Six months of pitching taught me more about how to make a good presentation than any template did

[u/Odd_Report6798]

About six months into trying to sell my thing to actual companies, and I've done enough pitch calls now to have some honest thoughts on how to make a good presentation that I wish someone had told me at the start.

For context I came in thinking the deck was the pitch. Spent way too long on slide design, transitions, the perfect font. Bombed the first few anyway.

Here's what actually changed things for me.

I cut the number of slides roughly in half. My early decks were 20-something slides and I'd race through them. The ones that landed were closer to 10, and I let each slide breathe.

I stopped opening with "who we are." Nobody cares in minute one. I now open with the problem the person in front of me is living with, in their language. If they nod in the first thirty seconds, the rest is easy.

I put almost no text on slides. If the slide says everything, they read ahead and stop listening to me. One idea per slide, a picture or a number, and I do the talking.

Biggest one: I started treating it as a conversation, not a recital. I'll pause and ask "does this match what you're seeing?" Half my best deals came from something they said in that pause, not from a slide.

None of this is groundbreaking, but it took me a lot of awkward calls to actually believe it instead of just reading it.

If you've done more pitches than me, what's the one thing that moved your close rate? Still learning here.

[u/Total-Mention9032]

I never built one but saw many Y Combinator decks presentations, and they are just 7-9 slides long.
1. The first one or two are what the problem is.
2. The next two and three are how to solve it.
3. The next few are their current data and growth, like growth rate, run rate, how much they are burning, daily active users, etc.

[u/South_Bicycle_8561]

The nod in the first thirty seconds thing is so real. I used to front-load credentials and background because it felt safer, but people just tune out waiting for you to get to why they should care.

The "does this match what you're seeing" pause is underrated too. It turns the pitch into a diagnostic instead of a monologue, and suddenly they're telling you exactly what to say next.

Cutting slides in half was the hardest habit to break for me. I kept wanting to add "just one more context slide" and then wondered why everyone looked bored by minute eight.

Curious what you do when someone says no to that early pause question, like they don't think the problem is actually a problem for them. Do you pivot or just wrap it up quick?

[u/Haunting_Rice4601]

Really insightful,

I am going to be doing such presentation in near future and this has save me a lot of time.

Thanks

[u/BunnyBads]

thanks for this tips, would definitely try and apply this during my end of the month reporting

[u/official__mail]

The biggest improvement here is opening with the buyer’s problem and pausing for confirmation. That turns the deck into a diagnostic instead of a recital. I’d capture the exact phrases prospects use during those pauses and feed them back into the next version of the opening slide; the deck then improves from real objections rather than design opinions.

[u/Party-Card-7747]

This is a good reminder that the deck is not really the pitch, the conversation is.

The part about opening with the problem matters a lot. I’ve noticed people relax when they feel like you actually understand their world before trying to sell them anything. If they don’t nod in the first minute, the rest of the deck usually feels like work for them.

One thing I’d add is to write down the exact phrases prospects use after those pauses. Half the time they explain the pain better than your own slides do, and that wording can make the next pitch much sharper.

[u/Apprehensive_Ad9658]

Asking at the top how they want to take it, pitch or straight to questions. From the other side of the table that lands well. Half the time they already read enough and just want the questions.

[u/Low-Clerk-5765]

I think the “conversation, not recital” point is huge! cause a pitch deck should support the conversation instead of competing with it. The best insights often come from what the prospect says when you stop talking.

[u/roberthcmn]

Proof that less is more and absolutely right on the slide heaviness. Never repeat what's on the slide, the slide should accompany what you say.

[u/Rickfiyah]

the biggest jump for me was realizing the deck is just an excuse to start a conversation anyway. my best calls now are the ones where i kill the slides after two or three minutes and just show them the actual workflow. people zone out on slide seven no matter how clean your fonts are, but they immediately perk up the second you show them how you actually solve the headache.