Part 1
The three doors in PowerPoint
Three ways into the same assistant. The difference is what each one starts from, and whether it touches your words or only your layout.
Create from a prompt
One sentence in, a deck out
Like a ghost writer with no notes. Fluent, fast, and working from nothing but your sentence.
A first draft from one request. Good for a skeleton.
TellGeneric until you paste the numbers
Create from a file
A Word file or PDF in OneDrive
Like an editor with your report open. It follows the structure you already wrote.
An outline built from a document you point it to. Good when the report exists.
TellIt follows the document, not your judgement
Designer
Layout for a slide you wrote
Like a framer, not a writer. It hangs your picture straight; it does not repaint it.
Layout, alignment, icons, pictures. Good last, never first.
TellIt never checks a number
Prompt = a skeleton · File = an existing report · Designer = the finish
Copilot in PowerPoint cannot see your Excel. Every number that reaches a slide gets there because you put it there.
Copilot in PowerPoint cannot see your Excel. Every number that reaches a slide gets there because you put it there.
Part 2
What one slide carries
A slide that carries everything carries nothing. Three places, three jobs, no overlap.
The title
The claim
Like a newspaper headline, not a filing-cabinet label.
A full sentence with a number in it.
Tell"Dormancy Analysis" is a label. The slide has not started.
The body
The evidence
Like one exhibit handed to the committee, not the whole file.
One chart or one table. Not both, not six rows of either.
TellSix rows bury the one row that matters
The notes
The proof
Like the receipt in your pocket. Nobody sees it until somebody asks.
Sheet, cell, extraction date. The formula, if it helps.
TellReady if they ask, invisible if they do not
One slide · one message · one number
If the title is a full sentence with a number in it, the slide is almost finished.
If the title is a full sentence with a number in it, the slide is almost finished.
Part 3
Finding → claim → evidence → ask
Most people stop at the finding. The committee pays for the ask. Worked here on Finding 2.
Finding
What the data says
Like a reading on a dial.
KWD 177 million of Saudi assets sit dormant — 35% of the region, against 14.6% in Kuwait.
TellTrue, and not yet useful
Claim
What it means
Like reading the dial out loud.
Saudi Arabia carries far more dormant money than any other region.
TellOne sentence, no hedging
Evidence
How you know
Like the photograph of the dial.
The dormancy table by region, from your Meridian dashboard.
TellOne exhibit, traceable to a cell
Ask
What to decide
Like handing over the form to sign.
Agree a retention review of the dormant Saudi accounts before the next meeting.
TellDecision, owner, date — or it is not ready
The test: could the committee say yes or no to it on Thursday? If the answer is "it depends," the ask is not ready.
Part 4
The order a decision deck takes
Six sections, every time. Copilot will build them in any order and add slides you did not ask for.
1 · Title
The answer
Like the front page, not the contents page.
The one-sentence message, with a number in it.
TellNo agenda slide. Ever.
2–4 · Situation, findings, so-what
The middle
Like three exhibits in a row, one per page.
What the data covers · one slide per finding · what it means for the business.
TellOne message per slide, or split it
5–6 · Ask, appendix
The close and the proof
Like the signature line, then the folder behind it.
One decision, owner, date · then tables, sources, the three-step check.
TellEverything they might ask for lives here
Answer first. Evidence behind.
⚠
Copilot adds slides you did not ask for. An agenda, a "thank you," a "next steps." Deleting them is part of building the deck, not a sign that something went wrong.
Part 5
The three-step check, on a slide
The same three steps as yesterday, with one new lesson at the end.
Spot-check
Step 1
Like weighing the parcel yourself.
The number on the slide equals the cell in your Meridian dashboard.
TellIf they differ, the slide is wrong — not the sheet
Ask where it came from
Step 2
Like keeping the receipt.
Write the sheet and the cell in the notes: Dashboard!B7, extracted 2026-09-14.
Tell"How do you know?" is one line away
Change one input
Step 3
Like a photograph: the room changes, the picture does not.
Change the cell. The slide does not move.
TellA slide does not recalculate. Date it.
Yesterday the check protected a formula. Today it protects a photograph.
⚠
Designer never checks a number. Run it last, then read every figure on the slide again. If one moved into a chart caption or disappeared, undo and choose another layout.
Quick reference
Prompts that worked today
When you want to … ask for …
A first skeleton
"Build [N] slides in this order: [sections]. One message per slide. Titles as full sentences. Use only the numbers I gave you."
Stop it inventing
"If a number is missing, write [NUMBER NEEDED]. Do not estimate."
Speaker notes
"Write speaker notes for this slide in about 80 words. Use only the numbers on the slide. Do not add any."
The objection slide
"List the three strongest objections a skeptical CFO would raise. For each one, say what evidence would answer it. Do not invent figures."
Plain language
"Rewrite this slide for a reader who does not work in finance. Keep every number. Do not add any."
Test the ask
"Is this ask specific enough for a committee to say yes or no to? Say what is missing."