HomeResourcesGuidesAndrew PershJune 16, 20269 min read

How to Make McKinsey-Style Slides with Claude and Oria

The exact prompts and the step-by-step method for turning Claude into action titles, a MECE body, and a Pyramid Principle storyline, then rendering it as a board-ready, fully editable deck in Oria.

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How to make McKinsey-style slides with Claude and Oria

To make McKinsey-style slides with Claude, instruct it to write action titles, build a MECE body, and order the deck by the Pyramid Principle, then paste that storyline into Oria to render board-ready, editable slides. Claude does the thinking. Oria does the design. The prompts below are the part you copy.

What makes a slide McKinsey-style

The look is not the point. A McKinsey-style slide is defined by its discipline, and that discipline is what you can instruct Claude to enforce. Five rules carry almost all of it.

Action titles. The title states the so-what as a full sentence, not a topic label. "Market is consolidating around two players" beats "Market overview".

One message per slide. Each slide makes exactly one point. If you cannot say the point in one sentence, it is two slides.

A MECE body. Three to five supporting points that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. No overlap, nothing missing.

Exhibit-led. One chart or diagram that proves the title, not decoration. The exhibit and the title argue the same point.

Over the whole deck, the fifth rule is the Pyramid Principle: lead with the governing answer, then group the support beneath it so the action titles, read in order, tell the story on their own. For the deeper treatment of these frameworks see the complete guide to McKinsey presentations with Claude.

The step-by-step method with Claude

Run these four steps in one conversation so each builds on the last. Do not skip to slide design. Get the structure right in text first.

Frame the storyline. Open with SCQA. State the situation, the complication, the question, and your one-line answer. This becomes the spine the rest of the deck hangs on.

Write the action titles. Turn the storyline into one action title per slide, each a full sentence stating the so-what. Then audit them in order: they should tell the whole argument without the bodies.

Build a MECE body. For each title, ask Claude for three to five supporting points that do not overlap and leave nothing out. Cut anything that does not prove the title.

Spec one exhibit. For the key slides, have Claude describe the single chart or diagram that proves the title, the type, the axes, and the one element to emphasize.

The anatomy of a McKinsey-style slide

Every slide you build in this method has the same four parts, top to bottom. Keep this shape in mind when you read Claude's output and when you brief Oria.

Anatomy of a McKinsey-style slide: action title, MECE body, supporting exhibit, and takeaway

The prompts for McKinsey-style slides

These are the exact prompts. Copy a block, replace the bracketed parts, and run them in sequence inside one conversation. Grouped by stage. For a larger library see the full set of Claude prompts for McKinsey slides.

Stage 1: Storyline and ghost deck

Frame the storyline with SCQA

You are an engagement manager at a top strategy firm. From the analysis below, write the storyline as SCQA: - Situation: the stable context the audience already accepts. - Complication: the change that creates tension. - Question: the single question that now must be answered. - Answer: our governing recommendation, in one full sentence. Keep each part to one or two sentences. Analysis: [paste your findings]

Build the ghost deck

Turn the SCQA storyline above into a ghost deck of 8 to 12 slides. For each slide give only: - a one-line action title (the so-what, a full sentence), and - a one-line note on the evidence that proves it. Order them so the answer comes first and the support hangs underneath it (Pyramid Principle). Do not write bodies yet.

Stage 2: Action titles

Rewrite topic titles into action titles

Rewrite each title below as an action title: a full sentence that states the conclusion AND its implication, not a topic label. Rules: - No noun-phrase labels ("Market overview", "Cost analysis"). - Each title makes one falsifiable claim a partner could say out loud. - Keep each under 14 words. Titles: [paste your titles]

Audit the title flow

Read these action titles in order, ignoring everything else on the slides. Answer three questions: 1. Do they tell the whole argument on their own? If not, what is missing? 2. Does any title state a topic instead of a conclusion? Flag it. 3. Are any two titles making the same point? If so, merge them. Then give me the corrected title sequence. Titles: [paste]

Stage 3: MECE body

Build a MECE body for one slide

For the slide titled "[action title]", give me the body as 3 to 5 supporting points. They must be MECE: mutually exclusive (no overlap) and collectively exhaustive (nothing important left out). For each point, write one tight sentence that proves the title. If two points overlap, merge them; if a gap exists, name it.

