Antislop Decks

Anti-Slop Decks — so no presentation looks AI-generated

Single goal: remove the "AI tells" of a generated deck. An AI-made presentation gives itself away: every slide is a title + four bullets, a cover with a blue gradient and a giant centered title, the same layout twenty times, emoji bullets, charts in Excel's rainbow palette, an empty "Thank you / Questions?" slide. It works, but it screams "template". This skill forces deterministic, premium decisions BEFORE you generate, and verifies them at the end.

Same philosophy as antislop-web, translated to the language of the slide. Zero MCP, zero external service.

When to use it

• At the start of any deck (pitch, proposal, report, keynote, onboarding): generate the DECK.md (Part A) before touching a slide.
• While building or refactoring slides: apply the directives (Part B) as generation rules, whether the engine is pptx, Google Slides or HTML.
• In your quality gate before delivery: run the pre-flight (Part C).

When NOT to use it

• It does not replace the client's brand. The DECK.md is re-tokenized to the client's palette/typography (if a web DESIGN.md exists, INHERIT from it: the deck is the same brand in another medium, not a new identity).
• It does not replace content. A deck with impeccable structure and no substance is still bad. This skill gives the FORM that does not get in the message's way, not the message.
• A "document read aloud" deck (lots of text per slide, made to be sent and not presented) is a separate anti-pattern: if the deliverable is to be READ, it is a document; use antislop-docs.

Engine integration (how it runs)

• pptx (default for a .pptx deliverable): an html2pptx workflow for exact positioning (e.g. a pptx skill), or python-pptx, or OOXML/unpack when editing a client template.
• Google Slides: a Slides automation/API when the client lives in Google Workspace and wants to edit/collaborate.
• HTML/scrollytelling (deck as a page, not a file): reveal.js, or your web stack if it is a deck-as-page. Also apply antislop-web and, for a cinematic hero, your scroll techniques.
• Base discipline: inherit ALL of antislop-web for palette, typography, color, motion and credible data. What follows are only the deck-SPECIFIC rules.

PART A — DECK.md generator (per-presentation source of truth)

Generate a DECK.md in the project folder. Single source of truth for the deck's identity and bans. Every slide is generated against this file.

A.1 Dials (translate "make it nice" into rules)

Set three values 1-10. Suggested deck baseline: DENSITY 3, MOTION 4, VARIANCE 6. A deck is AIRIER than the web (one idea per slide), with less motion (the transition must not compete with the speaker) and medium-high variance (break the single template).

• DENSITY (one idea per slide 1 <-> data cockpit 10): in a presented deck, almost always <= 4. >6 only in a read-along deck (and there, question whether it is a document). Governs the word ceiling (A.4).
• MOTION (static 1 <-> cinematic build 10): >5 enables per-fragment builds (revealing point by point) and continuity transitions. Never vendor transitions (cube, free morph, page-curl). Always respects prefers-reduced-motion in HTML.
• VARIANCE (one template 1 <-> every slide different 10): >4 BANS the single repeated layout; forces rotating through the A.5 archetypes. >7 starts to cost coherence: raise only in editorial/keynote decks.

A.2 Narrative structure (the deck's #1 lever, the one the web does not have)

The biggest tell is NOT visual, it is structural: generic title + bullet list. Kill it with an architecture decision, not a color one.

• Assertion-evidence (Alley), mandatory: the slide title is a COMPLETE SENTENCE that states the point ("Sales fell 18% after the inventory outage"), not a label ("Sales"). The body is the VISUAL EVIDENCE of that sentence (a chart, an image, a big number), not the same sentence chopped into bullets.
• One idea per slide. If a slide has two assertions, it is two slides.
• Arc, not stack: the deck tells something (situation -> tension -> resolution / question -> answer -> implication). It is not a dump of sections. The sequence of titles, read alone, should already tell the story (the "titles-only" test).
• BAN bullet soup: bullet lists as the primary content of a slide. A bullet is allowed only when items are GENUINELY parallel and scannable (3-5 max), never as a chopped paragraph or filler.
• BAN shell slides: an "Agenda" that only lists what is coming, an empty "Thank you/Questions?", an "Introduction" that asserts nothing. The close carries ONE concrete action (A.5).

