Presentation Builder

Overview

This skill turns a topic, document, or rough idea into a tight, persuasive presentation outline. It enforces three rules that separate good decks from forgettable ones:

1. One core message — the whole deck exists to make ONE point land.
2. A narrative arc — slides progress like a story (tension → resolution), not a list of facts.
3. One idea per slide — each slide advances the argument by exactly one step, with spoken-word speaker notes.

Keywords: presentation, slide deck, slides, pitch deck, keynote, talk, lecture, demo, storytelling, narrative arc, speaker notes, outline, slide outline, deck structure, conference talk, sales pitch.

The output is a structured outline (slide-by-slide), NOT a visually rendered deck. Hand the outline to PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote, or a tool like Marp/reveal.js.

When to use vs. not use

• USE for: structuring a new deck, converting a document/report into slides, reordering a rambling deck, writing speaker notes, sharpening a pitch.
• DON'T over-engineer for: a single status slide, or when the user already has a finished deck and only wants visual styling (that's a design task, not a structure task).

Workflow

Follow these steps in order. Do not skip the discovery step — a deck built without knowing the audience and the ask is the #1 cause of bad presentations.

Step 1 — Discover the four anchors

Before writing any slide, establish (ask the user if unknown, max 3-4 crisp questions):

If the user gave a document, infer drafts of these from it, then confirm the core message before proceeding.

Step 2 — Lock the core message

Write the core message as ONE declarative sentence (see references/storytelling-frameworks.md → "Core Message Test"). Every slide must earn its place by supporting this sentence. If a slide doesn't, cut it.

Step 3 — Choose a narrative arc

Pick the arc that fits the goal. Defaults:

• Pitch / persuade / sell → "What is — What could be" (problem/possibility oscillation, ending on a call to action).
• Inform / teach → "Pyramid" (answer first, then supporting groups of ideas).
• Report / update → "Situation → Complication → Resolution → Next steps."
• Inspire / keynote → "Hero's journey lite" (status quo → catalyst → struggle → transformation).

See references/storytelling-frameworks.md for full descriptions and when to use each.

Step 4 — Draft the slide spine

Lay out section headers first (3-5 sections for a typical talk), then slides under each. Use the canonical spine:

1. Hook (1 slide) — a question, surprising stat, or vivid scene. No agenda slide as slide 1.
2. Stakes (1-2) — why this matters now, to THIS audience.
3. Core message (1) — state it plainly, early.
4. Body (3-7) — the argument, one idea per slide, each building on the last.
5. Proof (1-3) — evidence, demo, case study, data.
6. Call to action (1) — the specific ask / next step.
7. Close (1) — restate core message; memorable final line.

Adjust counts to the time budget (rule of thumb: ~1-2 minutes per content slide; see scripts/pacing.py).

Step 5 — Write each slide using the slide contract

Every slide gets the fields in templates/slide-outline.md:

• Slide title — a full assertion ("Sales fell because onboarding broke"), NOT a topic label ("Sales").
• One idea — the single point.
• On-slide content — minimal: a phrase, one chart, or one image cue. No paragraphs.
• Speaker notes — what you actually SAY (conversational, 30-90 sec worth).
• Transition — one line linking to the next slide ("But there's a catch...").

Step 6 — Self-review with the checklist

Run every slide and the whole deck through references/deck-review-checklist.md. Fix violations. Most common: topic-label titles, multi-idea slides, missing call to action, no transitions.

Step 7 — Deliver

Output the full outline using templates/slide-outline.md structure. Offer to: (a) generate Marp/reveal.js markdown, (b) tighten to a shorter time, or (c) write a 30-second elevator version of the core message.

Decision Heuristics

• Assertion titles — if a title could be a slide in any deck, it's too vague. Make it say something.
• The "so what?" test — after each slide, the audience should never think "so what?". The transition answers it.
• Cut to clarify — when unsure whether to include a slide, cut it. Fewer slides, more impact.
• Data needs a verdict — never show a chart without stating what it proves on the slide title.
• Demos > descriptions — if you can show it, show it; replace a "features" slide with a proof slide.
• One emotion per section — curiosity, concern, hope, urgency. Map the emotional beat.

Best Practices

• Open with tension, not logistics. Save the agenda (if any) for after the hook.
• State the core message in the first 90 seconds AND at the end. Repetition is the medium.
• Write speaker notes as speech, not bullet points — read them aloud to test.
• Use the 1-7-7 sanity guide loosely (≤7 lines, ≤7 words) but prefer even less; aim for one phrase.
• Each chart answers one question. Title the chart with the answer.
• End on a sentence, not a "Thank you / Questions?" slide. Land the message, then thank.

Common Pitfalls

• Topic titles ("Background", "Results") instead of assertions. Always rewrite.
• The everything slide — multiple ideas crammed together. Split it.
• Reading the slide — slide text duplicates speech. Slide = visual aid; notes = words.
• Burying the ask — call to action vague or missing. Make it one concrete verb + deadline.
• No arc — a flat list of facts. Add tension/resolution beats.
• Death by data — slide after slide of charts with no narrative thread.
• Skipping audience analysis — generic deck that lands with no one.

Bundled Files

• references/storytelling-frameworks.md — narrative arcs, the core-message test, emotional mapping, opening/closing patterns.
• references/deck-review-checklist.md — per-slide and whole-deck review checklist.
• templates/slide-outline.md — the fill-in outline format for the final deliverable.
• examples/saas-pitch-deck.md — a complete worked example (input brief → finished outline).
• scripts/pacing.py — computes slide budget and flags over/under-packed decks from time + slide count.