The age-old acronym KISS or Keep it Simple Stupid is just as applicable when it comes to creating your pitch deck as it is anything else. If you can’t explain something, simply then you probably don’t understand it well enough.
About halfway through crafting your pitch deck, you may find yourself in a pit of despair. You have completed the easy parts and now you need to move on to the harder sections. Here are 10 tips I recommend to bridge this gap and get your presentation completed and polished.
Simplify – All stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Your deck narrative should be the same.
Less is more – Keep the number of slides low. Seed-sized companies need about 10, series A a maximum of 20.
Duplicate quick slides – Repeat title and heading slides throughout the deck and just change the names.
You don’t need Perfection – Know when to stop adding detail or trying to polish. Sections like the appendix can be a bit rawer.
Don’t change the narrative – Your narrative needs to flow through your presentation, it shouldn’t suddenly change direction or topic.
Stick to one version – You only need one deck. Avoid creating different decks for reading and presenting.
Focus on finishing – If you are stuck on a particular slide then move on and focus on something you can finish.
Limit your ambition – Focus on and finish the most important parts of your presentation first.
Reduce uncertainty – You won’t be able to eliminate uncertainty, but you can limit it as much as possible.
Simple design – Increase your smallest font size and reduce the amount of text and information on each slide.
Preparing your pitch deck can be a process of ups and downs. Using these tips, you should be able to reduce the complexity of the process and the complexity of your finished presentation.
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