Why summaries belong at the end of presentations
A common tendency among presenters is to begin their slide deck with a summary of the key points (not to be confused with a Table of Contents). For instance, founders (esp. of later-stage companies) will often place an “Executive Summary” or “Investment Highlights” slide early in their startup’s pitch deck. Keynote speakers covering technical topics will often do the same.
However, placing a summary at the end of your presentation (sometimes referred to an “underview”) rather than the beginning (“overview”) tends to be a more effective communication and persuasion technique. Interestingly, the “underview” vs. “overview” debate has been tried and tested most extensively in the world of debates, where ending with a summary (and never beginning with one) is an near-universal best practice.
The reason that ending a pitch or presentation with a summary tends to be more effective is manyfold:
1. Memory Retention
Due to the recency effect, people tend to remember what they heard last better than what they heard first. Placing a summary at the end (instead of the beginning) leverages this psychological principle to ensure your audience leaves with a clear memory of the key takeaways.
2. Mental Processing Path
People’s minds tend to get ahead of themselves: when they’ve already heard where a presentation is going, they inevitably begin to process and form their own conclusions (despite their limited knowledge). On the other hand, if you end with a summary, it validates and crystallizes the thinking they’ve already done, while preventing any hasty first impressions. Also, without an upfront overview telling them what to expect, audiences remain more curious and engaged throughout the presentation as they try to connect the dots themselves.
3. Natural Discovery
Starting with specifics and building to general conclusions mirrors how humans naturally learn and discover things. An effective presentation should lead the audience to their own “a-ha” moment. It feels more authentic than being told the conclusion first and then seeing how it was reached. When people arrive at conclusions through their own thought process (guided by your presentation), they tend to believe them more strongly than when told the conclusions upfront. After all, it’s easiest to persuade someone to believe in an idea if they feel it’s their own.
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You can think of it as a mystery novel versus a book that gives away the ending in the first chapter. The journey of discovery is often more engaging and memorable than being told the destination at the start. This holds true for all presentations: from investor pitches to keynote speeches.