Defending a finding with ten minutes on the agenda
Ten minutes forces hard choices about what to leave out. What survives the cut, what goes in the appendix, and the two sentences that have to open it.
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By Joris van Huët, Founder & CEOUpdated 3 min read
Ten minutes is enough if you decide in advance what you are not going to say. Most presentations fail by covering the method thoroughly and running out of time before the decision.
The ten minutes
| Minutes | Content |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1 | The design and its limits, in two sentences |
| 1 to 4 | The per-channel table, read aloud once |
| 4 to 6 | The gap against platform numbers, with the ratio |
| 6 to 8 | The decision you are asking for |
| 8 to 10 | Questions |
The two opening sentences
The first names the design: this is an observational causal estimate, not a test. The second names the limit: three channels could not be measured at their current spend, and they are listed at the bottom.
The table
Per channel: estimate. Read it once, aloud, slowly. Do not walk through the method for each channel; if someone wants that, it is minute eight.
Point at the widest interval yourself before anyone else does.
The gap slide
Have the ratio ready: the sum of platform-claimed revenue for the window divided by what the store actually took. Above one is expected and the size is the point. This is the two minutes that most often changes how a room reads its dashboards afterwards, and it needs no statistics. Method in the claim ratio.
The ask
Make it specific and small. Not "we should change our attribution philosophy" but "hold this channel's budget steady for four weeks so we can read it properly", or "reduce this one by a third and re-read in a month". A small concrete ask survives a short meeting; a large abstract one does not.
The structure for a cut recommendation is in which channels to cut, for the CFO.
What goes in the appendix
The method. The window justification. The channel-by-channel notes. All of it belongs in a document you can send afterwards, and almost none of it belongs in ten minutes.
The failure mode to avoid
Spending seven minutes establishing that the method is sound and two minutes on the finding. The room does not need to be convinced of causal inference. It needs a bounded claim and a specific ask.
Related answers
Frequently asked questions
How do I present attribution in ten minutes?
One minute on the design and its limits, three on the per-channel table read aloud, two on the gap against platform numbers, two on a specific ask, two for questions. The method itself belongs in an appendix.What should the first two sentences say?
The first names the design, such as an observational estimate rather than a test. The second names the limit, such as which channels could not be measured. Both in the first minute, before anyone raises them.What kind of ask survives a short meeting?
A small concrete one: hold this channel steady for four weeks so it can be read properly, or reduce that one by a third and re-read in a month. Large abstract asks about measurement philosophy do not survive ten minutes.
Go deeper: Incrementality testing, explained.
Sixty-second versions of these ideas: Causality Engine on YouTube Shorts.
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Keep reading
Terms in this article
- Ad SpendAd Spend is the total amount invested in advertising campaigns. It is measured against Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) to evaluate campaign effectiveness.
- AttributionAttribution identifies user actions that contribute to a desired outcome and assigns value to each. It reveals which marketing touchpoints drive conversions.
- Attribution DebtAttribution debt is the gap between what your ad platforms claim drove revenue and what actually caused it, carried quarter after quarter into the budget. It is how marketing debt accrues: allocate on claimed conversions long enough and the plan itself becomes the liability.
- Causal InferenceCausal inference is the set of methods for estimating how much an outcome changes because of a cause, rather than alongside it. It works by comparing what happened with an estimate of what would have happened without the cause.
- DashboardA dashboard is a visual display of key information required to achieve specific objectives. It consolidates data onto a single screen for quick review.
- DashboardsDashboards are graphical user interfaces that provide at-a-glance views of key performance indicators (KPIs). They monitor campaign performance and visualize attribution insights.
- RevenueRevenue is the total income generated by the sale of goods or services related to a company's primary operations.