Presenter Notes Skill
Speaker notes fail at both extremes: the full script (read aloud, killing the delivery it was meant to save — audiences hear reading in one sentence) and the blank pane (winging it, losing the transitions, blowing the timing, garbling the one number that mattered). The working notes are cue-grain: per slide, the point in a phrase, the 2–3 beats in order, and — captured verbatim because paraphrase ruins them — the transitions (deck-narrative-arc thread sentences), the precise numbers with their caveats, and the opening/closing lines. Plus the two things notes are uniquely positioned to hold: timing marks and the Q&A crib.
What This Skill Produces
- The cue notes — per slide: the point-phrase, the beats, the exit line
- The verbatim set — transitions, numbers-with-caveats, the open and the close — the only full sentences allowed
- The timing marks — where the talk should be at T/4, T/2, 3T/4, and the designated skippable slides if behind
- The Q&A crib — the likely questions with answer-beats and appendix pointers (exec-vs-working-deck appendix indexing)
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
- The deck — notes attach to real slides; headline-titled decks (deck-outline-first) half-write their own cues
- The time slot and the stakes — a 10-minute board readout gets tighter marks than a 45-minute training; high-stakes talks earn more verbatim capture
- The presenter's failure mode, honestly — over-scripts and reads? Wings it and rambles? Freezes on numbers? The notes design compensates for the actual person
- The hard questions expected — the crib is built from real anticipated Q&A, not generic
Framework: The Notes Rules
- Cues, not prose: per slide — the point in ≤6 words ("month-two leak, onboarding") + the beats in order ("cohort spike → the two causes → why it's fixable") + the exit line to the next slide. Phrases prompt; sentences get read; the pane's format enforces the difference.
- Verbatim earns its place three ways: the transitions (the thread sentences that carry the arc — paraphrased transitions drop the thread) · the numbers with their exact caveats ("$2.1M, excluding the pilot cohort" — the caveat garbled live becomes a correction email tomorrow) · the open and close (the two moments nerves hit hardest; a memorized-ish first line buys composure for everything after).
- Timing marks are the pacing instrument: the slide numbers where T/4, T/2, 3T/4 should find you — glanceable mid-talk — plus the pre-designated skips ("behind at slide 9 → skip 11–12, the appendix holds them"). Deciding what to cut while presenting cuts the wrong thing every time; the marks pre-decide.
- The Q&A crib rides in the notes: the 5–8 likely questions, each with answer-beats (not essays) and the appendix slide number — "pricing pushback → beats: cohort math, the pilot result → slide 24." The crib converts Q&A from ambush to retrieval.
- Notes are rehearsal artifacts: one full run from the notes — every place the presenter stumbles or ad-libs better than the note, the note updates (runbook-writer stranger-test logic, applied to future-you under stage lights, who is a stranger). Notes never rehearsed are speculation in a smaller font.
Output Format
Presenter Notes: [talk] — [T] min
Per Slide
[#] [headline] — point: [≤6 words] · beats: [1 → 2 → 3] · exit: "[the verbatim transition]"
The Verbatim Set
[Open: "…" · Close + ask: "…" · The numbers with caveats, exact]
Timing Marks
[T/4 @ slide _ · T/2 @ _ · 3T/4 @ _ · behind-plan: skip [slides], say "[the bridge line]"]
Q&A Crib
| Likely question |
Answer beats |
Appendix |
Quality Checks
Anti-Patterns
1---2name: presenter-notes3description: Write presenter notes that actually help mid-talk — cue-grain phrases instead of scripts, the transitions and numbers that deserve verbatim capture, the timing marks that keep the talk on schedule, and the Q&A crib built in. Use when asked write my speaker notes, I either script everything or wing it, what goes in the notes pane, or I keep running over time. Produces the notes at cue grain, the verbatim-worthy lines, the timing marks, and the Q&A crib.4---5
6# Presenter Notes Skill
7
8Speaker notes fail at both extremes: the full script (read aloud, killing the delivery it was meant to save — audiences hear reading in one sentence) and the blank pane (winging it, losing the transitions, blowing the timing, garbling the one number that mattered). The working notes are *cue-grain*: per slide, the point in a phrase, the 2–3 beats in order, and — captured verbatim because paraphrase ruins them — the transitions ([deck-narrative-arc](../deck-narrative-arc/SKILL.md) thread sentences), the precise numbers with their caveats, and the opening/closing lines. Plus the two things notes are uniquely positioned to hold: timing marks and the Q&A crib.
