name: slide description: The smallest autonomous unit of communication in a deck — a single frame with one Claim and the Proof for it.
Slide
A slide is the smallest autonomous unit of communication in a deck. It is the frame the audience holds in their eye for 8–60 seconds, and it should deliver one Claim supported by the Proof on it.
A slide is not a paragraph in a written document. It is a self-contained unit that should make sense if pulled out and forwarded alone.
Anatomy of a slide
- Action title — the slide-level Claim, stated as a complete sentence.
- Body — the Proof for that title: chart, table, quote, framework, or text.
- Source / footer — attribution, methodology note, or context.
- Optional kicker / eyebrow — locates the slide in the deck (block name, section).
The eight-second test
Most slides are looked at, not read. The audience should be able to extract the main message in 8 seconds of looking. If they need 30, the slide is doing the work the action title should have done. See eight-second-test.
Slide-level decisions
- Is the action title a Claim, not a topic?
- Does the body prove exactly that title — no more, no less?
- Is there one focal point, or is the eye fighting two competing centres?
- Is the slide standalone, or does it depend on context the audience may not have?
Failure modes
- Topic title. "Customer churn" instead of "Onboarding, not pricing, drives churn".
- Two slides in one. Action title makes one Claim, body proves a different one.
- Decoration. Pretty body, no Claim. Looks like analysis; is wallpaper.
- No focal point. Eye does not know where to land.
- Footer-heavy. More room for source and disclaimers than for the message.
Canonical phrasing
A slide is a Claim and the Proof for it, in a frame the eye can read in eight seconds. Everything else is a question of taste.