How to Make the Pain Point Slide [Identify & address]

One day, Josh, a client, asked us something that stuck with us while we were crafting his pain point slide. He said,

"How do we make sure the slide actually speaks to our clients without sounding like a generic complaint list?"

Our Creative Director answered simply,

"You focus on their problems, not your product, and make it unmistakably clear why it matters."

As a presentation design agency, we work on many pain point slides throughout the year and in the process, we’ve observed one common challenge: most teams struggle to highlight client needs in a way that feels genuine and impactful rather than just a checklist of issues.

So, in this blog, we’ll talk about how to make your pain point slide cut through the noise and genuinely connect with your audience.

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.

Understanding the Pain Point Slide

The pain point slide is a staple in any sales or client-facing presentation. Its job is simple but crucial: show your audience you understand exactly what keeps them up at night. You’re not there to brag about your product or service yet. You’re there to prove you know their struggles better than anyone else. If you get this wrong, the whole presentation loses credibility. You risk sounding out of touch or, worse, self-centered.

In our experience, most companies fall into one of two traps with this slide. Either they throw in a vague list of industry-wide problems that sound like they belong to everyone and no one at the same time, or they cram in so many issues it feels like a complaint letter. Neither option works because the audience doesn’t feel seen or understood. And when that happens, you lose their trust before you’ve even had a chance to show your solution.

So, the pain point slide isn’t just a checkbox on your presentation agenda. It’s your first real opportunity to say to the client, “We get you.” Nail this, and the rest of your deck has a solid foundation to build on. Fail it, and the rest of your work is uphill battle.

How to Make a Pain Point Slide That Actually Works

Let’s be honest. Crafting a pain point slide that truly hits home is harder than it sounds. It’s not about dumping every problem your client might face or trying to sound dramatic. It’s about carefully choosing the few key issues that matter most to your audience and presenting them in a way that says, “We understand this inside and out.”

From years of working on presentations for clients across industries, here’s what we’ve learned works best.

1. Start with Real Client Conversations

The biggest mistake we see is presentations built from assumptions. The team guesses what the client’s pain points are based on generic industry research or internal hunches. This approach leads to a slide that feels generic or worse, off-target. You want your pain point slide to reflect the actual challenges your client faces, not some textbook problems.

We always advise starting with real conversations. Talk to your client’s frontline teams, salespeople, support staff, even customers if you can. What questions keep coming up? What issues cause frustration? What are the barriers to success that nobody seems to solve?

Josh, for example, shared with us that his sales team repeatedly struggled with slow response times from their tech support. That was something no competitor had called out clearly in their pitches. When we highlighted that specific pain point, it immediately grabbed attention because it was authentic.

The takeaway: Use real language and real issues from real people.

2. Focus on Impact, Not Just the Problem

Listing problems is easy. What’s hard is showing why those problems matter. Your client doesn’t just want to hear “Your system is slow.” They want to know what that slow system is costing them. Lost deals, frustrated customers, wasted hours. This is where the pain point slide can really prove its worth.

Make the pain tangible. Use numbers if you have them. Say something like “Your 48-hour average ticket resolution time costs you approximately $X in lost revenue per month.” If you don’t have hard data, use relatable scenarios or emotional triggers. “Every delayed support ticket means a dissatisfied customer who might never come back.”

By doing this, you shift the slide from a list of complaints to a clear statement of why these issues are urgent and worth solving.

3. Keep It Focused: Less is More

Here’s a hard truth: your audience won’t remember five or six pain points. They might struggle to hold on to three. So pick the top two or three pains that are the most critical to your client’s business goals.

Why does this matter? Because you want the pain point slide to be memorable. If you cram it with too many points, it turns into noise. You want your audience’s eyes and minds to fixate on the core issues and say, “Yes, that’s exactly what we deal with every day.”

Also, limiting points forces you to prioritize. You end up focusing on pains that have the highest impact and that your solution can address directly.

4. Use Clear, Direct Language

This might sound obvious but it’s worth saying. Avoid jargon, buzzwords, and corporate fluff. Your pain point slide should read like a conversation, not a whitepaper. Write like you’re explaining the problems to a colleague over coffee.

For instance, instead of “Operational inefficiencies in resource allocation,” say “Your team wastes hours juggling tasks the wrong way.” Instead of “Customer churn,” say “Losing customers to competitors every month.”

Clear language cuts through mental clutter and makes your slide more relatable.

5. Structure Your Slide Visually to Tell a Story

How your pain point slide looks matters just as much as what it says. When you throw a bunch of text and bullet points onto a slide, you make it harder for your audience to focus.

We recommend a simple but purposeful structure:

• Headline: A strong headline that summarizes the pain in a single sentence. For example, “Slow Support Response Is Costing You Deals.”

• Visual Elements: Use icons, simple graphics, or even a short illustrative scenario. Visuals help break the monotony and make your point stick.

• Supporting Points: Two or three brief points under the headline explaining the pain in more detail. Keep text short and punchy.

• Impact Statement: End with a statement that drives home why fixing this pain matters to the client’s bottom line or reputation.

  
  

This structure guides the viewer’s eye and builds a mini narrative within the slide itself.

6. Avoid Blaming or Negativity

Your pain point slide is about identifying challenges, not assigning blame. No one wants to hear “You are doing everything wrong.” Instead, frame pain points as obstacles everyone faces or opportunities for improvement.

For example, say “Many companies struggle with X,” or “Teams often face Y challenge,” rather than “Your team is bad at X.”

This keeps the tone professional and solution-oriented. It also builds trust because you’re not attacking the client’s current state but offering insight into areas that can be better.

7. Link Pain Points to Business Goals

Your client didn’t come to you just to fix a problem for the sake of fixing it. They want to achieve something—grow revenue, reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction, or speed up innovation.

Make sure your pain points are tied to those bigger goals. For example, “Your slow onboarding process is delaying product launches and costing you market share.” This helps clients see the pain in the context of what matters most to them.

When the pain is linked to goals, it naturally sets up the rest of your presentation where you show how your solution bridges the gap.

8. Personalize and Customize for Each Audience

One of the biggest advantages we bring as a presentation agency is customization. Every client and audience is unique. So your pain point slide should never be a one-size-fits-all.

Take the time to tailor your pain points based on who you’re speaking to. What worries the CEO will be different from what keeps the head of operations awake at night. Adjust your slide accordingly.

This also means if you’re presenting to multiple stakeholders, you might need multiple versions of the slide emphasizing different pains relevant to each group.

9. Test and Refine

You can’t just create the perfect pain point slide and leave it at that. Feedback is critical. Watch how your audience reacts during presentations. Which points get nods, which get confused looks, or worse, which get ignored?

Ask colleagues or trusted clients for honest feedback before big pitches. Use that input to sharpen the focus and language of your slide.

This iterative approach will make your pain point slide stronger and more persuasive over time.

10. Integrate the Pain Point Slide Seamlessly into Your Narrative

Finally, remember that the pain point slide is a chapter in your story, not the entire book. It should flow naturally from the context and lead directly to your solution.

Don’t let it stand alone as a list of problems. Use it to build tension and anticipation for what comes next. If done well, your audience will feel eager to hear how you’re going to fix these pains.

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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.

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