If you have bad news, you’d better explain yourself! yes
This slide redesign is based on an actual slide created by the owner of a medical device company. To protect his privacy and preserve his intellectual property, for the purpose of this demonstration I’ve changed the subject of this slide to an experimental drug.
A pharmaceutical client showed me his “Pitch Deck,” the presentation he gives to venture capital firms and other groups when he seeks funding for his company. One slide showed a table that compared their company’s product against similar products being developed by two competitors. My client had a lot of great things going for him:
- His company already had products in the marketplace
- These products were making money
- They had big-name partners
This product also had a slight problem: it causes a medical condition in 85% of its users.
This is what his slide looked like, with different data used to protect the identity of the client.
I asked him about it, and he said that it is a common side effect for this kind of medication and that it is easily treated during outpatient surgery with great results. So the story he’s trying to tell is Great News, Great News, Great News, No Big Deal. But when I look at this table as a member of the audience might, I see this story: Great News, Great News, Great News, Slam-on-the-Brakes Major Problem!!!
While it’s important for investors to have all the facts, it’s crazy to present the data in a table that doesn’t stress the positive and provides any relief for the negative.
This is how I redesigned the slide:
This slide focuses on the positive by including a well-known partner logo, making the yearly profits stand out with large type, and showing the product name, which has been trademarked and is on the market. The first panel is green, which implies “go” and “cash,” and the competitors’ panels are drab by comparison. Look at how they lag behind! Who wouldn’t want to fund this guy?
But it would be unethical to withhold the bad news, so here it is:
Here, I’ve emphasized the fact that the side effect won’t kill patients and can be corrected fairly easily. The presenter would discuss the side effect and its treatment in greater detail when he’s in front of the audience.