How to Create a Pitch Deck

Before you open a slide editor, answer two questions: What do I want the audience to do after this presentation, and what do they care about most?

Start by determining your deck type. Each has a different goal and a different audience mindset:

• Sales deck: Convince a prospect to move forward in the buying process. The audience cares about their specific pain, your solution, and proof it works for companies like theirs.
• Investor deck: Secure funding or a follow-up meeting. Investors care about market size, traction, team, and the path to returns.
• Partnership deck: Propose a collaboration. Partners care about mutual benefit, strategic alignment, and low-friction implementation.
• Internal deck: Get buy-in for a project, budget, or strategy shift. Stakeholders care about business impact, resource requirements, and risk.

Next, define your specific outcome. "Get them excited" is not a goal. "Schedule a technical demo with the VP of Engineering by end of week" is. The more precise your desired outcome, the sharper every slide becomes.

Finally, research your audience. What are their current priorities? What objections will they raise? What language do they use to describe the problem you solve? A pitch deck built for a CFO looks fundamentally different from one built for a Head of Product — even if the product is the same.

Every great pitch deck follows a four-part narrative structure: Problem → Solution → Proof → CTA. This isn't a template suggestion — it's how persuasion works. You establish tension, resolve it, prove the resolution is real, then ask for action.

Problem (slides 1-3): Hook your audience with a problem they feel. This is not your opportunity to list features — it's your opportunity to show that you understand their world. Use a specific statistic, a relatable scenario, or a question that makes them nod. The goal is recognition: "Yes, that's exactly what we're dealing with."

Solution (slides 4-6): Present your approach as the answer to the problem you just described. Lead with the outcome, not the mechanism. "We reduce proposal turnaround from 2 weeks to 2 hours" hits harder than "We use AI-powered document generation." Then explain the mechanism — keep it to three pillars or steps maximum.

Proof (slides 7-9): This is where skepticism dies. Show logos of companies that use your product. Quote a specific result: "Acme Corp increased close rates by 34% in 90 days." Include a brief case study if you have one. Data without context is noise — always tie metrics back to the outcome the audience cares about.

CTA (slides 10-12): Close with clarity. What exactly do you want the audience to do next? When should they do it? What happens after they say yes? The weaker your CTA, the less likely you are to get movement. "Let me know if you're interested" is not a CTA. "Let's schedule a 30-minute technical demo this Thursday" is.

Pro tip: Before you create a single slide, write the narrative as a 60-second spoken pitch. If you can tell the story verbally in under a minute — problem, solution, proof, ask — your deck structure is right.

With your narrative arc defined, it's time to assemble the raw materials. This is the step most people rush through — and it shows in the final deck. A pitch deck built on thin content will always feel thin, no matter how good the design is.

Collect these assets and organize them by the slide where they'll appear:

• Case studies and success stories. Real results from real customers. Include the company name (with permission), the challenge, what you did, and the measurable outcome.
• Metrics and data points. Revenue impact, time saved, efficiency gains, NPS scores — anything quantifiable. Avoid vanity metrics. "10,000 users" means nothing without context; "10,000 users, 40% month-over-month growth" tells a story.
• Testimonials and quotes. Direct quotes from customers or partners. Attribute them with name, title, and company. An attributed quote is 3x more credible than an anonymous one.
• Competitive positioning. How you compare to alternatives (including the status quo). Don't bash competitors — position yourself on the dimensions where you genuinely win.
• Pricing and packaging. Even if you don't include exact pricing in the deck, have it ready. You'll need it for Q&A.
• Visual assets. Product screenshots, architecture diagrams, team photos, client logos. Always use the highest resolution available.

Design is where most pitch decks either come together or fall apart. You don't need to be a designer — you need to follow a few principles consistently.

One idea per slide. This is the most violated rule in pitch decks. If a slide is trying to communicate two things, split it into two slides. Your audience can only absorb one concept at a time while listening to you speak.

Limit text to 30 words per slide. This forces you to distill your message. If you need more context, that's what your verbal delivery is for. Bullet points with 3-5 words each outperform full sentences every time.

Use high-contrast visuals. Dark text on light backgrounds or light text on dark backgrounds. Avoid medium-gray text on white — it's unreadable on a projector. If you're presenting on screen, test your slides on the actual display beforehand.

Maintain consistent branding. Use your company's colors, fonts, and logo placement on every slide. Inconsistency signals sloppiness. Choose 2-3 colors maximum and stick to one font family.

When laying out slides, use these common patterns:

• Title slide: Company name, tagline, and a single powerful image or graphic. No clutter.
• Content slide: Headline at the top, 3-4 bullet points or a short paragraph, supporting visual on the right or below.
• Comparison slide: Two or three columns showing before/after, you vs. alternatives, or option A vs. option B.
• Quote slide: Large pull quote centered on the slide with the author's name and title beneath. Let the quote do the talking.

The first three slides determine whether your audience leans in or checks out. You have roughly 90 seconds to earn their attention. Here's how to use them.

A common mistake in opening slides is spending too long on the cover or company background. Your audience doesn't care about your founding story yet — they care about their problem. Get to the problem within 60 seconds.

The middle of your deck is where you earn credibility. This is where you move from "interesting idea" to "I believe this works." The principle here is simple: show, don't tell.

The final 2-3 slides of your pitch deck carry more weight than most people realize. This is where deals get made or lost. A strong presentation followed by a weak close is a wasted opportunity.

Closing tip: Include a timeline. Show what the next 30 days look like if they say yes today — onboarding steps, key milestones, first results. It makes the decision feel tangible and reduces the perceived risk of moving forward.