Computer Skills
Beginner
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
+80 XP
Pupils work on their own device
What you need:
Chromebook/Laptop/PC or iPad/Tablet

Pitch Deck: Slides That Don't Put People to Sleep

Students build a 5-slide pitch deck using a simple structure: Hook, What it is, Why it matters, The numbers, The ask. They reuse content from their portfolio and practise pacing with speaker notes.

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    1 - Introduction ~5 mins

    Illustration for Introduction

    A pitch deck is a short set of slides you show to persuade people to back an idea, such as a new club or a fundraiser.

    Today you will

    • plan a 5-slide pitch: Hook, What it is, Why it matters, The numbers, The ask
    • give every slide the same theme and layout
    • build {{code:08_pitch_deck}} from your earlier portfolio work
    Warm-up

    Think of a time someone explained something to you with slides. What made you stop paying attention? Your deck has to do the opposite.

    2 - Key Concepts ~5 mins

    Five slides in order with arrows between them: 1 Hook, 2 What it is, 3 Why it matters, 4 The numbers, 5 The ask, each with its line from the Lunchtime Film Club deck.

    A pitch has five slides in this order: Hook, What it is, Why it matters, The numbers and The ask.

    A theme sets the colours, fonts and background of every slide in one click.

    A layout, like Title and Content, keeps the title and bullets in the same place on each slide.

    Speaker notes are private reminders under each slide that the audience never sees.

    Example: two ways to open

    A boring hook says "Introduction to Bake Sale". A strong hook asks "Could we raise €500 in one lunchtime?"

    3 - Step-by-step Task: Build the Demo Deck ~18 mins

    You will build a practice deck for a Lunchtime Film Club pitch. You won't need to keep it. Follow the numbered steps below. When a step asks you to type slide text, copy it from this list.

    Your slides will look different

    Your slides will not look exactly like the pictures. The colours, fonts and capital letters depend on the theme you pick, and that is fine. What matters is that the words and the order of the slides match the list above.

    Slide 1, Hook: What if every Friday lunchtime was movie day?

    Slide 2, What it is:

    • 45-minute films in the hall
    • Rotating genres chosen by members
    • Open to all years

    Slide 3, Why it matters:

    • Builds community across year groups
    • Low-cost shared activity
    • Uses the hall at its quietest hour

    Slide 4, The numbers:

    • Projector already in the hall
    • €15 one-off cable
    • €0 weekly cost

    Slide 5, The ask:

    • 4-week trial
    • One teacher to supervise
    • Announce at assembly

    4 - Common Issues ~3 mins

    Two slides side by side: on the left the words of five long bullets run off the edge of the slide; on the right a short title and three one-line bullets.

    Text runs off the slide

    Keep titles short and each bullet to one line. Put extra detail in your speaker notes.

    Text is hard to read

    Select the text and pick a colour that stands out against the background.

    My chart won't go on

    Click the chart in your spreadsheet and press {{kbd:Ctrl+C}}. Click Slide 4 and press {{kbd:Ctrl+V}}. In Google Slides, choose {{btn:Paste unlinked}}.

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    This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2026. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.
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