Slide recipe: Closing ask

The last slide the reader sees. Treat it as a single design moment — not a recap, not a thank-you, not a next-steps list. One ask, one slide.

See storytelling/closing-ask.md for the rhetorical logic and the 4 ask types. This file covers the physical slide build.

The default layout

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                             │
│                                                             │
│                                                             │
│                                                             │
│                                                             │
│        Vote the GOLD proxy card to elect                    │
│        all seven of our nominees at the                     │
│        July 15, 2024 Annual Meeting.                        │
│                                                             │
│                                                             │
│                                                             │
│                                                             │
│        ── The Committee for a Stronger Phillips 66          │
│                                                             │
│        www.streamline66.com                                 │
│        info@streamline66.com                                │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Specifications

• Background: dark (charcoal #15171A or near-black #0A0A0B). The rest of the deck is typically on white/cream — the dark background signals "we have arrived".
• Ask type: 32–44pt serif, italic if you want literary weight, regular otherwise. Centred or left-aligned to a 70% column.
• Attribution line: 14pt sans, prefixed with em-dash. Identifies the author of the ask (the campaign committee or fund).
• Contact info: 12pt mono, low opacity (60%). Exactly two lines: a microsite URL + a campaign email address.
• No page number, no footer, no nav — this slide is the terminus.

The four type-specific layouts

Type 1 · Vote (proxy)

        Vote the GOLD proxy card to elect
        Hunter Harrison, Paul Hilal, Stephen Tobias,
        and four other nominees at the
        May 17, 2012 Annual Meeting.

Must include:

• Card colour (typically GOLD for activist; WHITE for management; BLUE often used by management defending against activists)
• The exact slate names
• Meeting date (with day, month, year)
• Implicit instruction to use the activist proxy card

Type 2 · Commit

        We urge the Board to commit, by the
        Q3 2024 earnings release, to separating
        the Midstream business into a standalone
        REIT within 24 months.

Must include:

• Specific action ("separate", "approve", "engage")
• Deadline for the commitment
• Implementation window for the action itself

Type 3 · Transact

        The Board should launch a formal
        strategic review with the mandate to
        consider all transactional alternatives,
        including a sale of the Company,
        with findings due December 31, 2024.

Type 4 · Vindicate (short-seller)

        Our estimate of Nikola's intrinsic
        equity value is zero.
        
        We are short the stock and anticipate
        SEC action within 90 days.

Different visual register: often white text on red or warning-orange background. Stark, declarative.

What goes immediately after the closing-ask slide

Nothing visible to the reader during normal viewing.

In the appendix-laden form (most decks):

• Methodology pages
• Source citations
• Director nominee biographies
• Defensive disclosures (firm history, fund standing, voting record)
• Legal disclaimers

Always restart page numbering or use roman numerals (i, ii, iii) for appendix to signal the deck proper has ended.

Common mistakes

1. Multiple asks on the closing slide. "Vote our slate AND commit to spin AND announce strategic review" — the power is singular. Pick one. The others belong in the Answer section.
2. Soft verbs. "Consider", "evaluate", "explore", "review" — all defensible to ignore. Use "vote", "commit", "elect", "approve", "launch".
3. Hidden ask in a summary slide. A 5-point summary slide with the ask buried as point 4 dilutes it. The ask deserves its own visual moment.
4. Wrong card colour. Each fund/contest has a colour convention. Verify with proxy counsel; using the wrong card colour invalidates shareholder votes.
5. No microsite. "info@example.com" alone forces interested shareholders into one-on-one outreach. A microsite multiplies reach by 100×.
6. Page numbering continues. If the reader sees "page 73 of 147", they don't know it's the end. Either no page number or "// END //" marker.

Exemplars

• Pershing Square · Canadian Pacific (Feb 2012) — vote-the-GOLD closing ask; won 6/7 seats
• Starboard · Darden (Sep 2014) — vote-the-WHITE closing ask; won full slate
• Trian · Disney "Restore the Magic" (Mar 2024) — vote-the-WHITE with restorethemagic.com microsite; lost
• Elliott · Southwest "Stronger Southwest" (Sep 2024) — vote ask → settlement
• Hindenburg · Nikola (Sep 2020) — Type 4 vindicate; intrinsic-zero declaration
• Muddy Waters · Luckin Coffee (Jan 2020) — Type 4 with explicit catalyst forecast (delisting)

See also

• storytelling/closing-ask.md — the strategic logic and 4 types
• campaigns/proxy-fight.md — where Type 1 fits in the contest
• slides/cover-slide.md — the bookend (cover ↔ closing ask)
• slides/visual-craft.md — colour discipline (dark background usage)