Creating a storyline that works for people with some distance to the field is not an easy task. You cannot rely on what works for you. Especially in the beginning and end.

The most efficient solution is to create a storyboard with key-words and test it on a volunteer. We prefer to do this on post-it notes. One note per step in the story. The good thing is that you can easily change the order of the notes or replace them. It allows you to be creative in the process of designing the storyline. Trial and error cycles are very short. Working in e.g. Word or PowerPoint in this stage, will automatically shift the focus on the exact wording, or the design of the slides. These are aspects that you should not be thinking of yet.

Later these post-it notes will be the basis of your slides. A rule of thumb might be that you use one post-it for each minute of presentation. In a three minutes presentation you might combine hook, with context and problem, approach with research design, and CV with impact. In a ten minutes presentation you could use one post-it per work package. This helps you to in an early stage allign story with strategy. The most important aspects should be written on the notes. Trivialities simply do not fit.