Presentation Creator

Presentation Creator

Bold, minimal, dark-first slide decks, from narrative arc to final QA.

• IS: slide decks end to end: narrative structure, slide copy, visual design, speaker notes, and investor pitch decks.
• IS NOT: long-form prose (use blog-post), marketing copy outside slides (use copywriting), or general visual systems for product UI (use ui-design).

Workflow

Copy and track this checklist:

Presentation progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Gather context (audience, setting, format: live / async / pitch)
- [ ] Step 2: Outline narrative arc and slide sequence (references/outline-structure.md)
- [ ] Step 3: Write slide copy (references/writing-slides.md)
- [ ] Step 4: Design visual layout and composition (references/visual-design.md)
- [ ] Step 5: Write speaker notes (references/speaker-notes.md); skip for pitch decks
- [ ] Step 6: QA pass, output the slide-by-slide review table

Step 1: Gather context

Before outlining, establish three things (ask if not provided):

• Audience: internal (shared context, be direct) vs. external (build credibility, define terms)
• Setting: live talk, recorded/async, or standalone investor pitch
• The three messages: what must the audience remember when the deck is over

Then route by format:

• Live talk or internal/recorded deck → Steps 2-6 in order.
• Investor pitch deck (read without a presenter) → read references/pitch-decks.md first. Use its 10-slide framework for Step 2 and its async copy rules (denser, standalone headlines) for Step 3. Skip Step 5; there is no presenter. Steps 4 and 6 still apply.

Steps 2-5: Build the deck

Each step has a dedicated reference; read it when you reach the step:

Step 6: QA pass (produces evidence)

Review every slide and output the results as a table. This is the deliverable that proves the deck is done, not a "looks good" sign-off:

| # | Slide | 3-sec test | One message | Layout | Section color |
|---|-------|-----------|-------------|--------|---------------|
| 1 | Title | pass | pass | full statement | teal |

• 3-sec test: can the slide be parsed in 3 seconds at arm's length? Flag any failure and cut copy until it passes.
• One message: exactly one idea per slide; split slides that carry two.
• Layout: no more than 2 consecutive slides with the same layout.
• Section color: matches the section assigned in the outline; no stray accents.

Deck-level checks below the table:

• Accent color count equals section count (teal reused for opening/closing)
• Recap slide has exactly one line per core section
• Pitch decks only: ≤15 slides, explicit ask slide with amount and use of funds, headlines pass the forwardable test (make sense with zero context)

Fix every flagged row and re-output the table before handing the deck over.

Core principles

• Dark-first, high contrast: black/zinc-900 backgrounds, white text, section-colored accents
• Headlines do the work: bold statements, not topic labels:

  Before: "An Overview of Our Q3 Performance Metrics and Results"
  After:  "Q3: Revenue Up 40%. Here's How."

• Impact through scale, not weight: large light type beats small bold type
• Section colors create rhythm: one accent per major section so the audience can track position

Gotchas

• Paragraphs on slides: the audience reads instead of listening, and the speaker becomes redundant. If a slide fails the 3-second arm's-length test, cut copy until it passes.
• Accents outside the section system: section colors are wayfinding; a random accent mid-section reads as a topic change that never happened. One color per major section, teal reused for opening and closing.
• Speaker notes as a script: a verbatim script gets read aloud and sounds flat. Notes are scannable prompts: key point, talk-track bullets, transition line.
• Same layout on every slide: uniform layouts flatten the rhythm and the audience stops registering new slides. Alternate full-statement, split, and data layouts per the mapping in visual-design.md.
• Skipping the outline: jumping straight to slides produces a list of facts with no arc, and the deck gets rewritten once the missing narrative shows. Always lock the three key messages first.
• Sparse headlines on pitch decks: "Traction" as a headline tells a skimming investor nothing. Write the complete claim: "1,000+ Customers, $10M ARR". Pitch decks are read, not presented.
• Using presented-deck density for a pitch deck: a 3-words-per-slide deck forwarded to an investor with no presenter is unreadable. Route to pitch-decks.md in Step 1, not after the deck is built.

Related skills

• blog-post: long-form articles and tutorials; use it when the output is prose, not slides
• copywriting: landing pages, CTAs, marketing copy outside a deck
• ui-design: visual systems for product UI and landing pages; presentation visual rules live in references/visual-design.md instead

Outline Structure

Define the narrative arc and slide sequence before writing any copy.

Contents

• Standard flow
• Slide types
• Section colors
• Output format
• Workflow

Standard flow

Opening → Context / Problem → Core Sections (2-4) → Closing

• Opening: title, goals/agenda (3 takeaways max)
• Context: current state, the tension or question to resolve
• Core sections: 3-5 content slides each, section dividers between topics
• Closing: recap (one-liner per section), resources, Q&A

Slide types

Section colors

Assign one accent color per major section. Reinforces structure and helps the audience track position.

