I've made a lot of decks for people over the years — pitches, sales decks, webinar slides, class projects. The single biggest mistake I see isn't design, it's density.

Here's a rule that consistently gets decks approved/funded/booked faster: one idea per slide, three elements max.

That's it. A headline, a supporting visual (chart, image, or icon), and one line of proof or context. If you find yourself adding a 4th bullet, that's a sign you need a second slide, not a smaller font.

Why it works: reviewers (investors, clients, professors) skim. A slide with 6 bullets forces them to choose what matters — and they'll often choose wrong or just check out. A slide with 3 elements makes the point unmissable in under 5 seconds.

If you're building your own deck, try this: take your densest slide right now and split it into two. You'll almost always end up with a stronger deck, not a longer one.

If you'd rather skip the back-and-forth and just get a clean deck built for you, that's literally what I do — happy to help if you need one.