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More than one captain on the ship

Writing presentations with multiple people can be challenging. Everyone has their own perspectives. Here are some ideas to stay productive:

  1. Quickly hack together a preliminary story flow as a check list that you have all required content on the radar screen. Resist the temptation to argue.
  2. Separate the work on the content charts, and the final story flow. Whatever the story flow ends up being, you need to those competitive positioning charts, P&L forecasts, team bios. Allocate responsibilities and get this work done.
  3. Once the building blocks are completed, sequence and stitch the flow of the presentation together. This is the point where you can argue and debate. Charts that summarise the flow can be designed after you have agreed what that flow is.
  4. The person who actually has to stand up and give the presentation has the decisive vote. If not, chances are that she will deviate from the group story flow while on the stage anyway. "What we really wanted to say is this" [click to page 15].

Art: James Tissot, Captain Frederick Gustavus Burnaby, 1870