Pitch decks encodes values as one idea per slide; a chart only if it is the sentence. Sequoia/a16z memo culture plus Keynote-era startup theatre.
In reports, ads and assignments it fits fundraising, sales kickoffs, grant talks, competition finals. Skip it when dumping the whole dashboard — a deck is a speech, not a warehouse.
Principles
- Encoding — Pitch decks encodes one idea per slide; a chart only if it is the sentence.
- History — Sequoia/a16z memo culture plus Keynote-era startup theatre
- Fit — fundraising, sales kickoffs, grant talks, competition finals
- Shared baseline — The eye compares length and position more accurately than area.
- Audience — PowerPoint, Excel or Google Sheets and Meta, Google and retail print share the same geometry.
Misconceptions
- Pretty equals true — Decoration rarely persuades; it slows reading.
- 3-D helps — Perspective distortion wrecks comparison. Keep it flat.
- More series is richer — Do not stack stories. One Pitch decks, one claim.
- Default palette is fine — Rainbow defaults fail color-blind viewers and grey print. Change Excel or Google Sheets defaults.
Why it matters
- Work — Work: fundraising, sales kickoffs, grant talks, competition finals. Readable in four minutes in PowerPoint.
- Ads — Ads: one number and one shape speak first in Meta, Google and retail print.
- School — School: for lab reports and poster boards, pick the form that answers the rubric.
- Craft — Craft: honour one idea per slide; a chart only if it is the sentence and decoration falls away.
Pitch decks: honour one idea per slide; a chart only if it is the sentence, and switch when dumping the whole dashboard — a deck is a speech, not a warehouse.