A care provider's leave policy change, what changes and what stays the same
Two column text slide that explains a policy change
A two column text slide sets two related sets of points side by side so the audience can read across and compare, such as what changes and what stays the same. This one explains a leave policy update at Haverleigh Care, a fictional care provider, taking effect on 1 July 2027.
What is on the slide
- Title
- Leave Policy From 1 July 2027
- Framing line
- Haverleigh Care is updating its leave policy. Both columns apply to every permanent employee.
- What Changes
- Leave requests move to the roster app and are answered within five working days. Up to two days of personal leave in a row needs no certificate. Annual leave can be taken in single days. Purchased leave of up to four extra weeks a year, paid across 26 pay periods.
- What Stays the Same
- Four weeks of annual leave for full time staff, pro rata for part time. Ten days of personal leave that carries over. Long service leave follows the state scheme. Public holidays worked are paid at the enterprise agreement penalty rate.
When this is the right slide
Right when two parallel sets of points, such as what changes and what stays, need to be read side by side and each set fits in four short sentences.
What to swap it for
Content: Title + Body Text. When there is only one set of points, or the explanation reads better as a short paragraph than as a list.
What this slide shows
The title reads Leave Policy From 1 July 2027, with a framing line: Haverleigh Care is updating its leave policy, and both columns apply to every permanent employee. On the left, under the heading What Changes, four sentences: leave requests move from paper to the roster app and managers answer each within five working days; personal leave of up to two days in a row no longer needs a medical certificate; annual leave can be taken in single days; and purchased leave opens, buying up to four extra weeks a year paid across 26 pay periods. On the right, under What Stays the Same: annual leave stays at four weeks for full time staff, accruing pro rata for part time staff; personal leave stays at ten days and carries over; long service leave rules do not change; and public holidays worked are still paid at the agreement's penalty rate. A thin vertical rule separates the columns, and both headings sit in the same brand weight so neither side looks more important. There are no icons or cards; the slide relies on the clear split between change and continuity.
When this is the right slide
Use a two column text slide when the content is two parallel sets of points that the audience should read side by side, and neither side needs a picture. Policy changes, current and future state, two teams' responsibilities and two methods compared all suit it. It works when both sides have similar weight. It is the wrong choice when one side is a recommendation and the other is a rejected option, which deserves a comparison layout with a clear verdict, or when the points are a sequence in time, which belongs on a timeline. It also suits audiences who will read the slide again later, such as staff opening a shared deck after a briefing. Full sentences in two labelled columns survive being read without the presenter, which a sparse slide built for live narration does not.
How to adapt it
First, rename the column headings to the pair your topic needs, such as Before and After, Team A and Team B, or Option One and Option Two. Second, rewrite the four points on each side as full sentences with one fact each, and match them roughly by length so the columns stay level. Third, when there is only one set of points to explain, or the explanation needs a short paragraph rather than a list, swap to the title and body text layout, which gives one column of prose more room to breathe. Whichever layout you use, check each point against the source document, here the enterprise agreement and the leave policy itself, before the slide goes out. A summary that drifts from the policy creates disputes that the full document then has to settle.
What makes this slide work
The columns answer two separate worries
What Changes tells staff what they must do differently from 1 July 2027. What Stays the Same tells them what they will not lose. Splitting the slide this way answers the two questions every policy change raises, and the reassuring column on the right closes the slide on certainty rather than change.
Both columns carry exactly four points
Four points a side keeps the columns the same height and stops the slide tilting visually toward one side. Each point is one sentence of one or two lines, such as personal leave of up to two days in a row no longer needing a medical certificate, so both columns read at the same pace.
Every point names a number or a rule
Five working days. Two days in a row. Single days. Four extra weeks over 26 pay periods. Four weeks a year. Ten days. Each point states a specific entitlement or rule, so nobody leaves the briefing unsure how the change affects their own leave.
Questions people ask
How do I balance the length of two text columns?
Give each column the same number of points and keep each point to one or two lines. This layout fixes both columns at exactly four points, which forces the balance. If one side naturally has six points and the other two, the content is not a pair; use a single list instead, or find the two missing points on the shorter side.
Should two column points be bullets or full sentences?
Full sentences, as here. Each point explains what happens, such as managers answering requests within five working days, rather than naming a topic like faster approvals. Sentences carry the detail people will act on. Terse fragments work on a feature list but leave too much open on a policy slide, where people need to know what to do.
Which column should go on the left?
The one people care about most, because it is read first. In a policy change that is what changes; in a comparison it is usually the current state or the option you recommend against. Putting the new rules on the left also lets the right column reassure, closing the slide on what people can rely on.
When should a two column slide become two slides?
When either column needs more than four points or the points need longer explanations. Splitting gives each side room and lets you discuss them separately. Keep the two column version as a summary at the end of the section. A two column slide with small type and eight dense points per side is a page from a handbook, not a slide.
Does a two column text slide need a heading on each column?
Yes. What Changes and What Stays the Same tell the reader how to read each column before they start. Without headings, the audience has to infer the difference from the points, and many will read across rows looking for pairs that do not exist. Short, plain headings of two or three words work best.
How do I present a two column policy slide?
Go down the left column first, one point at a time, with a quick example for each change. Then move to the right column more briefly, since these points reassure rather than inform. End by naming where the full policy lives. Avoid jumping between columns; it makes the change sound more complicated than it is.
Build your own in about a minute
The button below opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own, generate, then edit anything you like.
Make one like thisOther slide examples
Definitions slide with six terms an HR team must share
A definitions slide gives everyone in the room the same meaning for the words the rest of the talk depends on, so nobody spends the next twenty minutes guessing. This one prepares the HR team at Pellbrook Logistics, a fictional freight company, for sending its employment contracts out for electronic signature.
Learning objectives slide with outcomes a trainer can assess
A learning objectives slide tells participants at the start of a session what they will be able to do by the end, written so that each outcome can be observed and assessed. This one opens a two hour safe lifting course for crews at Kettlewick Removals, a fictional moving company.
Title and bullets slide where every bullet is a full claim
A title and bullets slide lists a handful of separate points under one heading, and it works only when each bullet is a complete, short claim the reader can take in at a glance. This one sets out seven changes in version 4.2 of Rostrel, a fictional rostering app.
Want the steps in the builder? Read Style text and add callouts, stats and lists, then Present your slides with speaker notes and a pen. For everything this generator can do, see the slide maker.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .