The following PowerPoint presentation was created by Terri Sagastume, a resident of a small Florida town who opposes a proposed real-estate development, Edenlawn Estates, on property near his home. J&M Investments, the real-estate developer that recently purchased the property, hopes to create a new multistory condominium complex in place of the property’s existing single-family homes. Sagastume’s goal is to inform the public of the damage such a development would do to the surrounding area, and he is trying to convince his audience to sign a petition, which he will present to the local government in an effort to shut the project down.

The slides themselves are extremely simple and brief: They are merely the bullet points that Sagastume uses to anchor his presentation.

With the first slide as his backdrop, Sagastume provides a preview of his speech in three broad sections. First, he explains to his audience that the real-estate developer — a Miami-based conglomerate with no personal ties to the area — wants to change the existing building codes and zoning laws in order to maximize profits. Second, he reminds his audience of the reason those codes and laws are there and explains that much could be lost if exceptions are made. And finally, he convinces his audience that, together, they can fight the big developer and win.