The #1 presentation slide your boss cares about: use it to get results and stand out

You’ve got a big presentation coming up.

You’ve spent hours trimming your deck from 55 slides to 7. Every slide has valuable insights and brilliant data points.

The meeting starts. You jump straight into the details…

Five minutes in, a stakeholder cuts you off. 

“What decision do you need from me?”

You’ve fallen into a common trap:

You didn’t nail the first slide.

Quick story:

As a Google exec, I was always impressed by people who nailed a killer opening slide.

I remember one meeting where a manager jumped straight into the data without orienting me first. By minute 26 of a 30-minute meeting, I still didn’t know what he wanted from me.

Then my mind started spinning:​

• “Did I miss the request because I was multitasking?”
• “Is he looking for the green light on something?”
• “Does he want feedback? Budget? Headcount? Does he think I’m a bad leader because I haven’t yet acknowledged what he needs?”

Cue beads of sweat on my forehead!

The data was interesting, sure. But what mattered more was how I could help.

If there’s one slide to be obsessed with, it’s slide one.

A strong opening slide can spark such a fruitful conversation that you might not even need to move past it. I’ve seen it happen—and the outcomes were always clear decisions, approvals, and real progress.

This idea of being “obsessed” is one of the 9 traits I explore in my new book, Wild Courage.

Being obsessed isn’t a bad thing—it’s the courage to commit fully to what matters most. And when it comes to presentations, slide one matters most.

(In Wild Courage, I share even more practical tips on how to communicate with confidence, lead with clarity, and make a lasting impact in any room.)

The Problem

Without a clear opening slide, stakeholders are left wondering:

Why are we here?​
​What do you need from me?​
​Is there a bombshell coming at the end?

If your first slide is a wall of data, it forces them to do the hard work of figuring out the story.

Spoiler: That’s not their job. It’s yours.

The Big Small Thing

Start every important presentation with a GEAR slide. It helps you GEAR up for a successful meeting.

Goal – Why are we here?
​Executive Summary – What has happened so far?
​Action – What do you want to happen next?
​Request – What do you need from them?

✅ Here’s a great example:

Why it works:

It sets clear expectations right away. Your stakeholders know the purpose of the meeting, what they need to focus on, and what you need from them.

(By the way, steal my template here. It will save you the time of recreating this.)

❌ Here’s a BAD example:

Why it doesn’t work:

Too much data. Too many details. No clear purpose or request. When your stakeholders spend more time squinting at the slide than listening to you, you’ve already lost them.

How This Helps You Get What You Want

Stakeholders aren’t looking for a data dump. They want:

• Clarity
• Direction
• A clear ask

A GEAR opening slide sets the tone, calms nerves, and keeps the meeting focused on outcomes.

Use it in your next big meeting — especially with senior stakeholders.

Then watch how much easier it is to get what you want.

Let’s do this,

P.S. Steal my opening slide template here. It will save you the time of recreating this.