Most pitch problems aren't slide problems. They show up long before Canva is even open. Here are the three questions I ask every founder before we touch a single slide.
1. Who, specifically, is in the room?
Not "investors" or "customers" in the abstract — the actual person or people you're pitching to. What do they already believe about your space? What have they said no to before? A pitch tuned to a generic audience is a pitch tuned to no one.
2. What's the one thing they need to remember?
If someone can only repeat one sentence about your pitch to a colleague afterwards, what should it be? If you can't answer that in one breath, the pitch doesn't have a clear spine yet, and no amount of slide design will fix that.
3. What's the objection you're avoiding?
Every founder has a question they're quietly hoping doesn't come up. That question is usually the most important thing to address head-on, early, in your own words, rather than waiting to be asked and looking caught out.
Why this matters more than the deck
Slides are the easy part. Getting clear on these three things first means the deck you eventually build is in service of a clear argument, rather than a stand-in for one. It's the difference between a pitch that sounds polished and one that actually moves someone.