(FORTUNE Magazine) – Dear Annie: I have to give a presentation next month to the CEO and executive committee of my company, and I'm pretty nervous about it, partly because I've never addressed this group before (I'm filling in for my boss, who is on medical leave) and partly because I'll be delivering bad news about our results. It may sound like a trivial question, but how many PowerPoint slides should I use? Will six be enough for a ten-minute talk, or do I need more? --On the Griddle

Dear OG: Have I got a DVD for you! Check out Speaking to the Big Dogs: A Boardroom Survival Kit, available from www.powerspeaking.com (although, at $239, it's a bit pricey). According to its creator, communications guru Rick Gilbert, you not only don't need any more slides, but you'd do well to ditch half the ones you have. "Don't depend on visual aids," he says. "For every ten minutes, use only three PowerPoint slides."

That's because, at this rarefied level, your talk isn't so much a presentation as a discussion. "Be prepared for a dialogue, not a monologue," he says. As for the bad news you'll be imparting, Gilbert urges you to "get it out right away. Explain what you're planning to do to fix it and describe several possible solutions." One more thing: Don't get stressed out. "Bear in mind that the big dogs are on your side," says Gilbert. "If they didn't want you to succeed, they wouldn't be listening to you." Does that help?

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