From a 40-Page Research PDF to a 10-Slide Deck, Using Only Email

Disclosure: I'm the developer of Maildoer (https://maildoer.com). This post shows how I use it myself.

A lot of my week used to disappear into one specific chore: someone sends a long PDF (a market study, a research paper, a vendor whitepaper) and asks, "Can you present the key points on Thursday?" Reading is fine. Rebuilding the thing as slides, finding the numbers worth charting, and making it look presentable is what eats the evening.

These days I handle that step by email. Here's the exact workflow.

Step 1: Forward the PDF with a one-paragraph brief

Send the file as an attachment to [e-mail] and say what you need, in plain words. For example:

Attached is a 40-page industry report. Please make a 10-slide deck for a 15-minute talk to non-specialists. Slide 1 title, slide 2 the three main findings, then one slide per finding with a chart where the report has numbers, and a final slide with recommendations. Keep text short.

The brief matters more than anything else. Say who the audience is, how long the talk is, and how many slides you want.

Step 2: Get the deck back in your inbox

A reply arrives with a PowerPoint file attached. It contains the slide structure you asked for, short bullet text, images, and charts built from the figures in the report. You open it, tweak the wording, swap in your company template if you need to, and you're done.

Step 3: Ask for the companion pieces in the same thread

Because it's just email, follow-ups are natural. I usually reply with one or two of these:

• "Write speaker notes for each slide, about 60 seconds each."
• "Give me a one-page summary of the report I can send to people who miss the talk."
• "Translate the summary into Spanish and German."
• "Draft a short email inviting the team to the session."

Each one comes back as a reply, with a file attached when a file makes sense.

Tips that make a real difference

1. Name the audience. "For executives" and "for new hires" produce very different decks from the same PDF.
2. Set the slide count. Without a number you'll get whatever length the material suggests.
3. Point at the numbers you care about. "Chart the regional growth figures on page 12" is better than hoping the right table gets picked.
4. Write in any language. You can send the brief in one language and ask for the deck in another.

What it's good for (and what it isn't)

It's great for first drafts: talks, internal briefings, class presentations, client recaps. It isn't a replacement for your own judgement on what the story should be, so always read the deck before you present it.

Trying it

There's no app to install and no account form. Every email address gets 100 credits on first use, enough to try every feature (decks with images and charts, analysis reports, summaries, translations, reply drafts). It's officially live at https://maildoer.com, where you can see the details.

If you'd like to talk about a partnership, write to [e-mail].

I'd love to hear in the comments what long documents you'd hand off first.