Big Deck Energy: A No-Nonsense Guide to Not Boring Everyone to Death

Look, we need to talk about your slide decks. And no, I don't mean the pleasant outdoor addition to your home. I'm talking about those digital presentation monstrosities that have collectively stolen approximately 47 million hours of human life that could have been spent doing literally anything else. Do we even know why we call them “slide decks”?...anyway…

Here's the thing: slide decks don't have to suck. In fact, when done right, they can actually be... dare I say it... good? Let's fix your deck game.

The Usual Suspects: Where People Build Their Decks

Before we dive into how not to make terrible slides, let's cover where you'll be making them:

PowerPoint - The OG. Your dad uses it. His dad probably used it. It's like the reliable sedan of presentation software. Gets the job done, has more features than you'll ever use, and somehow still crashes at the worst possible moment.

Google Slides - PowerPoint's cooler, cloud-based cousin who shows up to collaboration parties. Free, accessible anywhere, and perfect for when five people need to simultaneously argue about font choices.

Keynote - Apple's answer to everything Microsoft does. Gorgeous templates, smooth animations, and an inexplicable sense of superiority. Mac users only, obviously.

Canva - The design-forward option that makes everyone feel like a creative genius. Great templates, easy drag-and-drop, and a surprising amount of functionality for something that started as a poster maker.

Prezi - For when you want your audience to feel like they're on a rollercoaster. Zooming! Swooping! Motion sickness! Use sparingly.

Pitch - The newest kid on the block trying to make presentations cool again. Collaborative, template-driven and designed for the startup crowd who thinks PowerPoint is for boomers.

What Are We Even Using These Things For?

Slide decks have infiltrated every corner of professional life like some kind of necessary evil. Here's where they pop up most:

Business presentations - Sales pitches, quarterly reviews, strategy sessions and other occasions where executives pretend to pay attention while checking their phones.

Educational lectures - Because apparently we can't learn anything anymore without bullet points and clip art.

Conference talks - Your chance to share big ideas with a room full of people who are mostly wondering when lunch is or where Mary and John are sitting.

Pitch decks - The make-or-break moment where you convince investors that your app for monitoring the price of toilet paper as an economic indicator deserves millions of dollars.

Training and onboarding - Welcome to the company, here are 87 slides about our values and where the bathroom is.

Project proposals - Convincing stakeholders that your idea isn't completely bonkers…backed by charts and graphs.

Marketing presentations - Showing clients why your campaign will definitely go viral this time.

Best Practices (Or: How to Have Actual Big Deck Energy)

1. One Idea Per Slide, For the Love of All That Is Holy

If your slide looks like a Wikipedia article (no disrespect because we love Wikipedia… but not in slide decks) had a baby with a terms and conditions agreement, you've already lost. One main point per slide. That's it. Your audience can either read or listen to you talk, but they can't do both simultaneously. Pick one.

2. Text Is Not Your Friend

You know what's worse than a wall of text? Nothing. There is nothing worse. If you're putting full sentences on your slides, you might as well just email everyone a document and cancel the meeting. Use headlines. Use brief phrases. Use keywords. Better yet, use images and talk about the concept instead.

3. Die, Bullet Points, Die

Listen, I know bullet points feel safe. They feel organized. They feel professional. They're also the visual equivalent of eating plain oatmeal while watching paint dry. Use them only when absolutely necessary, and when you do, keep them short and punchy.

4. Embrace the Power of White Space

Cramming every millimeter of your slide with content doesn't make you look thorough — it makes you look panicked. White space is not wasted space. It's breathing room. It's elegance. It's the difference between a cluttered garage and a gallery. Let your content breathe.

5. Consistency Isn't Boring, It's Professional

Pick a color scheme and stick to it. Choose two (maybe three) fonts maximum. Keep your formatting consistent. Visual consistency makes you look like you know what you're doing, even when you're internally screaming.

6. Images > Stock Photo Nonsense

We've all seen them: the diverse business team high-fiving in a glass conference room, the lone lightbulb representing "innovation," the handshake that means "partnership." Stop it. Use real images, relevant images or create simple graphics. If you must use stock photos, at least make them good ones.

7. Data Visualization: Keep It Simple, Stupid

Your chart should tell a story at a glance. If someone needs a decoder ring and a PhD to understand your graph, simplify it. Label your axes. Use contrasting colors. Highlight the key takeaway. And please, for the love of everything, no 3D pie charts. Ever.

8. Animation: Use It Like Hot Sauce

Don’t put that sh*t on everything. A little bit of tasteful animation can emphasize a point or create interest. Too much and you're basically creating a PowerPoint disco. Builds and transitions should serve a purpose, not just exist because the feature exists.

9. Know Your Aspect Ratio

Are you presenting on a widescreen display or an old-school projector? Nothing kills your vibe faster than your carefully designed slides getting squashed or stretched like a funhouse mirror. Check your venue specs and design accordingly.

10. The Appendix Is Your Safety Net

Got detailed data, supporting evidence or technical specs that someone might ask about? Put it in appendix slides after your main presentation. This keeps your core deck clean while giving you backup if questions arise. It's like presentation insurance.

11. Tell a Story, Not a Spreadsheet

Even if you're presenting quarterly earnings, there's a narrative. Where did you start? What happened? Where are you going? Structure your deck like you're taking people on a journey, not hitting them with random facts in no particular order.

12. Practice Your Deck-to-Talk Ratio

Your slides should support what you're saying, not be what you're saying. If you can remove yourself entirely and people could understand everything from the slides alone, you're doing it wrong. The slides are the sidekick, not the hero.

The Bottom Line

Creating a great slide deck isn't about fancy graphics or the latest design trends. It's about respect — respect for your audience's time, intelligence and ability to stay awake. Keep it simple, keep it visual, keep it focused, and for everyone's sake, keep it short.

Now go forth and create decks with actual big deck energy. Your audiences will thank you. Or at least they won't hate you, which in the world of presentations, is basically the same thing.