It kills me every time I’m asked to make someone’s deck look “pretty”.
I know I’m not the only product marketer who feels this way.
It’s almost turned "slide deck" into a dirty word. Every time I create one there’s a part of me that wonders, “am I just playing more into this stereotype”?
But the other day, when asking me to help him on a deck, a colleague said:
“I need your help distilling this down to a clear message.”
“I need help telling a better story.”
And it got me thinking.
Slide decks are a powerful medium for presenting an idea, delivering a message, telling a story. They are still my #1 communication tool.
For some people, the word “pretty” is their way of asking you to work your magic on a slide. To help them take a concept they’ve been working on for weeks and turn it into a clear message that resonates with a particular audience.
And at the end of the day, that’s our job as product marketers.
Will we also make that deck look visually appealing? You bet. But there’s more to it than that. We're delivering a pitch, we're educating people on the competition, we're helping close a deal, we're telling our company's story.
So here’s the moral of the story:
Product marketers, put your ego aside and look at every deck as an opportunity to help someone tell a better story. And everyone else, try reframing your ask. You might find that your #pmm is way more eager to help.
