Story chapters.

By Polle de Maagt · Updated September 2026 · 4 min read

Do not start your next presentation by opening PowerPoint. Start by writing the chapter titles.

The model, the example and why it matters now are for members.In your toolbox: the full version opens below.

What it does

Turns a presentation into a handful of chapters, each with a job, before you make a single slide.

Time: 10 minutes
People: Alone, or 3 to 25
You need: A flipchart or a wallSticky notes

The problem.

Slides make you think one screen at a time. You add a title slide, an agenda, some context, a graph and another graph. Before long, you have a deck, but not necessarily a story.

When I write a presentation, speech or workshop narrative, I first divide it into chapters. This sits between defining what I want to tell and designing individual slides.

The chapters reveal the structure before slide production hides it.