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Creating Presentations
Overview

Creating Presentations (Slide Decks)

A Slide Deck is a specific presentation created from a template. The creation process follows a structured workflow with distinct phases.

What is a Slide Deck?

A Slide Deck represents:

  • A specific presentation being created.
  • Content and structure for that presentation.
  • A work-in-progress through multiple phases.
  • A final PowerPoint file once complete.

Think of it as a "slide deck project" that moves through stages from initial content to finished presentation.

The Creation Workflow

Creating a presentation involves five phases:

1. Build Phase

Purpose: Create and gather your content.

Activities:

  • Write presentation content (text, bullet points, data).
  • Research and gather information.
  • Create tables with data.
  • Work with Content Assistant to develop material.

Output: Unstructured content pieces (markdown text, tables)

2. Structure Phase

Purpose: Organize content into slide structure.

Activities:

  • AI analyzes your content and template.
  • AI proposes which slides to use and in what order.
  • AI maps content to specific slides.
  • You review and adjust the structure.

Output: Slide skeleton (ordered list of slides with content assignments)

3. Populate Phase

Purpose: Fill slides with actual content.

Activities:

  • AI generates content for each shape on each slide.
  • AI fills text boxes, tables, charts.
  • Content distributed appropriately across slides.
  • You monitor progress.

Output: Fully populated draft presentation

4. Refine Phase

Purpose: Polish and perfect the presentation.

Activities:

  • Review generated slides.
  • Request changes via Refinement Assistant.
  • Adjust content, tone, formatting.
  • Add or remove slides as needed.

Output: Refined, ready-to-present deck

5. Commit

Purpose: Generate final PowerPoint file

Activities:

  • Review final state
  • Commit changes to backend
  • Download .pptx file

Output: Downloadable PowerPoint file

Two Creation Modes

Freeform Mode

What it is: AI has complete freedom in slide selection and structure.

When to use:

  • One-off presentations
  • Creative or unique structures
  • When you want maximum flexibility
  • Exploratory presentations

How it works:

  • No workflow selected
  • AI analyzes content and template.
  • Selects slides based on content fit.
  • You control through prompts and refinement.

Workflow Mode

What it is: AI follows a predefined structure.

When to use:

  • Recurring presentation types
  • Consistent output needed
  • Team standardization
  • Proven structure to follow

How it works:

  • Select a workflow at start.
  • AI follows deck structure.
  • Respects order and section requirements.
  • Still adapts to content amount.

Starting a New Slide Deck

From Your Space Home

  1. Navigate to your space's home page.
  2. Choose a workflow to start a new slide deck.

From Template Page

  1. Navigate to your template
  2. Click "Create Slide Deck" button
  3. Choose mode:
    • Create Freely - Freeform mode
    • Workflow - Select from list
  4. Enter a name for your deck (optional)
  5. Click Create

Data Configuration (if applicable)

If your template has data-connected shapes (charts or tables linked to data collections), the Data Configuration Modal appears:

  1. Set global parameters - Enter values like valuation date, portfolio ID
  2. Validate - System checks that all required data exists
  3. Review - See validation results for each shape
  4. Proceed - Continue once all shapes are validated

This ensures your data-driven slides have all required data before you start building content. See Configuring Data for Slides for details.

Slide Deck States

A slide deck can be in different states:

Draft (In Progress)

  • Currently being worked on
  • In build, structure, populate, or refine phase
  • Not yet committed
  • Can be modified
  • Stored in staging area

Committed (Completed)

  • Final version generated
  • PowerPoint file available
  • Stored in backend
  • Can be downloaded
  • Cannot be modified (create new version instead)

The Phase Navigation

At the top of each slide deck page, you'll see phase indicators:

Build → Structure → Populate → Refine

Green checkmark: Phase completed Blue highlight: Current phase Gray: Not yet reached

You can navigate back to previous phases, but moving forward requires completing the current phase.

Working with the Content Assistant

Throughout the process, the Content Assistant chatbot helps you:

In Build Phase:

  • Create content
  • Research topics
  • Structure information
  • Generate tables

In Structure Phase:

  • Suggest structure improvements
  • Explain slide selections

In Populate Phase:

  • Monitor progress
  • Answer questions

In Refine Phase:

  • Make changes
  • Adjust content
  • Modify tone or style

Best Practices

Before Starting

Plan your content:

  • Know your key messages
  • Gather necessary data
  • Understand your audience
  • Define your goal

Choose the right template:

  • Match template to content type
  • Ensure variety of slide types
  • Check template is well-configured

Select mode thoughtfully:

  • Workflow for standardized presentations
  • Freeform for unique structures

During Creation

Build Phase:

  • Focus on content first, not formatting
  • Use markdown for structure
  • Create separate content pieces for different topics
  • Don't worry about slide layout yet

Structure Phase:

  • Review AI suggestions carefully
  • Ensure logical flow
  • Check that key content is included
  • Regenerate if needed

Populate Phase:

  • Let AI work without interruption
  • Review once complete
  • Note any issues for refinement

Refine Phase:

  • Review systematically (slide by slide)
  • Focus on high-impact changes
  • Test regeneration if needed
  • Know when "good enough" is reached

After Completion

Review:

  • Check all slides in PowerPoint
  • Verify data accuracy
  • Test on presentation hardware
  • Get feedback from colleagues

Save insights:

  • Note what worked well
  • Document improvements for next time
  • Update workflows if patterns emerge

Next Steps

Learn about each phase in detail:

Using Data in PresentationsBuild Phase