How to Design the Services Slide [Without Just Listing What You Do]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 4 hours ago
- 8 min read
Donna said this while we were building her sales presentation.
“Honestly, maybe we should not include a services slide at all. Our website already lists everything we do. Most people check that before a call anyway. The slide would just repeat the same list.”
That one statement points towards a very real problem: People assume the services slide exists to list what you do, instead of helping the buyer understand how to think about what you do.
So, in this blog, we'll talk about how to design a services slide that earns its place in the deck.
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.
The Moment Your Services Slide Becomes a List, It Stops Working
Not because your services are bad, but because lists do not create meaning. They create noise.
A list forces the buyer to do all the work.
They have to figure out what matters, how pieces connect, and whether any of it applies to their situation. Most people will not do that thinking for you. They will nod politely and move on, assuming they can sort it out later. Later rarely comes.
This is where the misunderstanding lives.
Your website lists what you do so someone can browse. Your services slide exists inside a live conversation where attention is fragile and context matters. When you copy the list from your website, you remove the context and replace it with cognitive load.
Worse, lists flatten everything.
Your most valuable service looks identical to your least important one. Strategic work sits next to tactical tasks like they carry the same weight. Nothing stands out, so nothing sticks.
The moment your services slide becomes a list, it stops guiding the buyer. And a slide that does not guide is a slide that quietly sabotages the sale.
So, How to Design a Services Slide That Earns Its Place in the Deck
A services slide earns its place when it does something your website cannot do. It clarifies, prioritizes, and guides a decision in real time. If your slide does not do at least one of those things, it is decorative at best and harmful at worst.
The shift starts with a mindset change. You are not explaining your business. You are helping someone decide whether you are right for them and what working with you actually looks like.
That difference sounds subtle. It is not.
Most services slides fail because they are built from the inside out. Teams ask, “What do we offer?” Then they dump everything on the slide and hope the buyer connects the dots. A strong services slide works the opposite way. It is built from the outside in. It starts with how the buyer thinks, worries, and evaluates risk.
If you want a services slide that earns its place, here is how to design it.
Step one: Decide what decision this slide supports
Before you touch layout, copy, or structure, answer one question honestly: What decision should the buyer be closer to making after this slide?
Not “understanding our offerings.” That is vague and useless.
Real answers sound like this:
I understand which service I actually need right now.
I see the difference between doing this myself and hiring you.
I know where to start and what comes next.
I understand why your approach is structured the way it is.
If you cannot name the decision, the slide will drift. And drifting slides turn into lists.
This is why copying your website fails. Websites support exploration. Slides support decisions. Different job, different design.
Step two: Reduce before you organize
Here is a hard truth. If you offer ten services, your buyer cannot evaluate ten services in a live conversation. They will not remember them. They will not weigh them properly. They will not ask smart questions about them.
So the first move is subtraction.
Look at your full list of services and ask:
Which services are foundational versus optional?
Which ones usually come first?
Which ones matter most to results?
Which ones confuse people when seen too early?
You are not deleting services from your business. You are choosing which ones belong in this moment of the conversation.
A services slide that earns its place usually shows fewer things than your website, not more.
Try this exercise.
Write down all your services. Now circle the three to five that actually shape outcomes. Those are your slide candidates.
Everything else can live elsewhere in the deck, in conversation, or in follow up material.
Step three: Group by logic, not by department
Another common mistake is organizing services by how your company is structured. Strategy team here. Design team there. Implementation over here.
Your buyer does not care. They care about progress.
Instead of grouping services by internal function, group them by buyer logic:
Stages
Problems
Outcomes
Levels of involvement
For example, instead of:
Strategy
Design
Development
Support
You might frame it as:
Clarify the problem
Build the solution
Make it work in the real world
Same services. Completely different meaning.
This framing does two important things.
First, it reduces mental effort. The buyer can follow a story instead of memorizing labels.
Second, it positions you as a guide, not a vendor.
When your services are grouped by logic, you stop sounding like a menu and start sounding like a process.
Step four: Show movement, not inventory
A list is static. A strong services slide implies motion.
Motion answers questions buyers always have but rarely ask directly:
Where do we start?
What happens if this goes wrong?
How involved do we need to be?
When do results show up?
