The Overrunning Induction Deck
You are preparing a 15-minute induction presentation for 40 new starters. The venue has a fixed 4:3 projector at 1024x768 and no internet access. Your draft has 28 slides, each with a heading, 5-7 bullet points, and a stock photo. Rehearsal takes 22 minutes. The room is wide but shallow, so the back row is close to the screen. A colleague notes that several slides repeat the same 'our values' message in different wording. You have two days before delivery and cannot change the projector.
1. What is the most defensible first action to bring the deck within the 15-minute limit, and why is it better than simply speaking faster?
Read the worked answer
Cut content at the message level before touching delivery pace. 28 slides for 15 minutes is roughly 30 seconds per slide, which is unrealistic for 5-7 bullets plus a photo. Merge the duplicated 'values' slides into one, move supporting detail to a handout, and target about 12-15 slides. Speaking faster treats the symptom: it compresses comprehension for 40 people and removes time for questions, and it does not fix the repetition the colleague flagged. Reducing slides also lets each remaining slide carry one idea, which is what the audience actually retains.
2. The projector is 4:3 at 1024x768. How should this constrain your slide design, and what would you check before the session?
Read the worked answer
Design in a 4:3 aspect ratio at or below 1024x768 so nothing is cropped or letterboxed. Avoid content near the outer edges, since a shallow room with a close back row means the extreme top and bottom may be hard to see. Because there is no internet, embed all images and fonts rather than linking them. Before the session, run the actual file on the venue machine or an identical resolution to confirm text size, image placement, and that no font substitution has shifted line breaks. Larger body text matters here because the back row is close but the screen is small.