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
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]"