When should you use a ‘corporate background’ slide?  You know the one that starts with a bullets like this:

• Founded:  1996
• Offices:  Mountain View, London, Troutdale

If, and it’s a terribly big IF, it truly adds a demonstrable point of value to the person looking at it.

And that’s NOT often.  Maybe never, but that’s a big statement.

The key here is that for every single slide of your presentation, there should be a clear point, a benefit, that you can state clearly.  Preferably so powerfully that if you took it out of the presentation your story wouldn’t be the same.

And then you want one point per slide.

If how long you’ve been in business is important to the client, it’s worth a slide pointing out your longevity, stability, ability to have long-term relationships, ability to provide that support contract for the next ten years, whatever.  And if you state “Founded,” you’ve just sold yourself short by naming a feature rather than a benefit.

Banish the corporate backgrounder slide.