How Many Slides Should a Presentation Have?

There is no perfect number of slides, but there is a right number for your time slot, audience and type of talk. Here is a simple way to work it out.

Start with time, not slides

A common starting point is about one slide per one to two minutes of speaking. That gives you:

Treat this as a guide. A slide with a single big image might take ten seconds, while a detailed chart can take three minutes.

The 10/20/30 rule

Venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki popularised the 10/20/30 rule for pitches: 10 slides, 20 minutes, no font smaller than 30 points. It is a useful discipline for pitch decks and short business talks because it forces you to focus on what matters.

Guidelines by presentation type

• Startup pitch: 10 to 15 slides.
• Quarterly business review: 10 to 20 slides, with an appendix for detail.
• Marketing campaign report: 8 to 15 slides.
• Lecture or training session: more slides with less on each, because they support step-by-step explanation.
• Personal and event slideshows: as many as your photos and story need, often with very little text.

When to use more slides

More slides is not a problem if each one is simple. Splitting a crowded slide into two or three cleaner ones usually makes a talk easier to follow. It also keeps the audience's attention because the screen changes more often.

When to use fewer slides

• When the deck will be read without you, for example sent by email.
• When you have a strict time limit.
• When the audience is senior and wants the conclusion fast.

Use an appendix

If you are worried about leaving out detail, move it to an appendix after your closing slide. You can jump there if someone asks a question, without slowing down the main story.