Pressure-test the body for MECE

Check the points below against the title for MECE failures. List any overlaps between points, any gaps that leave the title unproven, and any point that does not actually support the title. Then return a clean, MECE version of 3 to 5 points. Title: [paste] Points: [paste]

Stage 4: Executive summary and exhibits

Write the executive summary slide (SCQA)

Write a one-slide executive summary of the analysis below using Situation, Complication, Question, Answer. Make the Answer about 60 percent of the length. Bold the lead sentence of each part so a reader can skim only the bold text and still get the whole argument. Keep it under 150 words. Analysis: [paste]

Spec the exhibit that proves the title

For the slide titled "[action title]", spec the single exhibit that proves it. Give me: - the chart or diagram type and why it fits the message, - the x and y axes or the structure (e.g. 2x2, waterfall, funnel), - the one data series or element to emphasize, and - a one-line caption that restates the so-what. Do not invent numbers; mark where my data goes with [brackets].

Tip

Run these in order in one chat. By the exhibit step Claude already holds your storyline, titles, and bodies in context, so the specs stay grounded in your argument instead of going generic.

The Oria one-prompt route to the deck

Do not ask Claude to build the PowerPoint. Take the storyline you just wrote and hand it to Oria's Text to Slide inside PowerPoint. Three steps:

Copy the action titles and MECE bodies from Claude into one block of text.

Open Oria in the PowerPoint task pane and paste it into Text to Slide.

Oria renders 2 to 5 design options per slide, fully editable and in your corporate template. Pick the best and refine.

Because Oria produces native, editable PowerPoint elements rather than a flat image or fragile HTML, the deck looks designer-made and stays on-brand. A single slide previews in 30 to 40 seconds. If you would rather load the method once and reuse it, the Claude skills for McKinsey slides package the same prompts as a saved skill.

Common mistakes to avoid

Topic titles ("Market overview") instead of action titles that state the conclusion.

Two or three messages on one slide instead of a single point.

Body points that overlap or leave an obvious gap, breaking MECE.

Charts that decorate instead of proving the title.

Letting Claude build the PowerPoint, then shipping the AI-looking result raw.

Writing slide bodies before the action titles tell the story on their own.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly makes a slide McKinsey-style?

Four things. The title is an action title: it states the so-what as a full sentence, not a topic label. The slide carries one message and one message only. The body is MECE, three to five points that do not overlap and leave nothing out. And the whole deck follows the Pyramid Principle, so the governing answer comes first and the support hangs underneath it. Get those four right and the deck reads like consulting work, whatever the brand.

Can Claude write good action titles on its own?

Not by default. Ask for a title and Claude tends to return a topic label like "Market overview". You have to instruct it explicitly: rewrite the title as a full sentence that states the conclusion and its implication, and then audit whether the titles, read top to bottom, tell the whole story on their own. The action-title rewrite and audit prompts below do exactly that.

Should I let Claude build the actual PowerPoint slides?

No. Claude is strong at the thinking, the storyline, the action titles, the MECE body, and the executive summary, and weak at visual design and editable native charts. The reliable pattern is to draft the structure in Claude, then build the slides in Oria so the deck is board-ready, on-brand, and fully editable inside PowerPoint.

What is SCQA and when do I use it?

SCQA stands for Situation, Complication, Question, Answer. It is the standard way to open a consulting deck or an executive summary: state the stable context, the change that creates tension, the question that follows, and your answer. Use it for the executive summary slide and to frame the storyline before you write individual titles.

Which Claude model should I use for this?

Use the most capable model for the structural work, framing the storyline, writing action titles, and stress-testing the logic, where judgment matters most. A faster model is fine for high-volume drafting like turning rough notes into bullets. The prompts here work on any current Claude model.