Output format

# [Presentation Title]
[One-line purpose]

---

## 1. Opening
**Color:** teal

### Slide 1: Title
- **Type:** statement
- **Headline:** [Title]
- **Subtitle:** [Context or date]

### Slide 2: Goals for today
- **Type:** goals
- **Headline:** Goals for today
- **Points:**
  - [Takeaway 1]: [Brief explanation]
  - [Takeaway 2]: [Brief explanation]
  - [Takeaway 3]: [Brief explanation]

---

## 2. [Section Name]
**Color:** [color]

### Slide 3: Section divider
- **Type:** section-divider
- **Headline:** [Section title]

### Slide 4: [Slide purpose]
- **Type:** [statement/data/code/etc.]
- **Headline:** [Bold headline]
- **Supporting:** [1-2 sentences or bullets]

---

## N. Closing
**Color:** teal

### Slide N: Recap
- **Headline:** Recap
- **Points:** [One-liner per section]

Workflow

1. Ask about context: audience, purpose, setting (live vs. async) 2. Identify 3 key messages that must land 3. Map the arc: Opening → Context → Core sections → Close 4. Assign section colors 5. Draft slide sequence using the output format above 6. Review density: cut slides that don't earn their place

Pitch Decks

Investor pitch decks that work without a presenter. Denser copy, structured frameworks, optimized for async reading.

Pitch deck vs. presented deck

The 10-slide framework

1. Title

Company name, one-line description, contact info. Optional traction hook.

2. Problem

Who experiences the pain, why it's urgent. Lead with customer quotes or data.

3. Solution

Product in 30 seconds. Show "Before → After", not feature lists.

4. Traction

Charts over text. Revenue, users, growth rate, milestones, logos. Move earlier if numbers are strong.

5. Market size

TAM/SAM/SOM with bottom-up calculations. Why now?

6. Business model

Revenue streams, pricing, unit economics (CAC, LTV, payback period).

7. Competition

Landscape matrix or quadrant. Your differentiation. Never say "no competition."

8. Team

Photos, names, one-line credentials. Why this team wins.

9. Financials & roadmap

Revenue projections (realistic), key milestones, use of funds preview.

10. The ask

Amount raising, use of funds breakdown, milestones it unlocks, clear CTA.

**Raising:** $XM [Stage]
**Use of funds:**
- 50% Product
- 30% Go-to-market
- 20% Operations
**Next step:** 30-minute call to discuss

Writing for async reading

• Headlines must be complete, not sparse: "1,000+ Customers, $10M ARR" not just "Traction"
• 2-3 bullet points per section, each a complete thought
• Bold the key phrase, explain after
• Charts > Tables > Bullets > Paragraphs
• Forwardable test: if an associate forwards this with no context, does it make sense?

AI screening optimization

VCs use AI to screen decks. Optimize for extraction:

• Clear slide titles matching expected categories (Problem, Solution, Traction)
• Metrics in text, not just images
• Consistent formatting for parseable data
• Define acronyms on first use

Common mistakes

Format guidelines

• PDF for sending: under 10MB, named Company - Stage Deck - Month Year.pdf
• 16:9 aspect ratio, high contrast, readable at 50% zoom
• Same dark-first visual system as presented decks (see visual-design.md)

Speaker Notes

Scannable prompts for natural delivery, not scripts to read verbatim.

Per-slide note structure

### Slide [N]: [Headline]

**Key point:** [The ONE thing they must remember]

**Open with:** [First sentence or hook, conversational tone]

**Talk track:**
- [Prompt 1]
- [Prompt 2]
- [Optional anecdote or example]

**Transition:** [Bridge to next slide]

Example

### Slide 5: Speed is a feature

**Key point:** Being fast is a competitive advantage, not just a nice-to-have.

**Open with:** "This slide captures something we keep rediscovering..."

**Talk track:**
- Every time we ship faster, customers notice and tell us
- Our competitors take months for changes we do in days
- Speed compounds, fast shipping builds momentum and morale

**Transition:** "So how do we protect that speed as we scale?"

Notes by slide type

statement / question: Expand on the headline: what led to this conclusion, what's the implication. For questions, pause and let it land before answering.

data: Contextualize the numbers: what story does the data tell? What surprised you?

section-divider: Keep brief: quick framing of what's coming, how it connects to what came before.

recap: Don't re-present. Touch each point quickly, add one synthesis insight, set up "so what."

