Presentation redesign checklist
Fix a cluttered deck systematically: story, slide titles, density, visual hierarchy, charts, accessibility and consistency.
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1Story and titles
☐ Read titles only: do they tell the story in order? ☐ Each title is a full-sentence takeaway, not a label. ☐ One message per slide; split slides with two. ☐ The ask or recommendation appears in the first three slides. ☐ Remove slides that don't support the main message (move to appendix).
2Density and hierarchy
☐ No more than about 30-40 words of body text on presented slides. ☐ One clear focal point per slide (the biggest element is the most important). ☐ Consistent alignment to a grid; nothing 'nearly' aligned. ☐ Generous margins. ☐ Remove decorative clip art, stock photos that add nothing, and drop shadows.
3Charts and data
☐ Chart type fits the question (comparison = bar, trend = line, composition = stacked bar; avoid pie charts with many slices). ☐ Highlight the data point that matters; grey out the rest. ☐ Label data directly instead of using legends where possible. ☐ Axes start at zero for bar charts. ☐ Source and date under every chart.
4Accessibility and consistency
☐ Body text at least about 18pt for presented decks. ☐ Text contrast meets WCAG AA (4.5:1 for normal text). ☐ Colour isn't the only way information is shown. ☐ Alt text on meaningful images. ☐ Fonts limited to two families; colours limited to the brand palette. ☐ Slide numbers present.
5Get a slide-by-slide critique
Export the slide text (most tools can export an outline) and paste it in. The model can't see your design, so this checks the words and structure.
Here is the text of each slide in my deck, in order: {{slide_text}} Audience: {{audience}} For each slide: rewrite the title as a full-sentence takeaway; flag if it has more than one message; suggest what to cut; and suggest the best visual (chart type, diagram, image or none). Then list the slides that could be merged or moved to the appendix, and suggest the new order.
Example input
18-slide marketing update with 'Agenda', 'Overview', 'Channels' labels and dense bullets.
Example output
Slide 3 "Channels" -> "Paid search drove 46% of new trials at the lowest cost per trial" - Two messages (paid search and social). Split, or move social to slide 4. - Cut: the list of all 11 campaigns (appendix). - Visual: horizontal bar chart of cost per trial by channel, paid search highlighted. Merge: slides 1-2 (title + agenda) into one; move 14-18 to appendix.
Troubleshooting
- Exported text loses chart content: describe each chart in a line, e.g. '[Chart: monthly signups Jan-Sep]'.
Known limitations
- Text-only critique can't judge layout; use the checklist for visual issues.