The design of my pitch deck?

Should I care about the design of my pitch deck? 🧑‍🎨👇

Design of all your communication materials and of the pitch deck itself can make a difference.

Why does it matter?

Because “a picture paints a thousand words” is true. We engage more easily visually than through the written or spoken word as each medium engages different parts of our brain. Pictures and design connect with the limbic part of our brain which drives our emotions, feelings and decision-making, but has no capacity for language. Language connects with the neocortex where we analyse and reason.

It is therefore much more powerful to start engagement with visually appealing communications as these both engage investors’ emotions – particularly critical for early-stage, unproven businesses, where passion is high but data may be in short supply – and decision-making processes, critical to gaining support and investment.

That is not to say you should ignore the words and numbers – investors will need these to analyse the attractiveness of your startup for their own goals. The key is balance.

Design begins with your brand identity (logo, colours, etc.) and continues through all your marketing elements from website to pitch decks. Moving on to the pitch deck itself, a great, visually appealing template is a prerequisite – just make sure it fits with your brand identity! Neon pink or lime is not for everyone, or even anyone!

It will be very tempting to leave lots of the words and numbers from your handout deck on the presentation slides – after all, tables are easy to read, right? Unfortunately yes, and potential investors will be reading the minutiae of the table and bullet points instead of listening to the story you are telling. So do your very best to convert words and numbers to graphics and charts that can easily be followed, and won’t detract from your verbal presentation. You are the founder, you want people to engage with you and your passion for making a difference not the slides. Those are just a prop at the end of the day.

Tips & tricks:

Get professional help on design: It makes a huge difference in getting engagement whether from investors, customers or potential partners – and is often available for less than four figures. Many times startups that have struggled to gain interest suddenly see an upsurge in engagement with updated designs!

Use animation: Animation helps to keep slides minimalist so you focus your audience on one point at a time rather than having them read ahead but just make it simple! Fancy flying and rotating text is distracting!

Use analogies carefully: Analogies are another way to paint a picture through well known stories but be very careful! A controversial analogy may completely switch off investors from what you are saying to internally debate a minor point.

Want feedback and help on your deck? Explore our mentoring package or chat with us.