarter in numbers]
Don't hide reds. Boards lose trust when they discover hidden problems later.

Slide 4: Revenue / Growth Deep Dive

Content: Revenue breakdown by segment, cohort retention, growth drivers
Key message: [What the data shows about the health of growth]
Call out: [Any trend that needs board context or discussion]

Slide 5: Unit Economics

Content: CAC, LTV, payback period, gross margin — vs. last quarter and vs. plan
Flag: Any metric moving in the wrong direction and what's causing it

Slide 6: Operational Highlights

Content: 3–5 bullet points of the most significant things that happened this quarter
Format: Each bullet = outcome, not activity. ("Signed 3 enterprise contracts worth £400K ARR" not "Continued enterprise sales motion")

Strategic Update (Slides 7–9, ~15 min)

Slide 7: Strategy Snapshot

Content: Where you said you'd be vs. where you are against the annual plan
Narrative: [Honest assessment — what's on track, what's shifted and why]

Slide 8: Key Strategic Decision or Update

Content: The one strategic topic that most needs board input this meeting
Format: Context → Options considered → Recommendation → Question for board
This is the highest-value 10 minutes of the meeting. Frame it as a real question.

Slide 9: Product & Roadmap (if relevant)

Content: Top 3 product bets this quarter — what shipped, what's coming, why these bets
Tailored for: What the board needs to understand to support strategic decisions, not a sprint review

People & Organisation (Slide 10, ~5 min)

Slide 10: Team Update

Content: Headcount (start vs. end of quarter), key hires made, open roles, any org changes
Flag: Any people risks or leadership gaps the board should know about
Don't skip this slide. Board members often have network value here.

Financial Update (Slides 11–12, ~10 min)

Slide 11: P&L Summary

Content: Revenue, gross margin, opex by category, EBITDA/net burn — actual vs. budget
Include: Year-to-date vs. annual plan

Slide 12: Cash & Runway

Content: Cash on hand, monthly burn rate, runway at current burn
Include: Scenario if burn increases (e.g. key hire made), scenario if growth accelerates
Flag immediately: If runway is < 18 months — this needs board awareness and planning

Closing & Asks (Slides 13–14, ~10 min)

Slide 13: Priorities for Next Quarter

Content: Top 3–5 priorities and what success looks like for each
Format: Priority | What we're doing | How we'll know it worked
Keeps board accountability consistent across meetings

Slide 14: Board Asks

Content: Specific things you need from board members before next meeting
Format: Each ask = specific, named if possible ("Looking for an intro to [Company] — [Board member X], do you have a connection?")
A board meeting without specific asks is a missed opportunity

Appendix (Optional)

Detailed cohort analysis
Competitive landscape update
Full P&L
Team org chart
Any supporting data referenced in the main deck

Appendix slides are available but not presented. Board members who want detail can ask.

Narrative Principles

Lead with honesty. If it was a hard quarter, say so in the first slide. Don't bury bad news after the wins.
One slide = one idea. If a slide has two messages, split it.
Fewer slides, more depth. A 14-slide deck presented well beats a 35-slide deck rushed through.
Every slide has a "so what." A slide that just shows data without a takeaway wastes board time.
Leave time for discussion. Board value is in the conversation, not the presentation. Aim to spend 40% of the meeting presenting and 60% in discussion.

Quality Checks

Opening frame states the meeting's narrative theme
Scorecard slide uses traffic-light format (not just green metrics)
Strategic decision slide frames a real question for the board
Financial slide includes runway explicitly
Board asks are specific and actionable
Deck is ≤ 15 slides (excluding appendix)

Anti-Patterns

Do not bury bad news after slides full of good news — boards lose trust when they discover problems were de-emphasised; lead with the honest narrative
Do not include slides without a "so what" — a chart that shows data without a takeaway wastes board time and signals the presenter hasn't done the analysis
Do not exceed 15 slides in the main deck — a longer deck usually means the presenter hasn't decided what matters most
Do not attend a board meeting without at least one specific ask — a board meeting with no asks is a missed opportunity to leverage the room
Do not report metrics without comparing them to plan or a prior period — a metric shown in isolation gives the board no basis for judgement

Example Trigger Phrases

"Build a board deck structure for our Q[N] board meeting"
"Help me create the narrative for our board presentation"
"Write the slide structure for our annual board review"
"Design a board deck for [specific context — e.g. fundraise update]"

Board Deck Narrative