I have seen a lot of pitch decks in PowerPoint and most of them, for lack of a better term, suck. If used correctly, PowerPoint can be a very effective tool to help tell your story and stick important ideas into the heads of potential investors. However, if used in the wrong way, PowerPoint can make even the best ideas dry, dull, and flat out boring. Let's take a look at some of the biggest mistakes people make in their PowerPoint presentations and some tips you can use to stand out from the pack.
What is the Point of PowerPoint?
The biggest mistake I see in PowerPoint presentations is that people try to jam too much texts on their slides. The result is something like this:
Having a lot of text on your slides means people are going to start reading. Unfortunately though, when people read a lot of text they won't remember exactly what you were trying to say and will forget many of the words on your slides. For example, let's say I had two people, person A and person B, read all seven Harry Potter books and then give me a summary. Both people's summaries would have many similarities, but I think we can all agree that I would get different stories from person A and person B. People emphasize and remember different things so it's only natural to think their stories would diverge at certain points. Now imagine the same scenario as above, EXCEPT there was a special way to highlight and emphasize certain parts of the book series so that when person A and person B read them they would tell me the same summary. That special way is PowerPoint. The point of PowerPoint is to get people to remember YOUR takeaways so that they walk away from the presentations with the SAME message. Once you understand that it's much easier to make good PowerPoint slides.
How to Make Your Slide More Memorable
Hopefully by now you realize that putting a lot of text on your slide is not the best way to get people to remember your message. So you might be wondering: How can I get people to take away what I want them to when they look at my slides? I have two helpful points that will elevate the overall quality of your slides. The first point is to put the key takeaway of your slide in the title. People's eyes automatically go to the title of the slide before anything else. So this is where you put the most information, your key takeaway. The text in the title should also be the biggest on the slide so it further emphasizes your most important point.
The second helpful tip is to have some sort of image or infographic that reinforces your key takeaway. Images stick in people's mind better than words so if you have a visual that can be associated with your takeaway there is a better chance your message will be remembered. So, for example, if you want to make a slide about traction, then it might be a good idea to have an image of a gear or a wheel associated with it. Your images could also be associated with your industry, your specific product, or even one of the words in your title. Below is a an example of a slide that is more memorable. Notice how it stands out more than just putting a paragraph in slide format:
Summary
When it comes to PowerPoint less is more. Don't put too much text on your slides, people might miss your main message if they are spending all of their time reading. If you want to make your slides more memorable, put your key takeaway in the title and include an image people can associate with your message. If you need help making your slides stand out, reach out to us at InfleXion Point. We are happy to help!
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