Let’s be frank. We’ve all sat through a PowerPoint so dry that not even a second (or third!) coffee could keep you engaged. Paired with a presenter simply reading from pages of on-screen text, you’re left wondering “couldn’t this have just been an email?”

The truth is, PowerPoint isn’t the problem, but the way it’s used certainly can be. But don’t worry – our expert team of presentation and pitch deck designers are here to talk you through the four pillars of a great pitch!

ONE: What’s the point?

No, really! What is the point of delivering this information as a presentation? Rather than, say, a memo or a PDF attachment. 

Good reasoning to deliver a presentation could include:

• Collaboration – do you want to spark live discussion or a Q+A?
• Engagement – is it crucial that this information is delivered in a format where you’ll have the intended receiver’s full attention?
• Community – Is the information you’re delivering a milestone, announcement, or simply great news that you want to make more of an event out of?

All of these are valid reasons to spin up a deck and pop a date in the diary. However, if you find yourself doubting your presentation’s relevance, it might be worth saving that date for something more engaging.

TWO: Structure

Planning the structure of your presentation should always be step one before design. Whether you’re presenting in person or online, structuring your slides effectively can mean the difference between a memorable talk and one that leads your audience to doodling within minutes. 

• Nailing the opening – Grab your audience’s attention from the start with a short, sharp introduction. Whether it’s a question to the room, a strong stat to anchor your pitch, or even a (short!) anecdote, setting the right tone early will do wonders.
• Bookending key messages – Did you know? People are more likely to remember the beginning and end of a presentation. So, make sure your key messages appear at these moments. Start strong with an outline of what’s to come, and wrap up with a brief summary that reinforces your most important points.
• Segmenting info – Breaking your content into digestible sections, each with its own mini-introduction and conclusion, creates “attention peaks” and makes it easier for your audience to follow along.
• Variation – A static deck with nothing but slide after slide of bullet points is a tried and tested way to lose your audience’s interest. Instead, keep things interesting with methods of engagement. More on this shortly!

THREE: Design

This is a paragraph-free zone! 🚫 Ditching long walls of text in place of more engaging, visual elements is a key starting point to a great deck. 

It’s no doubt that we’re sight-led creatures – 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual, and on top of this, human brains process images 60,000 times faster than text!

With this in mind, here’s our handy guide to making your live presentations pitch-perfect:

• Keep text to a minimum – Some bullet points and keywords are great, but try to display your information in more visual or interesting ways.
• Speaker-first – For a live talk, your deck shouldn’t make sense without the presenter. Its contents are there to enhance – not replace – the speaker’s words, giving them the audience’s full attention.
• Simplify data – No dense tables or strings of numbers, please! Instead, use graphs, charts, graphics or animated data to enhance storytelling and keep your audience engaged.
• High-impact design – Don’t forget about the squinters at the back of the room. Clean, bold visuals and large text are key to ensuring your deck is accessible even from a greater distance.

FOUR: Engagement

Let’s face it: nobody enjoys being talked at for an entire presentation. True engagement happens when your audience is involved in the experience, rather than just hearing information. In fact, audience engagement levels can reach 92% when interactive elements are included.

Here’s how to keep your audience hooked:

• Interactive points – Introduce live polls, Q&As, and quizzes to keep attendees actively participating. Whether you’re presenting in-person or online, a mix of touchpoints can prevent attention from drifting.
• Storytelling – While data is important, lots of raw numbers in succession can be forgettable. 63% of people remember stories better than statistics, so instead of simply listing facts, weave them into a narrative to make your content stick.
• Timing and structure – Most people have an attention span of 10 to 15 minutes for a standard presentation. To sustain engagement, introduce new or varied elements roughly every 8 to 10 minutes for in-person presentations, and every 4 to 5 minutes for virtual ones. This could be as simple as shifting to a different format or topic, asking a question, or introducing something interactive.
• Variety – A mix of snappy text, visuals, and audio can make all the difference. Videos, GIFs, sound effects, polls, and demos all help keep audiences invested in what you’re saying.

A great presentation isn’t just about what you say, but how you say it. Keep things flowing, varied, and interactive, and you’ll make sure your audience is an active participant rather than a passive listener.

Talk to us!

Big pitch or Keynote spot coming up? Talk to our Manchester design agency about our industry-leading presentation decks. Simply send over your script or talking points, data and key info, and we’ll do the rest. 

We even build decks for non-live presentations, for example company onboarding, credentials, and case studies. These are different to live decks: attachable by email, and offering more information and navigation similar to a website, clickable throughout the PDF to different sections.

Get in touch with our friendly team to learn more!