A.3 Color, typography, materiality (inherited, with deck nuances)

• Inherits antislop-web: one accent (sat < 80%), neutral bases, no purple/neon, never pure #000, no emojis, no Inter in premium contexts, hierarchy by weight and color. If a client DESIGN.md exists, the deck uses THAT palette and typography.
• Deck scale: text is read from 3 meters. Slide title genuinely large; body minimum generous (never 12pt filler). Hierarchy by SIZE is legitimate here (unlike the web): title

  subtitle >> note.

• AA contrast over the real projection background. Text over a full-bleed photo only with a solid scrim/veil that guarantees contrast; never light text floating over an image with light areas.
• Icons: one consistent stroke set, or none. Never emojis as bullets. Never clipart or the vendor's default icon set.

A.4 Content ceiling per slide (hard rule)

• DENSITY <= 4: at most ~1 assertion (title) + 1 evidence element. If the title runs past ~15 words, it is two ideas.
• No paragraphs on the presented slide. Detail goes to the SPEAKER NOTES, not the slide. Engines support notes: use them.
• Numbers as the protagonist: one big number (mono, high contrast) beats a sentence that describes it. Organic, real figures (inherited: no 99.9%).

A.5 Slide archetypes (break the single template)

Define a system of 5-8 archetypes and ROTATE through them. A single-mold deck is the tell of VARIANCE 1. Base archetypes:

• Cover: assertive title + one real sub-line (not a generic "Presented by"), one owned visual anchor. No vendor gradient.
• Section divider: a color/slide change that marks a chapter; short, it breathes.
• Assertion-evidence: title-sentence + 1 chart/image/diagram. The workhorse.
• Big number / stat: one dominant number full-screen, with its source in a small footer.
• Quote / testimonial: a real quote attributed to a real person. No giant decorative quotes.
• Comparison: before/after, A vs B, in two clean zones (not "three identical cards").
• Diagram / flow: hand-built with owned boxes and connectors; NEVER SmartArt.
• Close with action: ONE concrete next action (what the audience does now), not "Thanks". Real contact details if relevant.

A.6 Charts and tables (data-ink, the deck's technical tell)

• No chartjunk: no 3D, shadows, 3D pie, bar gradients, thick gridlines, legends when you can label the series directly.
• Data palette = the deck's (sequential/categorical derived from the accent), NOT the default Excel/Sheets/Chart.js rainbow.
• Direct labeling on the series/bar; the eye should not jump to a legend.
• One chart says one thing: the slide title already says WHAT to see in the chart.
• Tables: no box-borders per cell; use border-t/dividers, right-align numbers in mono, highlight only the row/cell that matters.

A.7 Motion (under the right tier)

• Default transition: cut or short fade. Per-fragment builds only to reveal in the order of the speech (the point appears when the speaker says it), never as decoration.
• No vendor transitions (cube, automatic morph, page-curl, "sparkle").
• In an HTML deck: inherit A.7 from antislop-web (only transform/opacity, prefers-reduced-motion, lightest tier).

A.8 Anti-patterns (the deck's AI tells — encode as "NEVER" in DECK.md)

No title + four bullets as a mold. No bullet soup. No same slide repeated. No blue-gradient cover with a giant centered title. No empty "Agenda"/"Thanks"/"Questions?". No emoji bullets. No SmartArt or clipart. No 3D charts or rainbow palette. No generic stock photo with unreadable text on top. No paragraphs on the slide (they go to notes). No Inter/Calibri/Arial default. No fake round numbers. No AI copy cliches ("Elevate", "Seamless", "Unlock", "Next-Gen", "In today's world"). No untouched vendor template. No "Team" slide with stock avatars and "John Doe".

A.9 Signature element (the one AFFIRMATIVE rule — mandatory)

As on the web: passing every ban stops the deck from looking generated, but does not make it memorable. Each deck declares ONE signature element: the device it is remembered for. Just one. Two signatures = none.

Criteria (all three): memorable (describable from memory a week later), owned (comes from the content/business, not a catalog of effects) and sustained (coherent across the deck, not one firework on the cover).

