Are you looking for ways to improve your gaming startup’s presentation deck? If you are, this article is just what you were looking for.
Start With the Basics
It’s no use trying to wow people with a flashy presentation if they can’t read it. Your indication must be clear and concise enough that the most casually interested party would understand your game or product.
Use Clean Visuals
You don’t need a graphic design degree, but make sure your images resemble quality desktop publishing work. They should all have a consistent theme and scale (in other words, don’t use two different kinds of screenshots). Even though you will be annotating them in the text, make sure they stand up to scrutiny later on. You may find the business proposal template in Venngage for free.
Moderate the Number of Screenshots
The more screenshots you use, the more likely your presentation looks like an ad for video games (or even the game itself). Your goal here should be to show people how your product works in context. If there are too many images, people will stop caring about what they’re seeing or not understand where one screenshot ends and another begins.
Don’t Try To “Sell” Too Hard.
Remember, this is a pitch deck, not a sales pitch. There’s nothing wrong with providing information that explains why your company or its products are excellent– don’t go overboard with it.
Present Yourself Clearly
Start by describing your game or product in one sentence (if they didn’t read the title). Follow that with how it works (how you make money) and any benefits, results, or examples. You can even describe why your company is excellent; you don’t want to, but it’s ok if you do 🙂
Provide Clear Goals
Every presentation should have goals– things that you want people to take away from your pitch deck. Try to stick to two or three. If you use more than that, people might get confused about your slide deck’s main point.
Number Everything
It’s helpful for some pitch deck examples, not so much for others. But if there are main critical points in your deck, it’s a good idea to number them. This way, if people forget what you’re trying to say, they can look at the numbers and figure things out pretty quickly.
Don’t try too hard
If you come across like you’re trying too hard or that your deck is overly-complicated, then nobody will listen to what you have to say– no matter how brilliant your ideas are. There’s nothing wrong with saying, “I know this sounds obvious but… (blah blah)” for stuff like that.
Please Keep It Simple
Don’t use jargon or long-winded technical language if you don’t have to. It’s all too easy for people just skimming through your investment deck to misunderstand what you’re trying to say.
Please Don’t Make It Too Long
If your presentation takes more than 10 minutes, people might start to forget the main points or get bored. Of course, you can make a more extended deck later if you need to but beginning with a short one is always better.
Limit Your Text
Don’t feel like you have to include everything that ever crossed your mind in this presentation. Instead, include the minimum amount of information necessary for people to understand what’s going on– anything extra can go into an appendix or as footnotes online.
Get Feedback from Others.
Ask people what they don’t understand about your deck, and they would have liked more details. Of course, you probably can’t do everything people ask for, but it doesn’t hurt to know what they’re thinking anyway.
Start With the Big Picture.
 You don’t need to show your entire game or product in one slide— tell people very quickly what it’s about and then focus more on how it works (the actual gameplay).
Create An Outline.
If you aren’t confident about creating slides yet, use Microsoft Word to create some templates first (e.g., Intro Slide 1, Main Idea Slide 2, etc.). When you feel like you’ve got enough slides, copy them into Powerpoint and start working on describing each of them. It helps if you go from top-to-bottom and left to right after you’re finished making them.
Don’t Explain Too Much.
I know it’s nice to explain everything, but most people don’t care that much about your coding or design choices. They want to see how the game works in action– so show them! You may find Airbnb pitch deck templates and examples of a business pitch in Venngage, and you can use the templates for free.
Prepare Questions Ahead of Time.
Having a list of things you need answers for means that you won’t forget anything important during your presentation. Plus, if people have their ideas about what would be calm in your game or product, they’ll probably bring it up while you’re talking– this helps keep things interesting for everyone involved.
Use Screenshots Carefully.
Use them sparingly, and only to show people what they can’t see in your presentation– otherwise, it’s just wasting time. Telling people how something looks or works is almost always better than showing them.
Don’t Include Everything.
Figure out which elements are the most important to share with people and only use those slides. It doesn’t mean you should leave anything crucial out; instead, make an additional 2-3 slides that cover all the same information (just quickly). Then you can put those together into another deck for investors or press!
If you are ready to create your presentation deck, Venngage is always available to provide you with free templates. Just make sure to keep these tips in mind and your pitch will definitely be as easy as pie!
