How to Make the Problem Slide of Your Pitch Deck [With a Right Approach]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Jul 31
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 23
When we were building the pitch deck for our client Aaron, he said,
“I have eight problem statements that I want to bring into the problem slide. They all feel important, so I am not sure which ones to cut.”
We see this all the time and it is one of the biggest mistakes founders make. A crowded problem slide signals that the core pain is not clear, which makes the entire story feel unfocused to an investor.
So, in this blog we will walk you through how to make your pitch deck's problem slide with the right mindset and right approach.
In case you didn't know, we are pitch deck consultants. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
On a side note: While this article focuses mainly on investor pitch decks, the principles apply just as well to sales decks and other presentations. If you are building any kind of problem slide, this will help you, so stay with us.
The Problem Slide Has One Job: Make the Audience Feel the Pain
Not just understand it. Not simply agree with it. Actually...feel it. Once that happens, the rest of your pitch becomes far easier to land.
Here is the catch: Many founders think they are doing this when they are actually doing something entirely different. They list symptoms and hope that counts. Or they highlight surface level annoyances that sound generic. Some even point to a market trend and assume it qualifies as a problem.
A trend is not a problem. A vague inconvenience is not a problem. A symptom without context is not a problem.
We have created 100+ pitch decks this year alone, and the strongest problem slides all shared three traits.
1. They were specific
Specificity pulls the audience out of abstract thinking and into a real moment in the customer’s life.
Example: “Recruiters spend hours chasing incomplete candidate data that should be automatic.” That is specific. “Hiring is broken” is not.
2. They were human
Good problem slides show what the customer feels, not just what the customer does.
Example: “Store owners feel anxious every night because their inventory numbers never match.” Feelings make the problem real.
3. They were backed by context
Strong problem slides explain why the pain matters now. Context gives weight and urgency.
Example: “Manual inventory work grew heavier after supply chains became unpredictable.” Now the audience sees why the pain hits hard.
When you hit these three elements, the problem becomes impossible to ignore and the audience leans in naturally.
How to Make Your Pitch Deck's Problem Slide with a Right Approach
Let’s break this down so you actually know what to do with your slide and not just get inspired for five minutes and then return to guessing.
Step 1: Be Painfully Specific
Start with the actual problem, not the market problem.
Here’s what a weak problem slide looks like:
“Small businesses struggle with digital transformation.”
“Customers find it hard to discover new products online.”
“Healthcare is inefficient.”
These aren’t problems. These are headlines. And vague ones at that. They tell you nothing about the user, the stakes, or the mechanics of the problem. More importantly, they don’t feel like a problem.
They read like generic observations.
A stronger version would be:
“Over 70% of small retail business owners don’t track inventory digitally. They rely on pen-and-paper or WhatsApp to manage stock, leading to daily losses from understocking or overstocking.”
Now we’re getting somewhere. We have a specific group (small retail owners), a behavior (pen-and-paper or WhatsApp), a consequence (inventory mismanagement), and an emotional hook (daily losses).
You don’t need to write a paragraph like that on the slide. But you do need to start there in your thinking. The slide itself should strip it down, but the thinking should be layered.
Here’s a simple formula to test if your problem statement is specific enough:
Who is facing the problem?
What are they doing wrong or inefficiently?
Why is it a real problem? What is the consequence?
How big is the problem in their life or business?
If you can’t answer all four clearly, you don’t have a real problem slide yet.
Step 2: Make It Human
A pitch deck is not an investor report. It's a story. And every good story needs a protagonist. So, give us one.
We’ve found that when you humanize the problem, even investors with zero context in your industry get it faster. They feel it, not just process it.
Instead of saying:
“The average hospital loses $2.5M annually due to administrative errors.”
Say:
“When a nurse enters the wrong code into a billing system, the hospital loses money, the patient gets overcharged, and it takes weeks to correct a mistake no one has time to fix.”
The first version sounds like a stat. The second version sounds like a scene.
You don’t have to turn your slide into a script, but injecting even a small moment of humanity helps the audience connect the dots faster. And if they remember the problem, they remember the pitch.
Sometimes we even use illustrations or icons of the user persona. We’ve also used one-liner testimonials from real people that describe the pain. When you hear a line like:
“I waste three hours a day just updating client reports manually.”
You don’t need much more. That’s a problem.
