pitch unfairly

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Sherlock Holmes, 1902. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

There is no curse. There was a cousin with a dog. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Client deliverable

  • £740,000 estate
  • 1 painted hound
  • 0 curses
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
1902 Client deliverable

Sherlock Holmes

There is no curse. There was a cousin with a dog.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→12 slides

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

Sherlock Holmes' client deliverable, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 1: The Baskerville curse, closed. 01The Baskerville curse, closed.
  2. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 2: There is no curse. There was a cousin with a dog. 02There is no curse. There was a cousin with a dog.
  3. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 3: One question came to Baker Street: is the Hall safe for Sir Henry? 03One question came to Baker Street: is the Hall safe for Sir Henry?
  4. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 4: We sent Watson to the Hall and hid Holmes in a hut. 04We sent Watson to the Hall and hid Holmes in a hut.
  5. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 5: Nine clues add up to three findings and one man. 05Nine clues add up to three findings and one man.
  6. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 6: The hound is real. It needed an old boot. 06The hound is real. It needed an old boot.
  7. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 7: Sir Charles wasn’t tiptoeing. He was running. 07Sir Charles wasn’t tiptoeing. He was running.
  8. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 8: Two lives stood between the naturalist and £740,000. 08Two lives stood between the naturalist and £740,000.
  9. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 9: The curse, the convict and the butler all have alibis. 09The curse, the convict and the butler all have alibis.
  10. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 10: Take the Hall, after a voyage round the world. 10Take the Hall, after a voyage round the world.
  11. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 11: Three risks stay open, and one of them was ours. 11Three risks stay open, and one of them was ours.
  12. Sherlock Holmes deck, slide 12: One signature, Sir Henry. We have a box at the opera. 12One signature, Sir Henry. We have a box at the opera.

Then · 1902

How it really went

Read the real storyArthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), via Project Gutenberg
  1. Dr Mortimer brings Holmes Sir Charles's death and a legend dated 1742
  2. "The footprints of a gigantic hound!"
  3. Sir Henry arrives from Canada and loses two boots at his hotel
  4. A bearded man in a cab gives his name as Sherlock Holmes
  5. Watson goes to Dartmoor and writes Holmes his reports
  6. Selden the convict on the moor; a candle at the Hall window
  7. Watson finds Holmes living in a stone hut
  8. Selden dies on the moor in Sir Henry's old clothes
  9. Hugo's portrait, hat covered, shows Stapleton's face
  10. Sir Henry walks home as bait; the hound comes out of the fog
  11. "Phosphorus." Stapleton vanishes into the Grimpen Mire

Now · 2026 · 12 slides

What we changed

  • The answer comes firstHolmes saved the solution for the fireside in the last chapter. The 2026 report opens on it: no curse, one cousin, one painted dog, case closed.
  • The evidence board has real stringNine clues from the novel pinned to three findings. Click a finding and its strings light up: the boots, the cigar ash, the portrait.
  • The staffing plan has a twistA map of the moor from Merripit House to the Grimpen Mire. Flip "As briefed" to "As run" and Holmes leaves London for a stone hut.
  • The curse gets an alibiCurse, convict, butler, clergyman, typist: each suspect is struck through and stamped as its evidence lands.

Steal the structure

Build your client deliverable like Sherlock Holmes did.

  1. 01 Cover The engagement, the client, and the verdict in one line.
  2. 02 Executive summary The answer first, three supporting points that don't overlap, and the status.
  3. 03 The question Situation, complication, and the question the client asked, in their words.
  4. 04 What we did The method and where the work happened, staffing as run rather than as sold.
  5. 05 Evidence map Every key piece of evidence linked to the finding it supports.
  6. 06 Finding 1 A full-sentence headline and the one exhibit that proves it.
  7. 07 Finding 2 One finding per slide, with a diagram the client can check for themselves.
  8. 08 Finding 3 The finding the client least wants to hear, with the number behind it.
  9. 09 Ruled out The hypotheses you eliminated and the evidence that eliminated each one.
  10. 10 Recommendations Actions with one owner and a date each; the most important one first.
  11. 11 Risks What stays open, including what went wrong on your side.
  12. 12 Next steps Dates for what happens next and exactly what you need from the client.

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