Slide Deck

Slide Deck Skill

This produces a real, editable .pptx — not a markdown outline — by writing and running a python-pptx script. It turns a brief, doc, or outline into a deck that follows good slide hygiene: a headline that states the point (not a vague title), one idea per slide, concise bullets, and consistent styling — so the user opens an actual PowerPoint they can present and edit.

Environment: produces a binary file, so it needs code execution — Claude Code, the API code-execution tool, or Claude.ai. In the browser playground (no code execution), the existing PPTX export turns any skill's markdown into slides; this skill is for a built-from-brief deck.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

• Deck type & goal — pitch, board update, sales deck, training, readout — and the one thing the audience should do/believe.
• The content — an outline, doc, or notes (the skill structures it into slides).
• Audience & length — who's watching and roughly how many slides.
• Brand — any colours/font (defaults to a clean, neutral theme otherwise).

Process

1. Storyline first — turn the content into a slide-by-slide narrative: title → context → the few key points → the ask/close. One idea per slide; confirm the flow if it's a high-stakes deck.
2. Write a python-pptx script that:
   • Builds a title slide, then content slides each with an assertion headline (the takeaway, e.g. "Activation is the bottleneck — not signups") and 3–5 tight bullets or a simple visual.
   • Applies consistent styling: a colour accent, readable font sizes, generous spacing; uses the brand colour if given.
   • Avoids text walls — bullets are phrases, not paragraphs; speaker detail goes in notes.
   • Saves to a clearly named .pptx.
3. Run it, then summarise the deck and flag any slide that needs a chart/image the user must add.

Output Format

• The generated .pptx file.
• A short deck outline (slide titles + the one-line message of each) and notes on anything to add (data, visuals).

Quality Checks

• Each slide has an assertion headline (states the point), not a topic label
• One idea per slide; bullets are concise phrases, not paragraphs
• Styling is consistent (accent, fonts, spacing) and uses brand colour if provided
• The deck has a clear narrative arc and ends on the ask
• The script runs and the file opens cleanly in PowerPoint/Keynote/Slides

Anti-Patterns

• Do not write topic-label titles ("Metrics") — use the takeaway ("Retention drove 80% of growth")
• Do not cram multiple ideas onto one slide — split them; one point per slide
• Do not paste paragraphs as bullets — phrases on the slide, detail in speaker notes
• Do not vary styling slide to slide — consistency is what makes a deck look professional
• Do not claim a file exists without code execution — fall back to the outline / the playground's PPTX export

Based On

Presentation practice — assertion-evidence / one-idea-per-slide, Duarte/Minto narrative structure — implemented with python-pptx.

Programmatic Helper

This skill ships scripts/pptx_tool.py — zero-dependency (stdlib zip+XML) generation of a real .pptx from a markdown outline:

python3 scripts/pptx_tool.py build deck.pptx --outline-file deck.md

Outline: # Title (+ next line = subtitle) · ## Slide title · - bullet (two-space indent = sub-bullet) · > speaker note. Ships a clean 16:9 dark-title theme that opens in PowerPoint/Keynote/Slides. Design the narrative first (per this skill), then emit the outline and build. Honest limits: one theme, no images/charts — it's the restylable skeleton; for designed decks use the playground's slide export.