A good pitch deck requires you to organise your points in systematic slides, with every slide carrying a single topic. You can use PowerPoint to help you with the organisation. However, sometimes you may miss a tremendous funding opportunity due to minor presentation mistakes that could be avoided.
Explore some slide mistakes that can hinder your pitch deck's success in this article.
Treating a slide like a document and copying and pasting entire paragraphs will make your pitch deck text-heavy and boring to read. In addition, when you create a wall of text in your slides, you leave your audience with two options: to read or to listen to you. The problem is that it is possible that the investor will miss your key point due to this cognitive overload.
The only way to avoid this mistake is by sticking to the one idea per slide rule. Additionally, it would be wise to use keywords and short phrases instead of long sentences. You can also put details in your speaker notes and not accumulate them in a slide. On the other hand, working with experts like Slidesvamp can help with the organisation.
Some founders or presenters often start feeding their slides before fully fleshing out their presentation structure. Doing this can cause confusion and audience whiplash. Lacking a clear structure makes it difficult for the audience to stay focused. Moreover, it becomes difficult for you to present your slides in a clean flow.
To avoid this mix-up, it is advisable to collect all the crucial data and information you would like to present and organise it in a clear structure before feeding it into slides.
Visual storytelling is a winning art that many presenters have yet to master. It involves the use of images and video demos to drive your point home and build emotional engagement with your audience. However, if you have to use images, make sure they are relevant and of good quality.
One way to avoid the mistake of ruining your pitch with trashy images is to use stock photos when they are relevant.
Animations are good for making your pitch enjoyable and not just the mere junk of text. However, too much of it can be more distracting than impressive. They make your pitch appear unprofessional and dated, drawing the investor’s focus from the main content to the sounds and movements on the screen.
How to avoid this? Experts say less is more. Use animations and transitions sparingly and only when they are relevant and serve the purpose. For example, you can use a simple “Fade” or “Appear” animation to introduce your slides sequentially. Furthermore, it would be wise to be consistent with transitions; choose one and stick to it.
A pitch deck aims to secure a future engagement with your audience. Therefore, it would be wise to ensure that your audience has something to take home from your presentation. Presenting a wall of text and leaving the investors with nothing to consider means that your pitch deck did not create any impact.
Therefore, to avoid this mess-up that can cost you a significant funding opportunity, consider the purpose of your pitch deck before preparing it. Then reflect on this purpose and use it to close out your presentation in the final slide. The point here is to wrap up your pitch in a manner that reminds the investor why you are here and leave a clear call to action. You can summarise key points or establish the next steps. It is also crucial to include your company’s contact details.
As a founder, you are only a clear and professional pitch deck away from your dream funding opportunity. How you organise your slides and the information contained in each slide is crucial in influencing the investor’s decision-making process. Therefore, it would be best to work with an expert if necessary to prevail over the competition.