Delivery cues

Include when relevant:

• (pause): let a point land
• (show of hands): audience interaction
• (click): advance animation or build
• (emphasize): vocal stress on key word
• (scan room): make eye contact before transitioning

Context adjustments

• Internal: informal, reference shared history, challenge directly, be candid about what's hard
• External: build credibility first, prove before concluding, leave room for questions
• Recorded/async: tighter, less tangential, stronger signposting; notes clarify what's not obvious from slides alone

Visual Design

Dark-first, high contrast, minimal. Impact comes from scale and weight, not decoration.

Contents

• Core style
• Typography hierarchy
• Text contrast hierarchy
• Layout patterns
• Slide type to layout mapping
• Visual elements
• Avoid

Core style

Typography hierarchy

Impact through scale, not weight. Use light/regular weights (400-600) at large sizes.

Text contrast hierarchy

Layout patterns

Full statement (most common)

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SECTION LABEL                           │
│                                         │
│ Massive                                 │
│ Headline                                │
│ Here                                    │
│                                         │
│ Subtitle text in muted color            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Big statement (maximum impact)

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                         │
│                                         │
│       Even Bigger                       │
│       Statement                         │
│                                         │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Split layout (text + content)

┌────────────────────┬────────────────────┐
│                    │                    │
│ Headline           │  • Point one       │
│ Here               │  • Point two       │
│                    │  • Point three     │
│ Subtitle           │                    │
└────────────────────┴────────────────────┘

Section divider (with gradient)

┌────────────────────┬────────────────────┐
│                    │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│
│ Section            │▓▓▓ Gradient ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│
│ Title              │▓▓▓ Background ▓▓▓▓▓│
│                    │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│
│ Subtitle           │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│
└────────────────────┴────────────────────┘

Code slide

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Headline                                │
│ Subtitle                                │
│                                         │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ // syntax-highlighted code block    │ │
│ │ const result = await generate()     │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Data/metrics

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│        ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ │
│        │  $10M  │ │  ~10%  │ │  NPS   │ │
│        │  ARR   │ │ GROWTH │ │   90   │ │
│        └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘ │
│ Headline                                │
│ Subtitle                                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Slide type → layout mapping

Visual elements

• Section labels: top-left, all caps, accent color, tracked wide
• Progress bar: bottom edge, section color, thin (3px)
• References: bottom footer, clickable URLs, muted color
• Gradients: aurora-style using section color, subtle (0.1-0.2 opacity)
• Icons: simple line icons, white or accent, used sparingly

Avoid

• Light backgrounds (breaks the system)
• Heavy font weights for headlines (use scale instead)
• More than 4-5 bullet points per slide
• Multiple competing focal points
• Dense paragraphs of text
• Animation for animation's sake

Writing Slides

Bold, minimal copy designed for speaking to, not reading from.

Headline patterns

Statement: bold declarations that take a position:

• "Speed is a feature"
• "AI has no memory"
• "Passive beats active"

Question: create tension, invite reflection:

• "What would we do differently if we started today?"
• "So does any of this actually work?"

Action: drive toward outcomes:

• "Building blocks over modules"
• "Always be gardening"

Framing: set context for what follows:

• "How we got here"
• "The real results"

Headlines: 4-12 words, sentence case, no trailing period.

Body text rules

• Bold lead-in + explanation: **Retention is the real metric.** Acquisition gets attention, retention builds the business.
• Key phrase emphasis: "We compete on speed and focus"
• Minimal bullets: 3-4 max, each earning its place
• Inline code: use backticks for technical terms, file names, commands

Slide templates

statement

Headline: Bold claim or insight Body: Optional 1-2 line explanation or stat

big-statement

Headline only: Full-screen, maximum scale, centered

question

Headline: Provocative question Body: Optional context (1 line max)

data

Headline: What the data shows (not "Data") Metrics: 2-4 key numbers with labels

code

Headline: What this code does Code: 5-15 lines, syntax-highlighted, no comments

goals

Headline: "Goals for today" or outcome framing Points: 3-4 bullets, bold lead-in + brief explanation

recap

Headline: "Recap" or "Key takeaways" Points: One-liner per section, complete thoughts

quote

Quote: The quote itself, large Attribution: Name, role/source

Transformation examples

Before: "The fundamental issue with AI coding assistants is that they don't retain any context between sessions, leading to repetitive outputs" After:

Headline: AI has no memory

Subtitle: Every session starts from zero

Before: "Our product strategy will be based on building reusable components" After:

Headline: Building blocks over modules

Supporting: A platform built on configurable building blocks.

Writing workflow

1. Identify the one thing the audience must remember from this slide 2. Write the headline first: bold statement or question 3. Add body text only if it earns its place 4. Read it at arm's length; if you can't parse it in 3 seconds, simplify 5. Cut anything the speaker will say anyway