Aside from your own charisma (that bit is all on you, I’m afraid!), your pitch deck is an essential part of your business arsenal. It can be used to draw people in, tell them what you’re all about and persuade them that whatever it is that you’re pitching, they’re buying. It deserves to be so much more than just bullet points and stock imagery.
We’ve had plenty of experience in crafting decks for our clients that can be used in a variety of situations and that can be highly effective each time – whether that’s clinching contracts, securing investment, or furthering development. So, here are a few nuggets of wisdom that we’ve learned to help you supercharge your own.
The biology basics
Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle analogy is a much-revered summary of how we humans make our decisions. If you’re not familiar with it, give it a Google and watch his TED talk! The science is both interesting and enlightening and something that we recommend bearing in mind when you’re creating your deck.
Time for some neuroscience-in-a-nutshell. It’s first about appealing to the parts of our brain responsible for behavioural and emotional responses and the ‘gut’ reaction, known as the limbic system. This is the instant appeal, or hook, that makes us think “yep, this feels good.” Sinek links this to the ‘Why’, which is the purpose and passion behind what you’re doing that gives it real value. It’s also part of the ‘How’, which covers the process and the qualifiers for your goals. Both slices of information cause an emotional response, which you can then follow up swiftly with information from the outer layer of Sinek’s atom – the ‘what’. This is the type of juicy information that gets the neocortex going: our brain’s logical hub which, among many other functions, processes rational thought, decision making, language and memory.
Our neocortex is programmed to attribute facts and logic to back up what our limbic system ‘feels’, so the idea that a deck should lead with the detail couldn’t be further from the truth – it’s all about leading with a clear narrative that lays the foundations for the evidence to back it up.
It’s all about a delicate blend of messaging and design. Both things need to work in harmony to achieve this ‘heart and mind’ balance. Leading with the emotional pull and justifying these good feels with a nice dose of logic and facts to ensure that you’re communicating your true value to those who need to understand it.
To help you on your way, here are some other essentials to consider:
1. Strip it back
Show enough information for you to talk to your audience without distracting them, but leave them with enough context to be able to refer back to your presentation and adequately explain what it means to someone else.
2. Even better… create a ‘leave behind version’, too
Give people something to mull over, to enjoy or to simply remind them who you are and why you’re great. Exactly what this is is open to all kinds of creative interpretation, but the goal is ‘make it sticky’ – something to lodge in your audience’s mind, and don’t forget to include your contact details!
3. Consider your audience
Don’t opt for a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Assess who you’re talking to, what their context is, and – crucially – what you want them to feel at the end and then use this to tailor your deck. Having a couple of audience-specific decks is a smart move.
4. Bring in an outside perspective
Be careful not to fall foul of the curse of knowledge – the complex details may be clear to you, but not to everyone, and it’s essential that they understand. Getting a second opinion from someone who isn’t as clued up will highlight any potential stumbling blocks.
5. Invest in making a good impression
A nice way to think about this is that I can cook a meal, but it tastes way better when a chef does it for me. That’s how we feel about creating a pitch deck. If you put your trust in experts to help you create a killer introduction, you’ll have invested in the best way to make an excellent, all-important first impression.
If you’re ready to create a pitch deck that does you justice, drop us a line at info@luna9design.com.