- You let PowerPoint take over the story. Rather than using the story flow that would come naturally to you in a 1-on-1 informal conversation, you go in writing mode, think of structures (market inefficiencies, demand drivers, core competences, strategic sustainable advantages), and fill the standard Microsoft bullet point template with them. You are not bold enough in designing the visuals that you actually need to support your story.
- You make small, lazy mistakes that make your slide designs look amateurish: a childish font, screaming colors, images in low resolution and in distorted aspect ratios, and slide elements that are not aligned.
- You walk around the elephant in the room. You pad the story with fluff, talk about issues that your audience is already convinced about, and avoid taking on the real questions that the audience has about your pitch.
Here you have it.