What is the 6x6 Presentation Rule [And, how to apply It]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Apr 25
- 6 min read
While designing a sales presentation for our client David, he asked us an interesting question.
“Is there a simple rule for writing slide content that doesn’t overwhelm?”
Our Creative Director answered with zero hesitation...
“Yes. The 6x6 rule. Six words per line, six lines per slide.”
As a presentation design agency, hundreds of presentations pass through our hands each year. Different products, different industries, different markets. But the same struggle shows up like clockwork: too much text, not enough clarity. Slide after slide crammed with information. Paragraphs on PowerPoint that feel more like punishment than persuasion.
The challenge isn’t just clutter. It’s the loss of momentum. The moment audiences are forced to read walls of text, their attention drifts, and the story gets buried. And when the story gets buried, the sale suffers.
This blog unpacks a rule that’s often thrown around but rarely applied well: the 6x6 presentation rule. Not just what it is, but how to actually use it in high-stakes sales conversations. Not from theory. But from working side by side with sales teams who need their message to stick, fast.
Setting the Record Straight on the 6x6 Presentation Rule
The 6x6 presentation rule has been around for a while. Six words per line. Six lines per slide. That’s it.
At first glance, it sounds too simplistic. Almost like a design myth that belongs on a Pinterest board next to “less is more” and “tell, don’t sell.” But here’s the thing — the 6x6 rule is not about minimalism for minimalism’s sake. It’s about friction.
Every extra word adds friction. Every additional line demands more effort. And in a live presentation, where words are flying and slides are flipping, even a small delay in comprehension creates a disconnect between speaker and audience. The message starts to compete with the medium.
The 6x6 rule doesn’t just trim text. It aligns visual processing with auditory delivery. It creates rhythm. It clears a runway for the narrative. When applied with intent, it stops being a formatting tip and starts becoming a communication principle.
And yet, it gets ignored. Or worse — misunderstood.
Some use it to justify bullet lists that still feel heavy. Others count numbers mechanically without asking whether the content even needs to be there. Many assume that following the rule automatically makes the slide good.
That’s not how it works.
The 6x6 rule is not a solution. It’s a filter. It forces clarity by design. But only when it’s used with a purpose bigger than compliance — to support the story.
So, what does applying it actually look like in the real world of pitch decks, sales meetings, and high-stakes conversations?
Let’s break it down.
Applying the 6x6 Presentation Rule in Presentations
1. Start with the Story, Not the Slide
Before even thinking about how many words go on the slide, zoom out and ask: what is this slide trying to do? What is the core idea it’s reinforcing?
This is where most teams get stuck. They open PowerPoint too soon. They start building slides before locking in the story. And that’s how word bloat begins. When the narrative isn’t nailed, the slide tries to carry the weight. It gets stuffed with explanations that should’ve been spoken. It gets paragraphs instead of punchlines.
The most effective decks our team has designed start with a clear one-sentence purpose for every slide. Not a topic. A purpose.
Examples:
Not “Customer Pain Points” Instead: “Highlight the hidden cost of delayed delivery”
Not “Solution Overview "Instead: “Frame the product as the faster path to market”
That sentence becomes the filter. Any word or line that doesn’t support it gets removed. This discipline alone clears 40 percent of the fluff before applying any rule.
2. Treat Each Slide Like a Billboard
Think about how a billboard works. Drivers have a few seconds. Maybe less. And in those seconds, they should get the message without slowing down. That’s the mindset for slide content under the 6x6 presentation rule.
The words need to:
Be instantly scannable
Communicate a single idea
Support, not distract from, the speaker
This is why six lines is more than just a number. It’s a ceiling. Anything beyond six lines, and the eyes begin to wander. The hierarchy breaks down. Audiences stop listening and start reading — and reading silently at a different pace than the speaker. It breaks the experience.
Now add the six-word-per-line principle. This isn’t about brevity for style. It’s about removing redundancy, eliminating filler, and getting to the essence.
Instead of: “Implementing this software across teams will significantly reduce the time spent on reporting”
Say: “Less time reporting. More time selling.”
It still communicates the same point. But now it feels like a soundbite. And soundbites stick.
3. Avoid Death by Bullet Point
Here’s a hard truth: bullets are rarely the problem. It’s the way they’re written.
Bullets often become dumping grounds. Laundry lists of features, benefits, or stats that look neat but read like instruction manuals. The 6x6 rule breaks this habit by forcing a rethink. If a bullet point exceeds six words, ask — is it trying to do too much?
Let’s take a real client example.
Original slide:
Improve collaboration across global departments
Enable faster decisions through real-time dashboards
Reduce operational cost by streamlining workflows
Boost employee productivity and engagement
Simplify internal communication channels
Scale effortlessly without adding headcount
This looks “clean” but performs terribly in a live setting. It’s overwhelming, repetitive, and sounds like a brochure.
Transformed using the 6x6 rule:
Collaboration across borders
Decisions in real time
Lower operational cost
Higher team output
Clearer internal messaging
Growth without extra hires
Now the list feels rhythmic. Each line lands. The visual density is lower. And most importantly, it allows the presenter to add color through voice, not clutter through text.
4. Design to Breathe, Not Impress
Many believe that fewer words means more visuals. True — but not just any visuals. The temptation is to fill “empty” space with charts, icons, or background images. But a slide isn’t a canvas for decoration. It’s a tool for focus.
When slides breathe — when there’s white space, balanced alignment, and visual pacing — they don’t feel empty. They feel calm. And calm is exactly what high-stakes presentations need. Especially in tense sales conversations where cognitive overload is already high.
The 6x6 rule makes it easier to design for calm. With only six lines and six words each, there’s physical space to make every element count. The eye knows where to go. The slide doesn’t compete with the speaker. It complements.
This is where design meets discipline. Not because of aesthetic taste, but because of audience psychology.
5. Use the Rule as a Launchpad, Not a Limiter
Some of the best slides our team has created break the 6x6 rule. But only after mastering it. Like jazz musicians who know the scales so well they can improvise beautifully.
There are moments where a single sentence does more than six lines. There are cases where a chart might replace text altogether. There are even exceptions where showing a quote, a stat, or a phrase in bold isolation carries dramatic weight.
The 6x6 presentation rule is not a straitjacket. It’s a starting point. A way to reset habits, question defaults, and create clarity. And once that clarity is second nature, creative deviations become strategic — not sloppy.
Here’s how one enterprise deck broke the rule brilliantly:
Slide 1:
“Speed wins markets. Complexity loses them.”
That’s six words. No bullets. Just one statement, center aligned, full bleed black background with white text. The slide stayed up while the presenter unpacked it. The room stayed with them the whole time.
That’s the goal.
Not to follow the rule religiously, but to earn the right to break it for the right reason.
6. Fix the Culture, Not Just the Slides
Most organizations don’t have a slide problem. They have a mindset problem. Slides are treated as documentation instead of persuasion tools. Teams design for completeness, not clarity. They chase approval, not alignment.
The 6x6 rule is powerful because it forces a shift in culture.
It says: this isn’t a report. This isn’t an email. This is a performance. And the slides are supporting actors, not the star.
When that idea takes root across sales, marketing, and leadership, the entire presentation experience transforms. Review meetings get shorter. Clients get to the “aha” moment faster. Teams stop editing slides to death and start focusing on what actually drives decisions — the story.
And it all starts with a rule that sounds deceptively simple. Six words per line. Six lines per slide.
But when it’s applied with intent, it changes everything.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.