The Different Types of Presentations and What Each One Should Include

The ten types of presentations are investor and pitch decks, board and investor relations decks, sales and communication decks, conference and keynote presentations, training and onboarding decks, strategy presentations, project status updates, reports and analytics, technical presentations and branding and marketing presentations. Each type has a different job. Some inform, some persuade, some show how something works and some inspire.

Presentations can be your greatest ally when selling your business. They help you land deals, raise capital and win enterprise customers. As an entrepreneur, you will build many kinds of decks. You will need one for investors, one for enterprise clients and one for your board.

When you know which type you are building, you can shape the structure, design and delivery around its purpose.

This guide covers the main types of presentations, what each one should include and how to build a slide system that speeds up the whole process.

What are the main types of presentations?

How do you choose the right type of presentation?

Start with three questions before you open a blank slide.

1. What is the objective? Decide whether you need to inform, persuade, demonstrate or inspire.

2. Who is the audience? A seed investor, an enterprise buyer and a new hire need very different things from you.

3. What is the setting? A boardroom, a conference stage and a Zoom call each change how much you can put on a slide.

Your answers point you to one of the types below.

What goes in an investor or pitch deck?

Pitch decks are some of the highest pressure presentations you will make. Whether you are raising money or presenting to your board, the design of your deck can make or break the meeting.

Pitch deck design principles

• Keep it simple. Your audience has a limited attention span. Give each slide breathing room.

• Use clear hierarchy. Font size and color should show what matters most on the slide.

• Write strong titles. Each title should state what the slide is about.

• Show data simply. Use clean graphs instead of large tables.

• Limit text. Your audience should focus on what you are saying, not on reading the screen.

• Design for the audience. A deck for seed investors will differ from one for a venture capital firm.

• End with a clear ask. Your final slide should state what you want from investors and what happens next.

Investor decks by startup stage

Every funding round needs a different deck. Here is what each stage should focus on.

Pre-seed deck. At this stage you likely have an idea, a couple of co-founders and maybe a prototype. Focus on the problem you are solving, who you are as founders and how big the market opportunity is. Most pre-seed decks run 8 to 12 slides and tell the story of your idea.

Seed deck. Once you have customers or early revenue, your deck shifts toward your business model and traction. Seed decks are slightly longer, usually 12 to 15 slides.

Series A, B and C decks. These depend on how far your company has grown. A Series A deck proves you can grow the business and generate more revenue. A Series B deck shows how you will scale. Series C and later decks present a mature company.

Board presentations and investor relations decks

You will present to your board every quarter to update them on the company. Open with a dashboard view of key metrics and milestones. Then cover challenges and the plan to address each one.

Investor relations decks are similar to pitch decks but are used by public companies to communicate with shareholders.

What are sales and communication decks?

Investor decks help you raise capital. Sales and communication decks help you sell to customers, present your product and build brand presence.

Enterprise sales decks

An enterprise sales deck helps you sell your product or service to larger companies. It should name the problem your prospect faces, show how you solve it and prove the return on their investment. Most enterprise decks include the customer’s problem, your solution, timeline, cost and social proof. Tailor every version to the customer in the room.

Product presentations

Product presentations explain what your product does and how it benefits the customer. They work for a one-on-one call or a group demo. When you can, show the product working live. Walk through one step at a time and invite questions so no one gets lost.

Company profile

Your company profile represents you in meetings with other businesses, at trade shows and in partner conversations. It explains who you are, what you do and why someone should work with you.

How should conference and keynote presentations be designed?

Conference slides should be simple and make one point at a time. Conference rooms hold large and mixed audiences, so use bold visuals that read from the back row. Rehearse until the flow feels natural. For a keynote, draw on your own experience and leave the audience with one idea they will remember.

What are internal presentations?

Not every deck faces outward. Internal presentations keep your team trained, aligned and informed.

Training and onboarding presentations

Use these to onboard new team members or introduce new company processes. Present the information in an easy to digest format. Use real examples from your team’s daily work. A handout or one page summary gives people something to refer back to.

Training works better when the audience takes part. Tools like Mentimeter, Slido and Kahoot let you run live polls, quizzes and Q&A. Breakout sessions and group activities keep longer sessions from dragging.

Business strategy presentations

Strategy presentations cover annual plans, objectives and key results (OKRs), quarterly business reviews, project proposals and partnership decks. Keep them short. Finish with a clear takeaway for the decision makers in the room.

Project status update presentations

Status updates keep stakeholders informed on milestones, challenges and next steps for a project or campaign. A single dashboard slide shows progress at a glance. Pair every challenge you raise with the plan to solve it.

How do you present reports, analytics and technical content?

Reports and analytics

Data presentations need the right chart for each point. Break the report into short sections and give each slide one insight, so your audience never has to hunt for the takeaway.

Technical presentations

Engineering reviews, IT system overviews and scientific findings carry dense, specialized information. Structure matters more here than anywhere else. Simplify the concepts without watering down the content, so experts and non-specialists can both follow.

What goes in a branding or marketing presentation?

Marketing campaign pitches and brand launches sell an idea before it goes live. Lead with the audience insight behind the campaign. Then show the creative and the results you expect it to deliver.

What is a slide library?

As companies scale, it gets hard to keep everyone presenting the same way. A presentation system solves this. The core of that system is a slide library.

A slide library is a collection of pre-built slides designed to represent your company. Your team pulls from it instead of building new slides each time. That keeps every deck on brand, saves your sales, marketing and executive teams hours and cuts down on mistakes in front of customers.

A typical slide library includes:

• Title slides

• Contents slides

• Graphs and charts

• Team slides

• Case studies

• Customer testimonials

• End slides

Give your title slide templates extra attention. The title slide is the first impression every audience gets, and it sets the tone for the rest of the deck.

Google Slides vs. PowerPoint templates

You can build your slide library in either Google Slides or PowerPoint.

Google Slides is growing in popularity because it is cloud based. You can edit templates quickly, adjust themes to match your brand and access everything from anywhere.

PowerPoint offers many pre-built templates that save time when building a new presentation.

Whichever you choose, put a system in place to manage and update your templates as your brand evolves.

Tips that apply to every presentation type

• Stay consistent. Match fonts, colors and icons across every slide. Pick one font family and stick to it.

• Prepare a script or outline. Clear preparation makes delivery confident, whether you present in person or over video.

• Know your one takeaway. Every deck should leave the audience with a single point they can repeat.

Conclusion

Presentations follow your business from the seed deck that wins your first angel investor to the enterprise deck that closes a major sale. Each type has its own purpose. When you know which deck to build and apply simple design principles, your presentations get your point across. Add a slide library in Google Slides or PowerPoint, and you can deliver great design across your whole company.