It can live in any layer:

• Data: one real business figure presented as nobody in the sector presents it (the best kind: it cannot be copied without the business).
• Visual system: a slide treatment, a graphic motif or an owned grid that threads the deck.
• Typography: a display face with character used structurally on every divider.
• Sequence: a narrative device that returns (a counter, a map that completes, a "before" that resolves slide by slide).

Guard: declared in DECK.md BEFORE building and verified in the pre-flight. If you cannot name it in one sentence, it does not exist.

A.10 Output template (DECK.md)

# Deck: [Title] — Client [X] — [purpose: pitch/proposal/report]

## 0. Dials
DENSITY: n | MOTION: n | VARIANCE: n   (deck baseline 3/4/6)

## 1. Format and engine
Aspect: 16:9 | Engine: pptx (html2pptx) / Google Slides / HTML(reveal)
Inherits brand from: [client DESIGN.md | new identity declared below]

## 2. Narrative arc (titles-only test)
[The sequence of title-sentences, read alone, tells the story. List the titles.]

## 3. Signature element (mandatory, exactly one)
**[Name in one sentence]** — [what it is, which layer, why it comes from this content.]
Sustained in: [where it recurs across the deck].

## 4. Palette and typography
- Accent (#XXXXXX) + neutrals | Display: [font] | Body: [font] | Mono: [font]
- Data palette derived from the accent (not rainbow)

## 5. Archetype system
[The 5-8 archetypes to use and when; rotation rule]

## 6. Charts
[Type per data, direct labeling, no chartjunk, data palette]

## 7. Anti-patterns (BANNED)
[List from A.8 adapted to this deck]

PART B — Production directives (by engine)

Rules for generating the real deck. Pick the engine by the requested deliverable.

1. pptx from scratch -> html2pptx. Lay out each slide in HTML with exact positioning and convert. State the design approach BEFORE coding. 16:9, safe margins, content inside the usable area.
2. pptx over a client template -> OOXML/unpack. Read the theme (colors/fonts) and respect the brand; never a foreign theme on top. Edit the XML, do not rebuild.
3. Google Slides -> Slides automation/API. When the client collaborates in Workspace. Same A.2-A.9 rules; make sure the font exists in Google Fonts.
4. HTML/reveal -> reveal.js + antislop-web. Deck-as-page or to project from a browser. Only transform/opacity, prefers-reduced-motion.
5. Speaker notes ALWAYS: detail that does not fit on the slide goes to speaker notes, not the slide. All three engines support it.
6. Verify fonts/deps before use: if the font is not embedded or available in the engine, it falls back to a system font and breaks the brand. Confirm availability.
7. Credible data: organic figures, real names, sources cited in the footer.
8. Re-tokenization: if a client DESIGN.md exists, the deck uses that palette, typography and signature element in deck form. The client must not be able to trace the deck to a template or a recognizable vendor default.

PART C — Pre-flight (quality gate before delivery)

Any failure = not shippable until fixed.

• Titles-only test: read in a row, the title-sentences tell the story (A.2).
• No title + bullets as a mold; no bullet soup; one idea per slide.
• No shell slides (empty Agenda, Thanks/Questions, Intro that asserts nothing).
• Signature element (A.9) present, single, sustained. Name it in one sentence.
• VARIANCE met: archetypes rotate, no single repeated template.
• Per-slide content ceiling respected; detail is in speaker notes.
• Charts without chartjunk, with the deck's data palette and direct labeling (A.6).
• AA contrast over the real background; text over a photo with a scrim; never unreadable.
• Zero A.8 AI tells (cover, icons, SmartArt, copy, stock, numbers).
• Close with ONE concrete action, not "Thanks".
• Everything re-tokenized to the client brand (no vendor default).

Limitations

• It gives form discipline, not a guarantee the argument convinces: content rules.
• One idea per slide can raise the slide count; that is fine, a deck that is dense to read is not a good deck to present. If the deliverable is to be READ, it is a document.
• The defaults (archetypes, tiers) are 2026; check them against the brand and a11y before locking them in.