Founders should never present their handout deck in a verbal pitch. Handout slides must work without the presenter, while pitch slides should support the speaker with strong visuals and almost no text, at most six words. Slides for verbal presentations must pass the Glance Test: the audience should digest each slide in 1-2 seconds.
I’ve attended some startup pitch events recently. From >20 pitches, only one founder presented slides that were tailored to a verbal pitch.
All others just presented their handout decks.
I’m preaching this for years but it seems I need to reach much, much more people with it:
Never use your handout slides when you perform a verbal pitch.
Handout slides need to work without you.
When you pitch, though, you’re there. You’re the messenger, not your slides.
The slides should support you with fantastic visuals. No text. No text, my friend.
If you really need it to stress a statement, max. 6 words. But ideally non.
If your slides don’t pass the Glance Test, they are not made for verbal presentations:
Your listeners should be able to digest all your slide’s content at a glance – ideally less, but max 1-2 seconds.
It’s unbelievable how hard this seems to be for most people.
As a presenter, I’d hate presenting handout slides – what a disservice. The slides would take my audience’s attention away from me and don’t give them incentives to follow me. I would need to fight against my own slides for my audience’s attention. What a drama!
So, especially if it’s an important fundraising or sales pitch or a keynote, never, ever present your handout slides. Just don’t.
We have a „Hall of Fame” for verbal pitches In my FundraisingCOUP program.
It’s the Hall of Fame of FundraisingCOUP Founders who performed exceptional verbal pitches (we record them and provide them as inspiration for other FundraisingCOUP members).
These pitches are amongst the 1% of the best verbal fundraising pitches VCs have seen. And one thing they all have in common: Almost no text, great visual storytelling. A feedback they often get is: „It’s like watching a movie”.
Frequently asked questions
Should I present my handout deck in a pitch?
No. Handout slides need to work without you, but in a verbal pitch you are the messenger. Presenting handout slides pulls the audience’s attention away from you, so you end up fighting your own slides.
How much text should pitch slides have?
Ideally none. The slides should support you with strong visuals. If you really need text to stress a statement, use six words at most.
What is the Glance Test for slides?
Your listeners should be able to digest all of a slide’s content at a glance, in 1-2 seconds at most. Slides that fail it are not made for verbal presentations.
What do the best verbal fundraising pitches have in common?
Almost no text and great visual storytelling. A feedback they often get is that it is like watching a movie.
