There was a time when a presentation meant standing in front of a screen in a room full of people. That’s not the norm anymore. Now? You’re probably on Zoom, LinkedIn Live, or hosting a webinar from your laptop, and your slides are right there on screen with you, doing half the talking.
This shift to livestreaming has changed how we present. And more importantly, it’s changed how we design our presentations.
You’re not just explaining a business plan or walking through a report. You’re basically hosting a mini show. Your visuals are front and center. And they need to be clear, clean, and actually help you hold attention, especially when people are watching from a phone, distracted, or working in another tab.
Why Livestream Decks Need a Different Kind of Design
When you’re live, you don’t have the same tools. No stage presence, no whiteboard, no reading the room. It’s just you, your voice, and whatever’s on screen. That’s where presentation design really matters.
People tuning in are probably multitasking. If your slides are cluttered, text-heavy, or hard to read, they’ll tune out. Quickly.
That’s why presentation design for livestreams is its own thing. It’s more like social media content than a typical boardroom deck. It has to be bold, clear, and paced just right.
How to Make Your Slides Work Live
1 – Make it bold and simple
Big fonts, clean layouts, fewer words. Each slide should carry one key idea. Think: if someone glances at it for 3 seconds, do they get it?
2 – Keep it moving
Slides help with pacing. Add transitions, reveal points one by one, use a little animation if it fits. Just don’t let a single static slide sit on screen too long, it gets stale fast.
3 – Build in interaction
Want people to stay with you? Ask questions. Add a QR code to scan. Drop a “Put your thoughts in the chat” slide. Doesn’t have to be fancy, it just helps people feel like part of the moment.
4 – Design with the livestream in mind
Sometimes your face is on the screen with your deck. Sometimes the platform throws up a lower-third or a chat box. Avoid putting anything important in the bottom corners, and keep the good stuff center-top.
5 – Think like your audience
Before going live, imagine how it’ll look to someone watching on their phone with one headphone in. Will they get it? Will it hold their attention? If not, time to adjust.
Where This Shows Up
This kind of design is showing up all over the place, and honestly, it makes a huge difference.
Webinars and virtual workshops, where the goal is to teach clearly and keep energy up
Product demos, where the deck does what a physical stage used to
Investor pitches and business plans, where clean visuals show you’ve got your act together
Company branding updates or strategy reveals, especially during all-hands meetings
Even social media management reports, when you’re showing results live and need it to land
Basically, if you’re presenting online and your slides are on screen, this applies.
Livestreaming Isn’t Temporary Anymore
It started as a workaround during lockdowns, but livestreaming is now part of how we do business. If you’re leading anything from marketing to sales to training, you’ve probably had to present live on camera. And it’s not going anywhere.
It’s like how social media changed how we write. Livestreaming is changing how we show our ideas. And that means our decks need to evolve too.
Need Help Making Slides That Actually Work On Screen?
This is where we come in.
At Storyfiner, we help people turn messy outlines into decks that look great and actually work, especially when you’re presenting live. Whether it’s a business plan pitch, a company branding session, or a webinar for hundreds, we’ve done it.
We also get how slides tie into everything else, your message, your tone, even your social media content. We don’t just design for slides. We design for how people see and feel your brand in real time.
If your next deck needs to do more than just sit there, if it needs to move with you, hold attention, and leave people impressed, we’d love to help.
Let’s build something that performs under pressure and feels 100% like you.
