Five red flags that kill a business presentation

Five red flags that kill a business presentation

We make beautiful and effective presentations for businesses of any size. We have collected five mistakes that most often prevent slides from working well.

Slide overload with information

Time after time we see how in business presentations they try to cram the “impossible” into one screen: several independent theses, an array of facts, some pictures.

This leads to the fact that the reader’s attention is scattered, the main meaning is not read, and the presentation begins to bore at first glance.

What should I do? Layout your presentation according to the principle of “one slide – one thought.” Divide complex material into meaningful blocks, remove everything that does not work for the goal. If it seems like something can be thrown away, then it definitely can. Show the numbers through simple visualization, and on each slide leave only the key conclusion - you will say the rest in your voice.

Legacy design inspired by WordArt templates

Another red flag: the presentation is designed based on a template with default visual schemes, standard colors, and fonts from catalogs. 

What does this mean? Trust in the content and competence of your enterprise decreases. Presentation is the face of the company. The first thing partners and investors see is the design. At first glance, they may simply skim through the text and miss something somewhere, but a visual compiled at an “amateur” level is immediately visible. 

This can be corrected by building a single visual style

1. Make custom fonts

2. Choose current colors

3. Maintain grid and hierarchy

4. Maintain consistent spacing

5. Use high quality images

Inflated Volume

Sometimes a presentation grows to dozens of slides due to the fact that minor details get included in it due to the desire to show everything at once (see point 1 for how this begins).

Don't do this! You will bore your audience, your selling points will become blurred, and your key message will go out of focus. 

For most business scenarios, 10-15 slides are enough. The exception is long lectures and webinars, but that’s a different story. In a typical business presentation, the essence should be contained in a short story: value, facts, call to action. Everything else can be included in the application, the audience will thank you.

Incorrect file format and preparation

Is the recipient's PPTX or Keynote source files displayed incorrectly? Have the fonts and layout gone wrong? Does the file take a long time to load and somehow opens in instant messengers? Does it come out differently when printed than in the picture? Classic! 

What is the threat? Loss of time for re-saving, forwarding, correspondence with all participants in the process. In general, technical “jambs” spoil the entire impression - few people like to deal with other people’s mistakes and shortcomings.  

What to do? Write down: 8-800-222-77-65... And here are a few basic tips:  

1. Send presentations in PDF format

2. Compress the file to 10 MB so that it can be easily opened in mail and instant messengers, even with a weak connection (including work via VPN).

3. Before sending, check the compatibility of files with applications on different operating systems 

4. Make sure that the text remains vector, graphics are readable, and links are clickable.

5. If the presentation needs to be printed, use vector formats - PDF with printed profiles or TIFF for individual inserts.

6. Don't send default sources: send PPTX/KEY files only if the other party really needs the edited version.

Trying to do everything on your own

Sometimes a team with deep product expertise takes on the structure, text, design and prepress. Then inexpensive contractors are brought in and multiple reworkings begin.

An unstable result always means minus time and money. Just missed opportunities. 

What to do? Formulate the goal and audience (investor, client, partner, tender), record the key points and... contact the Veonix graphic design studio!  

Veonix takes care of the entire cycle: from goal formulation and script to texts, storytelling, design and technical preparation for sending, printing and speaking. We will make you not just a set of slides, but a working business tool, which can then be scaled and changed to suit a specific business opportunity.