Try the Evidence–Action–Ask cadence
A new recommended structure for leadership reviews is 'Evidence–Action–Ask': lead with the metric or risk, explain what you changed, then state your explicit ask — time‑boxed to force decisions. Teams using this cadence report tighter, decision‑oriented reviews and clearer followups. (winningpresentations.com)
Winning Presentations published "Evidence‑First Answers" by Mary Beth Hazeldine on March 19, 2026 and defines the answer structure as Proof → Point → Implication. (winningpresentations.com ) A concrete vignette in the piece recounts a Director of Operations who changed her answer after the CEO asked about vendor risk: the vendor’s delivery rate was 94% on‑time over six quarters, the team’s buffer was 11 working days, and a two‑week delay still left the Q2 deadline intact by three days. (winningpresentations.com ) The article includes a dedicated "Five Question Types" section and an explicit recommendation to build an evidence library before meetings so presenters can pull specific data points on demand. (winningpresentations.com ) A companion Winning Presentations post outlines a 20‑minute "Question Map" that claims roughly 80% of Q&A falls into four patterns—challenge, clarification, scope creep, and politics—and prescribes mapping those four types against each slide. (winningpresentations.com ) The site’s "Decision Slide" guidance prescribes a 60‑second decision format that puts the recommendation first, the specific ask second, and three proof points last, plus a three‑line checklist: recommendation in line one, a specific decision in line two, and the ability to say yes without flipping slides in line three. (winningpresentations.com ) Winning Presentations also recommends skipping slides in small, senior meetings and using a verbal context–recommendation–evidence structure when the room is five people or fewer and the meeting is under 20 minutes, illustrated by a £4.2M Phase II funding ask that succeeded without slides. (winningpresentations.com )
