How to Make the Use Cases Slide [A Guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Apr 30
- 9 min read
Updated: Dec 12
While working on a pitch deck for a platform, our client, Sofia, asked something that stopped the room for a second:
“How do you design a use case slide that doesn’t feel like a chore to look at?”
Our Creative Director replied:
“By making it about the user’s success, not your features.”
As a presentation design agency, use case slides come up all the time. In investor decks. In sales decks. In strategy presentations. They’re essential. And yet, most of them end up feeling like tables from a software manual - flat, clinical, forgettable.
There’s a pattern behind this. One that reveals how most teams think about use case slides and why that thinking fails.
So, in this blog, let’s unpack that. First, we’ll see what a use case slide is really trying to do. Then we’ll explore how to actually build one that earns attention and drives action.
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.
Why the Use Case Slide Exists (and What It’s Really For)
Most teams treat the use case slide like a bucket list. A quick rundown of industries, departments, or situations where the product can be used.
What they miss is this: that approach does nothing for the audience.
The use case slide isn’t meant to showcase versatility. It’s meant to help the audience picture themselves (or their customers) winning.
And that’s where most decks go wrong.
Because the use case slide isn’t a list. It’s a mirror.
When it works, it does two things simultaneously.
First, it answers the unspoken question every buyer is asking: "Is this for someone like me?”
Second, it tells a brief but clear story of how someone like them moves from a problem they recognize to a result they want.
But when it turns into a table of bullet points — or worse, a grid of vague categories like “retail,” “SMBs,” “logistics”, the effect collapses. No emotional trigger. No narrative thread. No connection.
At its core, the use case slide is not about possibility. It’s about clarity. If the audience looks at it and still asks, "How does this help me?”— the slide has failed.
That’s why the value of this slide isn’t in what’s shown, but in how precisely it reflects the audience’s current state and desired outcome.
How to Make a Slide for Use Cases
1. Start with Outcomes, Not Categories
A category is not a story.
Putting “Retail,” “Healthcare,” and “Hospitality” on a slide might seem like a quick way to show market reach. But no buyer wakes up thinking, "I’m in the healthcare category.”
They wake up thinking, "Why does managing shift schedules still take five tools and three hours?”
Use case slides that connect start with outcomes. Real ones. Outcomes the audience craves and struggles to achieve.
Instead of saying:
Retail
Hospitality
Logistics
Say:
Reduce shrinkage with real-time inventory insights
Increase occupancy by automating guest workflows
Cut delivery delays with predictive route planning
Each of these is a use case wrapped in a result. It immediately tells the audience: Here’s what success looks like for people like you.
Because in the end, people don’t buy categories. They buy outcomes.
2. Anchor Every Use Case to a Clear Problem
The best use case slides don’t just show where a product can be used. They show where it solves something painful.
This is where most teams over-explain their features and under-express the pain.
A strong use case has tension baked into it. Without it, there’s no story — just functionality.
The formula is simple:
Let’s say the product is a customer support platform. A poor use case description might read:
“Used by B2C brands to streamline communication.”
That’s vague. Abstract. Forgettable.
Now compare it to:
When response times were hurting customer satisfaction scores, Brand X used automated triaging to cut wait times by 47%.
Now the slide tells a story. There’s a problem. There’s a fix. There’s a result.
Audiences connect with change. Not capability.
So, for every use case, ask: What pain is being resolved here? If that’s not obvious in one glance — rewrite it.
3. Show Specificity Without Losing Scalability
Many founders and marketers worry that if the use case slide is too specific, it will scare off other prospects.
It won’t.
Specificity builds trust. It shows mastery. It signals that the company understands how problems actually unfold on the ground.
And here’s the secret: specificity doesn’t kill scale. It unlocks it.
The trick is to show different use cases that each represent a segment of a broader audience — but through a realistic lens.
Instead of “Banking,” show:
Regional bank that reduced fraud by 30% using real-time transaction monitoring.
Instead of “Healthcare,” show:
Hospital group that automated patient intake across 12 locations, reducing admin hours by 22%.
Each use case becomes a door. And if the audience sees even one that feels familiar, they’ll walk through it.
4. Visuals Should Simplify, Not Showcase
The most common visual on a use case slide? A grid of logos. Or a mess of screenshots.
This is a mistake.
The use case slide is not a trophy shelf. It’s not there to show how many companies have used the product. It’s there to show why and how.
Visuals should support that story. Not distract from it.
Great visual choices include:
A mini before/after graphic showing process simplification
A stripped-down user journey showing one major friction point resolved
A stat-driven callout (like “Saved 4 hours per team per week”) tied to each use case
The goal is clarity, not complexity. If the audience needs to squint, it’s too much.
Design should be invisible. It should let the story shine.
5. Three Use Cases Is (Almost) Always Enough
There’s a temptation to include everything. Especially if the product is horizontal.
But too many use cases dilute the impact of each one. They create decision fatigue. They make the audience work too hard to find themselves in the mix.
Three is the sweet spot. It gives enough range without overwhelming.
One that matches the buyer’s industry. One that matches their internal role. One that matches the problem they’re trying to solve.
