Is putting the Bottom-Line-Up-Front (BLUF) always a good idea in presentations?
I just did a presentation and tried to apply the BLUF principle. Overall the presentation went well, but parts could have gone smoother. The High Cs ( which was most of the room ) kept fighting me because I was making statements without explaining them until later.
The good news was I could usually say "That's on the next slide," which had the additional benefit of moving the presentation forward. It did make me wonder, though, if there are times where building up your argument is more appropriate.
On the other hand, I recently watched a presentation that showed the value in BLUF. The presenter was about three slides into it when he was forced to stop, state what his conclusion was going to be, and then restarted at the beginning. Nobody else understood how to read the slides without understanding where he was going.
Controlling the timing
You control the timing. The High C's will ask for data, regardless. It's much more difficult for you if they don't know where you're heading!
You could make your "information roadmap" clear: do the BLUF, then outline the data that will follow to support your point.
John Hack