How to prepare a presentation deck

Knowing how to create an excellent presentation doesn’t necessarily have to be a nerve-wracking exercise. It can actually be a measurable practice. So much so that we’ve narrowed the process down to give you at least 8 steps on how to prepare a business presentation deck. 

1. Choose a pitch deck model. There are tons of different theories and sources from which you can choose. Select the one that’s best for your unique needs.
2. Check out prior winning decks of your kind. Those decks that helped startups during large funding rounds are a great reference. Learn the science behind them.
3. Select the best template. With so many templates available in our business template stock, there’s no excuse not to resort to the most suitable and helpful material in creating a pitch deck. 
4. Present a single idea per slide. Make it easy for target audiences to stay with your chain of thought by narrowing down your presentation content as a new idea per slide. 
5. Give it a story. Craft your presentation’s plot in a way that tells a tale viewers can follow. 
6. Craft a compelling hook and a catchy ending. Think very well how you wish to attract your audience’s attention at the beginning and how you’ll keep them resonating with you beyond your presentation’s end. 
7. Add the most appropriate visuals. Make sure the images, graphs, charts, and even videos you select speak best of what you’re trying to present. 
8. Polish your design. Make your presentation material a sight for sore eyes. Text and font choices are as important as background colors and overall design. Also, brand your design. 
   

We summarized the above 8 steps on how to prepare a business presentation deck to make this list an easier reference than most material out there. Yet, let’s also expand on each point above to make the most of every part of the process. 

Choose a pitch deck model

One of the most common questions in the pitch deck business is: How long do I make my deck? People often wonder how many slides is the right amount for a business presentation. 

To help calibrate that, we must first advise you don’t exceed 25-30 slides at the high range of the absolute most. Even 20 slides are already on the bend. Of course, you’ll run into decks that are almost 40 slides long. But, as a critical piece of data to consider there, VC’s only have a range of attention for about 10 slides at most. 

Our complete presentation guide with examples gives you one of the most simple comparative tables for all the different pitch deck content instructions across the most reputable VC funds, pitch deck theorists, and startup founders. If you haven’t ever seen this, we highly recommend you take a look at it.

Check out prior winning decks of your kind

The most valuable lessons can come from people who’ve gone before you in achieving something successfully. And raising funds or giving a business presentation is no exception to that rule. 

Our pitch deck examples from successful startups, for example, gives you a run of Airbnb’s perfect 10 slide pitch deck and Uber’s winning 25 slide fundraising deck. You can also learn from the deck that got one of the most successful companies in history its starting funds, Facebook’s original pitch deck. 

There are tons to learn from just skimming these decks to get an authentic feel for why they chose the material they did and how they presented to key investors to successful funding replies. 

Select the best template

Once you’re done browsing referential winning pitch deck samples, it’s time to choose the base that’s right for you. 

Not every template will be perfect for your needs, but we can assure you there must be an agreeable template to help order your needs amidst our pitch deck templates. 

Find the one that suits your conceived presentation the most! It’s worth taking a bit of time to choose right, also. It will spare up a lot down the road.

Present a single idea per slide

We won’t expand on this one too much as it’s self-explanatory. You want people to be able to follow you, so keep them attuned to your message by not overloading slides with tons of data. 

Make sure you give a single point per slide for viewers to follow you right. 

Give it a story

Humans have been in love with stories since times immemorial. People engage with them. They can follow them without much effort, and, better yet, they innately want to know the ending to these. 

Create the perfect story for your entire pitch deck presentation as you would draft a narrative plot. Here’s an article by one of our co-founders on the narrative structure of great presentations in case you want to know more. 

Craft a compelling hook and a catchy ending

Our ideas for pitch deck hooks that’ll get your audience’s attention might also help you out with this one. The main thought is to start your business presentation with a grand opening structure that will drive your audience right into what you’re saying. 

Furthermore, we need to find that essential element that’ll leave your target audience wanting to talk more to you. We want them to leave the room thinking and wanting to engage in further conversation. Heads-up on this one: don’t go for a simple thank you slide, please.  

Add the most appropriate visuals

Presentation slides filled with text and no pictures fail at optimizing that presentation material’s full potential. If your images are weak and poor, that’s how your overall deck will look. 

Go for inspiring visuals, instead. Get people to engage with what you’re putting up on stage, a wall, or sending over email. An image can convey a thousand words, they say. And, when it comes to crafting the perfect pitch deck, nothing can be more accurate. 

Polish your design

Bring out the big guns on this one! Seriously focus on giving your presentation a top-notch design whereby your font choices, the size and kind of them, the colors you use, your caps, and images are all on the same fantastic line of great design. 

Aside from never using a small font that’s hard to read, and Guy Kawasaki’s rules already shed light on that, this is a matter of creating a superb design that’ll just wow your audience. The main benefit to that is earning appreciation for your accompanying deck to strengthen how well your message is received. 

By the way, just while we’re at it, a word on bullet points, too: Limit how many of those you use. Overdoing it can kill you.

And ta-dah! There you have it! 8 steps on how to prepare a business presentation deck for now.

We love being here for you

We hope these first tips on how to create an excellent business presentation have been of help to you. We also help startups and diverse clients in other industries out with templates of different kinds, tailored and customized design services per slide or for a full deck, and we even craft pitch decks’ financial data for founders provided we have the expertise it takes for a particular niche. 

When it comes to business presentations, we’re in our confident playing field. Don’t hesitate to contact our experts for guidance!

Let us help you with your deck!