You can create motion without complex diagrams.
Simple techniques that work:
Numbered stages
Left to right flow
From chaos to clarity language
From risk to confidence framing
Even a subtle sense of progression changes how the slide is perceived. It turns “these are things we do” into “this is how working with us unfolds.”
That shift matters more than visual polish.
Step five: Make trade-offs visible
Great services slides do something uncomfortable. They show what you do not do.
When everything is included, nothing feels intentional. When trade-offs are clear, confidence goes up.
This can look like:
Clear starting points instead of everything at once
Explicit boundaries around scope
Labels that suggest depth over breadth
Language that signals focus
For example, instead of listing “Consulting,” you might say “Focused advisory for teams who already know their problem.”
That one line filters expectations and attracts the right buyer.
Trade-offs reduce friction later. A services slide that earns its place prevents misalignment before it starts.
Step six: Anchor services to outcomes, not activities
Activities sound busy. Outcomes sound valuable.
Buyers care about outcomes, even when they pretend to care about features.
Look at each service and ask:
What changes because of this?
What becomes easier?
What risk does this reduce?
What decision does this enable?
You do not need to turn your slide into marketing fluff. You do need to connect the service to why it exists.
A simple format that works:
Service name
One line outcome explanation
For example: Discovery Sprint
Helps you stop guessing and agree on what actually needs fixing
This is not copywriting for a website. It is clarity for a conversation.
Step seven: Design for talking, not reading
If your services slide makes sense only when read silently, it is doing too much.
A good services slide supports your voice. It gives you something to point at, pause on, and explain.
That means:
Fewer words
Clear hierarchy
Space to breathe
Obvious emphasis
The slide should not compete with you. It should reinforce you.
If you feel the urge to explain every bullet, you have too many bullets.
Step eight: Leave room for the buyer to place themselves
The best services slides invite participation.
They make the buyer think, “That sounds like us,” or “We are probably here,” or “We are skipping that part.”
You can encourage this by:
Using language that mirrors common buyer frustrations
Labeling stages in plain English
Asking questions verbally as you present the slide
Letting the buyer react instead of rushing forward
When buyers see themselves in the slide, it becomes relevant. When they do not, it becomes decoration.
Step nine: Test it live, then cut again
A services slide is not finished when it looks good. It is finished when it works in real conversations.
Pay attention to:
Where people interrupt
Where they get quiet
Where they ask clarifying questions
Where they look confused
Those moments tell you what to remove, rename, or reframe.
If a service always needs explanation, the label is wrong.
If two services blur together, merge them.
If one service dominates discussion, it might deserve more space.
Iteration is part of earning the slide’s place.
Step ten: Remember the real job of the services slide
The services slide is not there to impress.
It is not there to prove how much you do.
It is not there to mirror your website.
It exists to help someone make sense of a decision in a limited amount of time.
When you design it with that job in mind, everything changes.
The slide becomes simpler.
The conversation becomes clearer.
And suddenly, the buyer stops asking what you do and starts asking how to work with you.
That is when a services slide earns its place in the deck.
Do Not Just Label the Slide "Our Services"
Calling the slide “Our Services” tells the reader nothing. It signals that what follows is generic, self focused, and probably skimmable. Most buyers have seen that title a hundred times, which means their brain already knows how this story usually goes. A list appears, attention drops, and the slide becomes something to endure rather than engage with.
A better title frames how you want the slide to be read. It sets context before a single service is shown. Think in terms of decisions, progress, or outcomes instead of offerings. When the title does some of the thinking for the buyer, the slide instantly feels more relevant. You are no longer saying “here is what we do,” you are saying “here is how this helps you move forward.”
The Visual Style of Your Services Slide Sets Expectations Before a Single Word is Read.
The visual style of your services slide sets expectations before a single word is read. A cluttered slide signals complexity. A calm slide signals clarity. Good design is not about looking impressive, it is about making the message easier to understand in a live conversation.
Keep these principles in mind...
Whitespace is structure
Give each service room to breathe so the slide feels intentional, not overwhelming.
Hierarchy guides attention
Make the starting point or most important service visually dominant.
Restraint beats decoration
Limit fonts, colors, and visual effects to reduce distraction.
Slides should support speech
Design for conversation, not for silent reading.
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