The cinematic presentation opening

Film directors can use powerful tools to throw us in the middle of a story right in the first seconds of a movie. Steven Spielberg's opening of Saving Private Ryan is a gruesome but good example. Everyone in the audience thinks "Wow, I should be grateful to these guys that drew the short straw and had to come out of the boat first..."

Presenters can use similar techniques. Try to find big images with a perspective as if they were taken from someone in the middle of the issue you are talking about. These images trigger an emotional response from the audience, especially (and maybe only) if they are "real". Think of photographs that make it on the front page of a newspaper.

The following 2 images could lead into a presentation about the issue of maternal deaths due to poor living and health conditions in the slums of India:

Less powerful examples of images with a patient or victim perspective here and here. Many of my investor pitch presentations use different styles of charts throughout the presentation:

1. Emotional opening (images) to connect the audience to the problem
2. Conceptual diagrams (arrows, boxes) to explain why my solution solves it
3. Data charts to show why this is a big deal
4. "Standard", almost slideument, charts to give more background on the company

P.S. Read more about the great work that the Acumen Fund is doing to combat the issue of maternal deaths here.