# Start 1 4 > Module 1.4: Templates & Workflows - Learn to use and iterate on template documents. Use when the student types /start-1-4. - Skill: `carlvellotti/start-1-4-4` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 6 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add carlvellotti/start-1-4-4` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/carlvellotti/start-1-4-4/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: carlvellotti (https://skillmd.com/u/carlvellotti) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/carlvellotti/start-1-4-4 --- ## Setup Read `.cursor/SCRIPT_INSTRUCTIONS.md` and follow it for everything below. ACTION: Silently stage bundled lesson assets without overwriting student work. ```bash cp -rn .cursor/skills/start-1-4/assets/* . 2>/dev/null || true ``` # Module 1.4: Templates & Workflows - Teaching Script **Teaching Script for Claude** Follow this script precisely using the prefix system: - **No prefix** = Speak naturally to student - **ACTION** = Do this (silently unless noted) - **STOP** = Wait for student response - **USER** = Expected student response (reference) --- ## Teaching Flow - Welcome to Module 1.4: Communication Styles - The PM Superpower - In this module you'll learn how to use templates to get consistent, professional communication formats every time - You'll transform the same information into three different formats: Slack updates, executive emails, and Notion docs - STOP: Ready to learn this PM superpower? - USER: Ready --- - Great! Let me show you three pre-made communication style templates - These templates give you EXACTLY the format you want, every single time - Plus, you can iterate and refine them over time to make them perfect - You'll use these for different PM audiences throughout your work - ACTION: List files in lesson-modules/1.4-communication-styles/communication-styles/ folder - STOP: Do you see the three style template files? - USER: Confirms --- - Let's look at these templates to see how they differ - ACTION: Read all three style template files and present them - style-slack-update.md - style-executive-email.md - style-notion-doc.md - Notice the differences in format: - Slack: casual, 2-3 lines, emoji-friendly, scannable - Email: strategic, 3 paragraphs, executive-focused - Notion: comprehensive, formatted with headers, detailed - Same information, three totally different formats for different audiences - STOP: Make sense? Each audience gets exactly what they need - USER: Confirms --- - Now let's practice using templates with a real example - You have meeting notes from a product sync that need summarizing - Without a template, the format would be inconsistent every time you ask - With a template, you get exactly the format you want - Here's the key: you'll use @ mentions to reference BOTH files - the meeting notes AND the template - STOP: Ask me to: "Append a summary to @meeting-notes-product-sync.md using the format from @style-slack-update.md" - USER: Append a summary to @meeting-notes-product-sync.md using the format from @style-slack-update.md - ACTION: Read meeting-notes-product-sync.md and style-slack-update.md, then edit meeting-notes-product-sync.md to append a summary formatted according to the template - Done! I just appended a summary using the Slack template - STOP: Do you see the summary? Notice how it follows the template's format exactly - USER: Confirms --- - With templates, you get that quality EVERY time - Even better - you can refine the template once, and all future outputs improve - That's the PM superpower: build a workflow once, reuse forever - STOP: Does that click? Templates equal consistency plus reusability - USER: Confirms --- - Now let's do something really powerful - You have research findings that need to be shared with different audiences - Transform the same information into all THREE communication formats at once - Slack update for your team, email for execs, Notion doc for the wiki - Same research, three audiences, zero manual rewriting - You'll use @ mentions to reference both the research file AND the templates folder - STOP: Ask me to: "Transform @research-findings.md into three formats using the templates in @communication-styles/" - USER: Transform @research-findings.md into three formats using the templates in @communication-styles/ - ACTION: Read research-findings.md and all three template files, then create three new output files - slack-update-output.md (research formatted in Slack style) - executive-email-output.md (research formatted in Email style) - notion-doc-output.md (research formatted in Notion style) - Done! I just created three versions of your research, each tailored to a different audience - STOP: Do you see all three files? Same research, totally different formats for different audiences - USER: Confirms --- - So when would you actually use this as a PM? - Scenario 1: User research findings - Slack for team, email for leadership, Notion for documentation - Scenario 2: Feature launch updates - different formats for engineering, sales, execs - Scenario 3: Quarterly planning - transform strategy doc into stakeholder-specific formats - The pattern: write once or gather once, then distribute in formats tailored to each audience - STOP: Does this make sense? - USER: Confirms --- - Here's why this is a superpower - You create a template once, then refine it over time - Every time you use it, you might tweak it slightly to make it better - After a few iterations, you have the PERFECT template for that audience - Then you reuse it forever - instant, consistent, professional communication - As a PM, you'll build a library of these templates for different scenarios - It's like having a communication toolkit that gets better over time - STOP: Questions about templates or communication styles? - USER: Responds --- - Awesome! Let's recap what you learned - You can use @ mentions to reference multiple files at once (content + template) - Templates give you consistent, professional formatting every time - Same information can be transformed into different formats for different audiences - You can iterate and refine templates over time to make them perfect - This pattern works for any PM communication: PRDs, status updates, research summaries - In Module 1.5, you'll learn about Cursor's three modes: Ask, Agent, and Plan - STOP: Any questions before we wrap up? - USER: Questions or ready to continue --- - Perfect! You're ready for Module 1.5 - When you're ready for the next module, open a new tab in this AI Pane and type: /start-1-5 - See you there! ACTION: Before wrapping up, record this lesson as complete by running this WITHOUT NARRATING the raw output: ```bash fspm progress complete cursor-pms-1-4 ``` If it fails because the fspm CLI isn't installed, follow the teaching rules' missing-CLI guidance: tell the learner progress tracking needs the FSPM CLI, offer to install it, and continue the wrap-up either way. Then close out with the student's options, in natural language (never as a command list): - Mention they can leave feedback on this lesson anytime — if they have some, collect it conversationally and submit it with the CLI (see teaching rules). - Remind them, briefly and only if it fits the moment, that they can always ask for a recap, a quiz on what they just did, a saved note, or where they stand in the course. - End with the next step: when you're ready for the next lesson, use `/clear` first, then: `/start-1-5`