presentation-design

A pitch deck follows the arc: Problem, Solution, Market, Traction, Team, Ask, typically spanning 10-12 slides. Start with a hook slide containing a surprising stat, then allocate 1-3 slides per section with a clear funding ask at the end.

A 15-minute presentation should contain 10-15 slides, pacing at 60-90 seconds per slide with a 2-3 minute buffer for Q&A. Shorter 5-minute talks need only 5-7 slides, while 60-minute workshops can support 25-40 slides.

Core rules include one idea per slide, headlines of 8 words maximum, no more than 5 bullets, and a 60% visual to 40% text ratio. Maintain 20-30% whitespace, a 3-color palette maximum, and 4.5:1 contrast for accessibility.

Structure speaker notes per slide with an opening sentence, key talking points, data context, a transition bridge to the next slide, and a target time. Writing notes while building the deck keeps context fresh and makes the deck reusable by others.

Avoid slide decks for long-form written documents, detailed reports, or technical documentation where narrative slide structure and visual hierarchy are not the required output. Those cases call for prose documents rather than presentation formats.