EXPERTISE | Our design blog

Pitch deck or presentation—which one is it?

August 7, 2022

We’ve had clients use presentation and pitch decks synonymously, but our presentation experts set the record straight to clarify the differences between them. 

A presentation is a general term to describe a collection of slides and relevant content (including copy, graphics, photos, and videos) and is typically created in PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides.

A pitch deck is a presentation with a purpose — a set of slides that can be shown on the big screen or sent via email or hyperlink to potential financial stakeholders. It gives the recipient the leisure to review and assess the pitch even before booking a meeting to learn more. Also helpful is the ability to forward the pitch deck to other interested parties for evaluation and input. A pitch deck must be able to stand alone without you there to explain or elaborate on the content, thus including in-depth findings, projections, or statistics is encouraged to reach maximum impact and achieve your end goal. 

A presentation on the other hand, is what you use when presenting your concept directly. to an audience, whether in-person or virtually. Since you will be there to elaborate on the content, the presentation should be primarily visual to encourage viewers to actively listen for clarifying or supporting information to your on-screen points. When building a presentation, it’s important to consider audience engagement to keep the attention and reach your presentation goal.

So when you’re not sure which term to use to define your slides, consider the context to know which term is applicable. Generally, it is as simple as answering the questions how should these slides ideally be viewed and what is the purpose of this presentation.

This distinction is a key element to establish during the initial meeting with the Presentation Designory, but we are more than happy to help you define the purpose of your slides and send them to you in the best formats for you based on your needs. 

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