No, You Won't Need These Backup Slides

No, You Won’t Need These Backup Slides

In the world of presentations, it’s common to see decks cluttered with backup slides—extra slides that presenters keep just in case they need to delve deeper into a topic or answer potential questions. Instead of deleting these slides, authors often choose to “skip them” during the presentation or stash them away in a backup section. While this might seem practical, it can lead to more problems than it solves and rarely proves helpful.

The Hidden Risks of Backup Slides

The intention behind backup slides is often to preserve valuable content, but this practice can introduce several issues. These backup slides might be outdated, unreviewed, or fail to meet the quality standards of the main presentation. When the deck is shared with the audience—whether via email, a calendar invite, or as a pre/post-read—these backup slides can mislead or confuse readers, who might revisit settled questions or make decisions based on inaccurate or outdated data. This can reflect poorly on your work, as these slides may lack the polish and accuracy of the main content.

Overcoming the Backup Slide Dilemma

The rationale for keeping backup slides usually stems from concern. Presenters might fear that deleting slides will discard valuable work or that they might need the content in the future. Instead of keeping backup slides—akin to the poor practice of commenting out old code rather than deleting it—save a private copy of your presentation before trimming it. This way, you preserve your work without cluttering your final product.

Another common concern is the fear of needing more content. Remember, poor content won’t enhance your presentation. Delivering a shorter, more focused presentation where every slide contributes meaningfully to the story is not only perfectly acceptable but also beneficial. Handling potential questions is another concern. As the presenter, you’re the expert and can address questions with your expertise rather than relying on backup slides. It’s rare for someone to refer to random backup slides during a Q&A session, and these slides often lack the polish needed to support your answers effectively.

If extra data points are necessary but might disrupt the presentation flow, consider including a few appendix slides with references, detailed charts, or supplementary data. These should be treated with the same level of care as the rest of the deck—reviewed, polished, and integrated smoothly into the final product.

A Lesson Learned: The Cost of Backup Slides

This lesson hit home recently during a high-profile presentation at work. Our team decided to remove some slides from our deck and, out of habit, moved them to a backup section instead of deleting them outright. Unfortunately, some readers reviewed the entire deck, including those “deleted” slides. This led to confusion, extra work, and unnecessary back-and-forth that could have been avoided. The presence of these backup slides caused more problems than it solved, highlighting how a seemingly small oversight can have a significant impact.

Conclusion: Streamline Your Deck for Maximum Impact

Eliminate the clutter from your slide deck by removing all backup and skipped slides before finalizing your work. A streamlined, polished presentation will look more professional and deliver a clearer, more coherent story to your audience, whether attending your presentation or reviewing the deck afterward. Keep it sharp, and let your main content shine.

Have you had a similar experience with backup slides? Share your story in the comments, and let’s learn from each other.

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