That’s enough.
And if the presentation is live, three gives room to expand verbally. To riff. To say: "Here’s one that’s really close to your world…”
The goal of the slide isn’t to inform everyone. It’s to ignite the right people.
6. Use Cases Are Not Testimonials — They’re Proof of Transformation
Another trap: turning use cases into customer quotes.
Quotes can be powerful. But not on this slide.
Here’s why: testimonials are about validation. Use cases are about relevance.
A testimonial slide says, "This product is great.”
A strong use case slide says, "This product changed how we do X — and here’s what we gained.”
One is cheerleading. The other is transformation.
The use case slide should act like a window into a future state — one that the audience desperately wants.
When done right, it builds urgency. Not just trust.
7. Think of the Slide as a Mini Sales Funnel
Each use case on the slide should follow a tiny funnel:
Start with a pain the audience feels
Show a clear path to resolve it
End with a measurable outcome that matters
This is narrative framing. And it’s what turns product storytelling into strategic messaging.
Let’s say you’re building an AI-powered transcription tool. Instead of vague copy like:
“Used by media companies for faster documentation”
Say:
Media teams used to spend 8 hours transcribing interviews. With AI-driven tagging, that’s now down to 20 minutes — and searchable.
That phrasing pulls the reader in. It makes them nod. It makes them want that shift for themselves.
Because the best use case slide doesn’t just inform. It sells the idea of a better future.
8. Position the Use Case Slide After Stakes Have Been Established
One of the biggest structural mistakes is showing the use case slide too early.
If it comes before the audience fully understands the problem you solve, it reads like product fluff.
The best spot is after the problem and stakes have been established — but before the deep dive into features.
That way, each use case acts like a preview. A highlight reel of the product in action.
Not just “here’s what it can do.”But “here’s how it actually moves the needle.”
9. Every Word Counts
This sounds obvious. But it’s worth saying: most use case slides have too many words. And the ones they keep aren’t pulling weight.
Every word on the slide should do one of three things:
Reveal pain
Frame a solution
Show an outcome
Anything else is decoration.
Avoid filler like:
“Our powerful solution”
“Helps companies streamline and optimize”
“Trusted by leading brands across verticals”
None of that says anything real.
Instead, say:
“Cut claims processing time from 10 days to 3”
“Eliminated 40 percent of manual onboarding steps”
“Launched three new stores in half the usual time”
Those are words people remember. Because they describe something people want.
Use Case Slide in Investor vs. Sales Decks
One of the most fatal errors is using the exact same use case slide for a Venture Capitalist that you use for a potential client.
They are buying two different things...
The Customer is buying a solution to a headache. They want to know, "Will this work for my specific workflow?"
The Investor is buying market potential. They want to know, "Does this use case prove that this product can dominate an entire vertical?"
If you are pitching to investors, frame your use cases to show breadth and replicability. Don't just show a happy customer; show a happy customer that represents a totally untapped market segment.
If you are pitching to sales prospects, frame your use cases to show depth and intimacy. Show that you understand the nuanced, boring, gritty details of their daily struggle.
The Power of the "Anti-Use Case"
It sounds counterintuitive, but sometimes the best way to define a use case is to clarify what it is not.
Weak presentations try to be everything to everyone. They claim their tool is for "Small teams, Enterprises, Freelancers, and NGOs."
The result? Nobody feels like it was built for them.
An "Anti-Use Case" strategy involves explicitly stating boundaries to build trust. "We are built for agile software teams, not for traditional manufacturing waterfalls."
By pushing the wrong people away, you pull the right people in closer. It signals confidence. It tells the audience, "We aren't trying to trick you. We built this specifically for the way YOU work."
If your use case slide feels too generic, try adding a subtle qualifier that defines who this is not for. Watch how much harder the "Yes" lands when you aren't afraid of a "No."
FAQ: Where exactly should the "Use Case" slide go in my presentation?
Answer: It belongs in the "Solution" section, specifically after you have introduced your product but before you show the technical specs or pricing.
Think of your deck like a story arc:
The Problem: The world is broken (Here is the pain).
The Solution: We fixed it (Here is our product).
The Proof (Use Cases): Here is exactly what "fixed" looks like in real life.
The Ask: Buy it.
If you put the Use Case slide too early, the audience doesn't know what tool you are using to solve the problem. If you put it too late (after pricing), it feels like an afterthought. It is the bridge between promising a solution and proving it works.
FAQ: What is the maximum number of use cases I should put on a single slide?
Answer: The "Rule of Three" is the gold standard here.
1 Use Case: Great for deep emotional impact (storytelling mode).
3 Use Cases: The perfect balance. It shows your product is versatile enough to handle different scenarios, but focused enough to be understood quickly. It implies a pattern without creating clutter.
4+ Use Cases: This usually triggers "cognitive load" failure. The audience stops reading and just sees a wall of text.
If you have 6 great use cases, do not squeeze them all onto one slide. It is better to have one slide with your "Top 3" and keep the others in an "Appendix" slide at the end of the deck for the Q&A session.
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