---
title: How we developed the tech talk for the 2015 Sentinel Summit
description: The behind-the-scenes look at presentation development for Heritage Action's 2015 Sentinel Summit.
---

[Nathanael Yellis's Blog: technology consulting, digital strategy, marketing, simplicity, and more. ](https://www.yell.is/blog)

# [How we developed the tech talk for the 2015 Sentinel Summit](https://www.yell.is/blog/2015/12/29/how-we-developed-the-tech-talk-for-the-2015-sentinel-summit)

 Written by [Nathanael Yellis](https://www.yell.is/blog/author/nathanael-yellis) | December, 29 2016

We started with an outline: a set assumptions about who the audience was, what they needed, and the message we wanted them to hear.

After assigning roles for the multi-person talk, it came time to build one slide deck to visually communicate the message and integrate the speakers into a unified whole.

My first draft translated the outline into potential visuals:

<https://www.yell.is/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/40cf1-img_5520.jpg>

 

I edited out several slides after reviewing this rough draft: a few were unnecessary, a few didn't work, and a few were too tough for my brain to draw.

 

Next I moved from potential visuals to slides that could actually work. For this stage, I used a massive piece of paper and with a pen traced little boxes that have the same aspect ratio as the slides. Then I drafted the slides themselves.

 

<https://www.yell.is/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/1ef2d-img_5519.jpg>

 

After working for about 45 minutes, I booted up the trusty old Keynote and away we went.

**Key success factor:** Keynote is the last part of my workflow. Know what you want to make before getting into the detailed canvasses, options, and menus of the slide-making software.

Here's the finished product:

** [Heritage Action Technology for Conservative Activists](https://www.slideshare.net/inathanael/heritage-action-technology-for-conservative-activists) ** from **[Nathanael Yellis](https://www.slideshare.net/inathanael)**

 

Sad note: I was supposed to be in DC with my family the day of this talk, so my colleague Sondra went to bat for me. We dropped into the deck a quick video to explain my absence to the Sentinels.

[View full post](https://www.yell.is/blog/2015/12/29/how-we-developed-the-tech-talk-for-the-2015-sentinel-summit)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Nathanael Yellis"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2021-05-18T19:30:31.097Z",
  "datePublished" : "2015-12-29T16:33:00Z",
  "headline" : "How we developed the tech talk for the 2015 Sentinel Summit",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "url" : "https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/3896789/Imported_Blog_Media/40cf1-img_5520-1.jpg"
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.yell.is/blog/2015/12/29/how-we-developed-the-tech-talk-for-the-2015-sentinel-summit",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60.0,
      "url" : "https://3896789.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/3896789/Imported_Blog_Media/Yellis_Square.png",
      "width" : 60.0
    },
    "name" : "Nathanael Yellis's Blog"
  }
}
```