What is an Early Look Presentation [How to Make One]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 13 hours ago
- 6 min read
Our client Elsa asked us an interesting question while we were working on her early look presentation. She said,
“What exactly makes an early look presentation different from a regular one?”
Our Creative Director answered,
“It’s a sneak peek of your idea, designed to spark curiosity and get feedback before anything is finalized.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many early look presentations throughout the year and in the process we’ve observed one common challenge: most teams struggle to balance clarity with intrigue.
In this blog we’ll talk about how to make an early look presentation that gets people excited without giving away everything.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
What is an Early Look Presentation
An early look presentation is a preview of your idea, product, or project before it’s fully developed. Think of it as showing someone the blueprint instead of the finished building. The goal isn’t to impress with polished slides or final numbers; it’s to give your audience a sense of what’s coming and gather feedback while there’s still room to adjust.
We’ve noticed that many teams confuse it with a regular pitch deck. It’s not a full-blown sales presentation, and it’s definitely not a final proposal. It’s a tool for testing ideas, aligning stakeholders, and understanding reactions before you invest too much time and money.
Here’s why it’s different from other presentations:
It’s exploratory, not persuasive
You’re not trying to close a deal; you’re trying to understand interest and concerns.
It’s flexible
Slides are often rough drafts, visuals are suggestive, and numbers can be placeholders.
It sparks conversation
Instead of just delivering information, it’s designed to invite questions and insights.
It’s time-sensitive
You create it early in the project lifecycle, long before the final deck or launch materials exist.
It manages expectations
The audience knows it’s a preview, so they’re prepared for rough edges and changes.
This is what sets an early look presentation apart. When done right, it saves you months of work by ensuring you’re on the right track from the start.
How to Make an Early Look Presentation
Creating an early look presentation is less about dazzling your audience with design and more about setting the stage for meaningful conversations. You want to give enough context to spark interest and generate feedback, without overcommitting or revealing final decisions.
Here’s a practical approach based on what we do for our clients.
1. Start With a Clear Purpose
Before opening PowerPoint or Figma, ask yourself why you’re making this presentation. What do you want your audience to take away? Are you testing a concept, validating a market need, or getting buy-in from internal stakeholders? Defining your purpose early keeps your slides focused. Without it, presentations drift into cluttered messes that neither you nor your audience can use.
2. Draft a Rough Outline
Once you know your purpose, sketch a slide-by-slide outline. An early look presentation usually requires a minimum of 10 slides. Here’s a template we often recommend:
Title Slide: Project name, date, and presenters. Keep it simple but professional.
Context Slide: Briefly explain why this idea or product exists. Set the stage.
Problem Statement: Highlight the problem you’re trying to solve. Make it relatable.
Target Audience: Who will benefit and why. Focus on the user perspective.
Concept Overview: Introduce your idea without going into excessive detail.
Value Proposition: Why your idea matters and the potential impact.
Preliminary Features / Offerings: Rough sketches, bullet points, or placeholders.
Early Insights / Data: Any market research, pilot results, or trends that support your idea.
Next Steps / Questions: Areas where you need input or validation.
Closing Slide: Summary and invitation to discuss.
This is a foundation. You can add more slides if your concept is complex, but never go below 10 slides. Anything shorter risks leaving the audience confused or underinformed.
3. Keep It Visual, Not Text-Heavy
Early look presentations are exploratory. You want people to engage with the concept, not read paragraphs on the screen. Use simple visuals, sketches, and diagrams to communicate ideas. Charts and placeholders for metrics work well too. If your slides are cluttered with text, your audience focuses on reading instead of thinking critically about your idea.
4. Show Concepts, Not Final Designs
Remember, this is an early look, not a launch presentation. You can use mockups, wireframes, or conceptual visuals, but avoid polished final designs. Why? Because polished slides trick your audience into thinking the project is further along than it is. That can lead to premature feedback focused on execution rather than strategy.
5. Use Storytelling to Structure the Flow
Even at an early stage, people respond to stories. Start with the problem, move to the concept, and end with the next steps. Think about your audience’s journey:
Why should they care?
What does your idea aim to solve?
How could it evolve based on their input?
A story-like flow keeps the presentation coherent and ensures every slide has a purpose.
6. Incorporate Placeholders for Feedback
One of the key benefits of an early look presentation is collecting feedback. Include slides specifically designed for discussion. This could be a slide with questions like “Which feature resonates most?” or “Where do you see risks?” Making space for dialogue signals that you value their input and that the project is flexible.
7. Be Honest About Unknowns
Your audience appreciates honesty. If there are areas you’re unsure about, acknowledge them. Use phrases like “We’re exploring options for X” or “Initial estimates, subject to validation.”
This transparency encourages constructive feedback rather than forcing the audience to guess what’s set in stone.
8. Prioritize Key Metrics and Data
Even in an early stage, some numbers help guide decisions. Market trends, preliminary testing results, or projected impact can make your presentation more grounded. But remember, keep the data high-level. Your goal is to provoke thought and discussion, not overwhelm with spreadsheets.
9. Maintain a Consistent Visual Language
You don’t need a fully branded deck at this point, but slides should feel consistent. Stick to one or two fonts, a simple color palette, and basic layouts. Consistency keeps your audience focused on content instead of being distracted by design inconsistencies.
10. Review and Iterate Before Sharing
Before presenting, review the deck critically. Can someone unfamiliar with the project understand it?
Are your questions for feedback clear? Is every slide serving your purpose? Iteration is key because early look presentations evolve rapidly. The goal is to share enough to get valuable input, not perfection.
11. Prepare for the Conversation, Not Just Slides
An early look presentation works best when it’s a conversation starter. Be ready to talk through ideas, clarify concepts, and listen actively. Your slides are prompts, not scripts. How you facilitate the discussion often matters more than the slides themselves.
12. Avoid Overloading Slides with Details
A common mistake is to cram every idea or data point onto the slides. Resist this temptation. Early look presentations should spark curiosity, not provide exhaustive answers. Use slides to outline, not explain every detail. Extra information can be shared in supporting documents if needed.
13. Include a “Next Steps” Slide
Wrap up with a slide that sets expectations for what happens after the meeting. This could include decisions to be made, areas needing further research, or milestones for the next iteration. This ensures the presentation doesn’t just end but leads to actionable outcomes.
14. Test Your Deck Internally
Before showing it to stakeholders or potential partners, run the presentation internally. This helps identify confusing slides, missing context, or areas that might trigger unnecessary debate. A quick internal review saves time and improves clarity.
15. Use Minimum 10 Slides to Cover the Scope
Anywhere below 10 slides limits your ability to explain your concept clearly. Early look presentations are meant to be comprehensive enough for feedback but concise enough to hold attention. Each slide serves a distinct purpose.
The first few set context, the middle slides explain the concept, and the final slides invite discussion. Trying to compress this into fewer slides often dilutes the message and leaves your audience confused.
16. Keep it Adaptable
Finally, remember that an early look presentation is a living document. You will update it based on feedback, new insights, or shifts in strategy. The flexibility built into the deck is just as important as the content itself.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.