Slide count calculator

The count is a proxy. What limits a talk is how many ideas an audience can follow in the time: a 10-minute talk can usually carry three main points, a 30-minute one perhaps five. If each slide makes one point, stated in its title, the count follows from the content and the timing mostly looks after itself.

Use the recommendation as a starting point, draft your slide titles, then rehearse with a timer. For the reasoning behind the numbers, the rules of thumb by length and type, and a sample storyline, read how many slides for a presentation.

A support team leader has 10 minutes, with no questions in the slot, to ask colleagues for a change to the overnight rota. The calculator suggests 9 slides at about a minute each:

1. Title slide
2. Executive summary: the change and the decision needed
3. Main point 1: overnight demand has tripled (2 slides)
4. Main point 2: the on-call rota can't last (2 slides)
5. Main point 3: a follow-the-sun rota costs less than overtime (2 slides)
6. Recommendation and next steps