Article · 9 min read

Reader Decks vs. Presenter Decks: Which One Do You Actually Need?

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This is the clearest breakdown of the two-decks-from-one-file idea, and it teaches with real artifacts, not theory: it puts Uber's 25-slide reader deck next to DoorDash's 10-slide YC demo-day presenter deck so you can literally see how the same story compresses. Read it to calibrate how much text belongs on a slide that gets forwarded versus one you narrate live.

  • A reader deck is the story (it stands alone when forwarded); a presenter deck is your sidekick (you are the story in the room)
  • Reader decks carry more longform text, detailed charts, and data because there is no narrator and no time limit; presenter decks strip to shortform text and big visuals
  • Build the standalone version around detail and self-explanation, then cut it down for the room, not the other way around
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The question it answers

  1. Should I send my deck ahead of the meeting or present it live, and how do I make a deck that works both ways?

Read with it

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