A pitch deck is often the very first impression of your business or product. Whether you are a start-up or a Fortune 500 company, you will have to create a pitch deck presentation to deliver in front of investors or your boss. The point is to provide all the information in a short amount of time. With this free pitch deck template, you will learn how to edit your content to keep the focus on your main points. Follow these guidelines to inspire your audience and create a compelling message for your company or product.
Download the Free Pitch Deck Template to Enhance Your Presentation.
Four Must-Haves for Your Pitch Deck
1. One Idea Per Slide
To keep your presentation from getting too text heavy or confusing, stick to one idea per slide. Don’t try to pile on tons of information on one slide, otherwise it will result in a messy design and a confusing delivery. By keeping the message down to a singular point, you will keep your presentation on topic and to the point.
2. A Story
Frame your pitch deck around the story of how you created your project or what made you decide to start your own business. This will get the audience emotionally invested in your presentation. It also increases your credibility and will help you stand out from the competition.
3. Consistent Design
A consistent design will help get your branding recognized and keep your presentation looking polished and professional. Stick to the same color scheme, font type and illustration design for each slide. Keep your text limited so that you have more room to design big visuals that will leave a lasting impression on your audience.
4. Know Your Content
Before you give any presentation, you should always set aside time to practice. This doesn’t mean memorizing notes or reading text from straight off the slide. This means understanding the information and organization of your pitch deck so that you don’t have to rely on notes or memorize.
Four Must-Nots for Your Pitch Deck
1. Text Heavy Slides
Too much text on a slide takes away from your design and is hard for your audience to follow. Instead, limit the text on the slide to just the keyword in each message. Or better yet, replace that word with an image or visual.
2. Talk Too Long
Pitch decks are used to pitch ideas, not to deliver a keynote address. The average attention span for an audience is 10 minutes. That’s a good time frame to try and keep your delivery. This doesn’t necessarily mean only having 10 slides in your deck, just don’t begin to ramble or get off topic.
3. Skip Rehearsal
Even if you are confident with your content, it’s still a good idea to practice your body movements and interactions with your audience. Make sure you are making arm gestures that are natural. Don’t stand still the entire time you speak; walk around to engage everyone in the room. And interact with your audience during the presentation by making eye contact, and after the presentation by taking their questions and sharing business cards.
4. Forget to Know Your Audience
While you are preparing for your presentation, also do your research on your audience. Set aside time for small talk to make a genuine connection with them. Make sure you know the cultural history of the audience members to avoid an embarrassing mishap. Cater your delivery and maybe some of your content to better fit their needs.
Use our free pitch deck template to help secure the deal and leave a lasting impression. For more helpful tips on creating a pitch deck, look at these posts on the Ethos3 Blog:
How to Craft A Perfect Presentation Pitch
Presentation Design Principles for Your Investor Pitch Decks
