Pitch Visuals

Service Description

The best pitches happen when words and images work seamlessly together. The mind is an integrated system, so when there's a compelling fit between what you say, and what you show, it's more likely to spark a moment of 'revelation' for your audience. Visuals, when done right, can elevate your pitch to a whole new level. Photography, illustrations, infographics, data charts, video, good typography–you should use them not just for aesthetic appeal, but to dial up the explanatory power of your pitch. Once you know your narrative, your next step is to figure out how to introduce visuals that will complement it (and not look like every other pitch out there because you grabbed stock photos). When I create a deck, I use 'dummy slides' that start with a written description of the image I want, for example: "This slide will show an archaeologist's office stacked with paper binders of provenance data". "This slide will show the cost savings between repatriating an antiquity via the courts vs. using fractional equity."; etc. Using one slide per thought about what I want to say, I do that for as many thoughts as I have, arrange them until they flow with my narrative, get rid of any thoughts that no longer work, then add some notes on what I will need to source/create in order to make each visual a reality. Then I'm free to start building the visuals (or send them to my designer). It's the same process filmmakers use to organize the scenes in a movie. And while with all things in graphics, less is more, the QUALITY and ORIGINALITY of your images matter. I have had pitch decks shared with me–in the same day–that both had the exact same image in them. This may seem like a 'no big deal' but consider the message it sends to a potential investor; that you only scrape the surface for solutions and aren't committed to do the hard work to differentiate yourself from other startups. So, YES, visuals can make an absolute difference between success and failure. Here's the three categories strong visuals fall into; Revelation, Aesthetic Appeal, Explanatory Power. If you'd like to know more about how to liven up your pitch using these three together, or if you want help applying the deck design process I described above, schedule a session.

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