Step 3: Set the Context (But Don’t Ramble)
One mistake we see all the time: founders jump straight into the problem without giving the room a reason to care. Context is your friend here, but only if you use it strategically.
Let’s say you’re solving a hiring problem in the logistics sector. Instead of opening with:
“Hiring blue-collar workers is inefficient and outdated.”
You lead with:
“India’s logistics sector is projected to hit $380 billion by 2025. But it still depends on walk-ins and paper resumes for hiring truck drivers.”
Boom. You’ve created contrast. A booming industry stuck in the past. That’s the kind of friction investors perk up for.
Use 1 or 2 short lines before you drop the core problem. Think of it as pulling the slingshot back before you release it.
But please don’t write an essay here. Your context should act like a lens, not a curtain.
Step 4: Add Real Evidence (Not Fancy Stats)
Don’t make the mistake of throwing in big, flashy numbers just because they sound impressive. Most investors have seen them all before. “$100B industry” doesn’t mean anything if it’s not tied to the pain.
Use stats as evidence, not decoration.
Instead of:
“E-commerce is a $5 trillion industry and growing.”
Try:
“48% of online shoppers abandon carts because the checkout experience is too complicated.”
That’s a stat that supports a specific user pain. That tells us where the opportunity is, not just where the money is.
If you have user quotes, support tickets, screenshots, Reddit threads, even customer interviews — use them. You don’t have to put them all on the slide. But bring them into the conversation. If nothing else, it shows you’ve done the homework.
And that builds trust faster than any chart ever will.
Step 5: Avoid These Common Pitfalls
We’ve found that most weak problem slides fall into a few predictable traps. Let’s call them out:
1. The “3 Bullet List of Problems” Slide
We get it. You want to show you understand the market. But three vague problems listed side-by-side don’t create urgency. Choose one strong problem. Anchor the rest of your story around that.
2. The Trend Slide Masquerading as a Problem
Saying “Remote work is growing” or “AI is disrupting industries” is not the same as identifying a problem. Those are trends. Not every trend needs solving.
3. The Feature-in-Disguise Slide
We’ve seen founders say things like “There’s no platform that helps XYZ” and call it a problem. That’s not a problem. That’s your solution trying to sneak into the wrong slide. Focus on the pain, not your product.
4. The “Look How Big the Industry Is” Slide
This is just lazy. Investors know the total addressable market. What they want to know is what part of it has a burning problem. Be precise. Be real.
FAQ: I do not know how to frame the problem statement, let alone design the slide. What should I do?
Start by talking to real customers or users. Ask them what frustrates them the most, when that frustration shows up and what it costs them in time, money or energy. Listen for moments where they express stress, annoyance or a clear sense of “this should not be this hard.” Those moments usually reveal the core problem far better than any brainstorming session.
Once you find one to three pains that consistently surface, write them as short, specific statements. Keep each one to a single clear idea. After that, the slide becomes simple. Place the main pain at the top or center, give it space and keep the layout clean. The clarity of the message will do most of the work for you.
Design for the Message, Not the Aesthetic
1. Make the main problem the visual anchor
Your most important pain must be the first thing the eye lands on.
Use size and placement to signal priority.
Put the core problem in the top half of the slide.
Keep supporting points smaller and secondary.
2. Remove anything that competes with the message
If an element does not strengthen understanding, it weakens it.
Avoid decorative icons that do not clarify the problem.
Drop illustrations that exist only for style.
Use a simple background that keeps text readable.
3. Use spacing to guide focus
Spacing is design’s quiet superpower. It tells the audience what matters without adding more visuals.
Place one to three problems with enough room between them so each feels meaningful.
Give the main problem extra breathing space to signal importance.
4. Keep text scannable
Your audience should understand the problem with a quick glance, not a full read.
Use short statements.
Avoid long sentences.
Highlight keywords to create instant clarity.
When you design around the message, the problem becomes obvious, memorable and harder to ignore.
Example of a Problem Slide from a Successful Pitch Deck
Here’s a problem slide from one of our projects, a Series B pitch deck. Take this as a reference example for content framing and clean design.
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.
How To Get Started?
If you want to hire us for your presentation design project, the process is extremely easy.
Just click on the "Start a Project" button on our website, calculate the price, make payment, and we'll take it from there.