Build a Board Deck Skill
Upload your quarterly metrics and a previous deck. Claude drafts the full presentation — every slide, with CFO talking notes — in one prompt. Save it as a reusable skill for next quarter.
- →A full 6-slide board deck drafted from your actual data
- →Slide-by-slide content with sharp headlines and bullet points
- →CFO talking notes for every slide
- →A downloadable PowerPoint file with your brand colors
- →A reusable Claude skill you can run every quarter in minutes
Gather Your Ingredients
You'll need four things to get the best output:
Use Rillet Recon Inc. practice data to follow along.
Upload Your Files
In a new Claude Chat conversation:
- ✓Click the paperclip icon or drag files into the chat
- ✓Upload your metrics CSV
- ✓Upload your previous board deck (PDF or PPTX)
- ✓Add any context notes directly in the message
Claude can read PDFs, Excel files, and CSVs. You don't need to convert anything first.
Run the Board Deck Prompt
After uploading your files, paste this prompt. Claude will analyze your data and draft all six slides.
You are a CFO assistant helping me prepare our quarterly board deck. I've attached: 1. Our latest financial and operating metrics (CSV) 2. Our previous board deck (for reference on structure and style) [OPTIONAL: Also visit [YOUR WEBSITE URL] to understand our brand colors.] FIRST — Review the data: - Identify the 5–7 most important metrics to highlight this quarter - Flag any metrics meaningfully above or below trend - Note anything likely to draw board questions THEN — Draft the deck, slide by slide: Slide 1: Executive Summary - One-paragraph narrative of the quarter - 3 headline numbers with context - 1 "watch out" and 1 "we're proud of this" Slide 2: Revenue & ARR - ARR growth data (table format) - NRR, new logo, expansion, and churn summary - 2–3 narrative bullet points Slide 3: Pipeline & Sales Performance - Pipeline coverage, win rate, and sales cycle - New logos this quarter - Commentary on surprises Slide 4: Expenses & Burn - Total OpEx breakdown by category - Burn rate and runway - Material changes vs budget Slide 5: Risks & Mitigations - Top 3 risks with mitigation plans Slide 6: Ask - What we need from the board this quarter For each slide, provide: ✦ A sharp headline (8 words max) ✦ 3–5 bullet points of content ✦ CFO talking notes (what to say out loud) Match the tone and structure of the previous deck. Keep it tight.
Refine the Narrative
Use follow-up prompts to sharpen the output:
The board will likely ask about our burn rate. Strengthen the Expenses slide and add a proactive answer to: 'how long does your runway last?'
The executive summary feels too long. Tighten it to 3 sentences max and cut anything that isn't a headline number or key message.
Rewrite the Risks slide to be more honest about our pipeline coverage risk — but frame each risk with a clear mitigation.
Then generate the PowerPoint:
Now create a downloadable PowerPoint file from this content. Use our brand color #4F2FEB as the primary color. Keep the design clean and minimal — one big idea per slide. Include the CFO talking notes in the speaker notes section of each slide.
Save as a Skill
Turn this into a reusable tool for next quarter:
- ✓In Claude, click "Save as Skill" or open the Skills panel
- ✓Name it: "Quarterly Board Deck Draft"
- ✓Paste the full prompt from Step 3 as the skill definition
- ✓Next quarter: open the skill, upload new data, run it
After your first run, ask Claude: “What should I add to this prompt to make it even better for our company's specific context?” It will help you customize for your board's preferences.