9
10## What This Skill Produces
11
12- **The cue notes** — per slide: the point-phrase, the beats, the exit line
13- **The verbatim set** — transitions, numbers-with-caveats, the open and the close — the only full sentences allowed
14- **The timing marks** — where the talk should be at T/4, T/2, 3T/4, and the designated skippable slides if behind
15- **The Q&A crib** — the likely questions with answer-beats and appendix pointers ([exec-vs-working-deck](../exec-vs-working-deck/SKILL.md) appendix indexing)
16
17## Required Inputs
18
19Ask for these if not provided:
20- **The deck** — notes attach to real slides; headline-titled decks ([deck-outline-first](../deck-outline-first/SKILL.md)) half-write their own cues
21- **The time slot and the stakes** — a 10-minute board readout gets tighter marks than a 45-minute training; high-stakes talks earn more verbatim capture
22- **The presenter's failure mode, honestly** — over-scripts and reads? Wings it and rambles? Freezes on numbers? The notes design compensates for the actual person
23- **The hard questions expected** — the crib is built from real anticipated Q&A, not generic
24
25## Framework: The Notes Rules
26
271. **Cues, not prose:** per slide — the point in ≤6 words ("month-two leak, onboarding") + the beats in order ("cohort spike → the two causes → why it's fixable") + the exit line to the next slide. Phrases prompt; sentences get read; the pane's format enforces the difference.
282. **Verbatim earns its place three ways:** the *transitions* (the thread sentences that carry the arc — paraphrased transitions drop the thread) · the *numbers with their exact caveats* ("$2.1M, excluding the pilot cohort" — the caveat garbled live becomes a correction email tomorrow) · the *open and close* (the two moments nerves hit hardest; a memorized-ish first line buys composure for everything after).
293. **Timing marks are the pacing instrument:** the slide numbers where T/4, T/2, 3T/4 should find you — glanceable mid-talk — plus the pre-designated skips ("behind at slide 9 → skip 11–12, the appendix holds them"). Deciding what to cut *while presenting* cuts the wrong thing every time; the marks pre-decide.
304. **The Q&A crib rides in the notes:** the 5–8 likely questions, each with answer-beats (not essays) and the appendix slide number — "pricing pushback → beats: cohort math, the pilot result → slide 24." The crib converts Q&A from ambush to retrieval.
315. **Notes are rehearsal artifacts:** one full run *from the notes* — every place the presenter stumbles or ad-libs better than the note, the note updates ([runbook-writer](../runbook-writer/SKILL.md) stranger-test logic, applied to future-you under stage lights, who is a stranger). Notes never rehearsed are speculation in a smaller font.
32
33## Output Format
34
35# Presenter Notes: [talk] — [T] min
36
37## Per Slide
38**[#] [headline]** — point: [≤6 words] · beats: [1 → 2 → 3] · exit: "[the verbatim transition]"
39
40## The Verbatim Set
41[Open: "…" · Close + ask: "…" · The numbers with caveats, exact]
42
43## Timing Marks
44[T/4 @ slide _ · T/2 @ _ · 3T/4 @ _ · behind-plan: skip [slides], say "[the bridge line]"]
45
46## Q&A Crib
47| Likely question | Answer beats | Appendix |
48|---|---|---|
49
50## Quality Checks
51
52- [ ] No slide's notes exceed cue grain except the earned verbatim set
53- [ ] Every transition is captured verbatim
54- [ ] Numbers carry their exact caveats
55- [ ] Timing marks and pre-decided skips exist
56- [ ] One full rehearsal ran from these notes and updated them
57
58## Anti-Patterns
59
60- [ ] Do not script the talk — the room hears reading instantly, and forgives it never
61- [ ] Do not paraphrase transitions live — the thread sentences are load-bearing; that's why they're verbatim
62- [ ] Do not improvise cuts when behind — the pre-decided skips exist because live cutting amputates the argument
63- [ ] Do not walk in without the crib — Q&A is the half of the talk you don't control; the crib is its notes
64- [ ] Do not treat notes as private scaffolding exempt from rehearsal — unrehearsed notes fail exactly when needed, which is their only job
Mohit Aggarwal