nicknisi Conference Talk Builder
Transform brain dumps, transcripts, or raw ideas into structured conference talk scripts using narrative frameworks and Nick Nisi's voice.
The output is a talk script — a narrative outline with slide-by-slide content plan, speaker notes, and timing guidance. It is deliberately tool-agnostic: feed the script into Slidev, Gamma, iA Presenter, Keynote, or whatever you use to build the actual slides.
Process
Stage 0: Entry Path
Determine how the user is starting:
From scratch — They have a topic but no material yet. Go to Stage 1.
From a brain dump — They have scattered notes, bullet points, ideas. Go to Stage 1 and use their material as the starting input.
From a transcript — They have a recording transcript, prior talk, or existing outline. Go to Stage 1-T.
From feedback — They have an existing talk script from a prior session and want to revise. Skip to Stage 4.
Stage 1: Information Gathering
Ask the user for (skip what they've already provided):
- Talk title (working title is fine)
- Topic — what's the talk about?
- Target audience — conference attendees, meetup crowd, internal team, workshop participants?
- Audience knowledge level — beginner, intermediate, expert, mixed?
- Duration — lightning (5 min), standard (20-30 min), extended (45+ min)?
- Main points they want to cover
- The story — what problem are they solving, what journey did they take, what do they want the audience to walk away with?
- Code density — is this code-heavy, concept-heavy, or balanced?
- Constraints — specific technologies, company context, anything off-limits?
- Brain dump — everything they know about the topic, unorganized is fine
Don't require all of this upfront. Ask for what's missing after the first pass.
Stage 1-T: Transcript Analysis
When working from existing material:
- Read the provided transcript or outline
- Extract: key themes, narrative arc (if any), main arguments, examples, audience assumptions
- Identify gaps — what's missing for a complete talk?
- Summarize what you found and ask the user to fill gaps
- Proceed to Stage 2 with the extracted material
Stage 2: Narrative Framework Selection
Read references/framework-guide.md for the full selection algorithm.
Quick-match shortcuts (covers ~80% of talks):
- Personal journey / "I solved X" → Story Circle
- Teaching a concept → The Spiral or Socratic Path
- "Here's what went wrong" → In Medias Res or Reverse Chronology
- Tool/approach comparison → The Rashomon or Converging Ideas
- Vision / persuasion → The Sparkline
- Absurd complexity → Kafkaesque Labyrinth or Catch-22
- Recurring pain → Sisyphean Arc
- Myth-busting → The False Start or Comedian's Set
Run the scoring algorithm from the framework guide using the user's inputs (tone, duration, audience, topic type, code density). Present the top 2 recommendations with a brief sketch of how the talk maps to each framework's structure. Let the user choose or suggest alternatives.
Once a framework is selected, read only that framework's reference file from references/frameworks/. Do not preload all twenty-two.
Stage 3: Build the Talk Script
Read references/voice-tone.md to calibrate Nick's presentation voice.
Then calibrate against recent talks:
- If the user has given prior talks or published slides, reference those for voice calibration
- Note patterns that differ from blog writing — talks are more casual, use more humor, and rely on rhythm and pacing
Structure the talk script as a markdown document with:
Header
# [Talk Title]
**Duration**: [target length]
**Audience**: [who and what level]
**Framework**: [selected framework]
**Slide count target**: [based on duration — see framework reference]
## Narrative Arc
[2-3 sentence summary of the story arc using the framework's structure]
Slide-by-slide Content Plan
For each slide:
### Slide N: [Descriptive Title]
**Framework phase**: [which step/act of the framework this maps to]
**Key visual**: [what should be on the slide — a code block, image, diagram, list, quote, or just a heading]
**On screen**: [the actual text/content the audience sees]
**Speaker notes**: [what you say while this slide is up — written in Nick's voice]
**Transition**: [how this connects to the next slide]
Appendix
## Resources
[Links, references, further reading for the closing slide]
## Timing Guide
[Rough time allocation per framework phase]
Stage 4: Refine and Iterate
After presenting the talk script:
- Ask if the narrative arc feels right
- Check if any sections need expansion or compression
- Verify code examples are appropriately scoped
- Confirm the story flows — does each transition feel natural?
- Check pacing against duration target
Voice check: Re-read references/voice-tone.md and scan the speaker notes for:
- Does it sound conversational, not scripted?
- Is there vulnerability where appropriate?
- Are there specific details (tool names, numbers, real examples)?
- Is humor self-aware, not forced?
- Would Nick actually say this on stage?
Iterate based on feedback. The talk script is the deliverable — the user takes it to their slide tool of choice.
Key Principles
Tell a Story: You don't need to be an expert. Focus on how you approached a problem and solved it. The journey is more interesting than the destination.
One Idea Per Slide: Each slide earns its place by advancing exactly one concept. If you need a bullet list longer than 3-4 items, split across slides.
Show, Don't Tell: Code examples, diagrams, screenshots, and demos are more memorable than bullet points. But break complex code across multiple slides.
Pacing Matters: Vary the rhythm. Dense technical slides need breathing room — follow them with a simple visual or a moment of humor. Speaker notes should indicate pace changes.
Make Follow-up Easy: End with a memorable URL, QR code, or handle linking to slides and resources.
Engage the Audience: Use questions. Make eye contact. The speaker notes should include audience interaction cues where appropriate.
Bundled Resources
References
references/voice-tone.md— Nick's voice and tone guide. Read this to calibrate speaker notes and talk style.references/framework-guide.md— Framework selection algorithm with scoring matrix. Read this in Stage 2.
Narrative frameworks (read only the selected one — do not preload all twenty-two):
Foundational:
references/frameworks/three-act.md— Setup, confrontation, resolution in three clean beatsreferences/frameworks/freytags-pyramid.md— Five-phase arc with rising action, climax, and falling actionreferences/frameworks/story-circle.md— Eight-step hero's journey for personal transformation arcsreferences/frameworks/kishotenketsu.md— Four-act twist without conflict — recontextualize, don't confront
Existential:
references/frameworks/sisyphean-arc.md— Recurring struggle reframed as meaningful through persistencereferences/frameworks/kafkaesque-labyrinth.md— Navigating absurd bureaucratic or systemic complexityreferences/frameworks/existential-awakening.md— Radical freedom and the weight of choosing your toolsreferences/frameworks/strangers-report.md— Detached observational analysis of a system's contradictions
Absurdist:
references/frameworks/the-waiting.md— Meaning found in the space where nothing happensreferences/frameworks/the-metamorphosis.md— Waking up to discover everything has fundamentally changedreferences/frameworks/catch-22.md— Circular logic and no-win constraints in systemsreferences/frameworks/comedians-set.md— Setup-punchline rhythm with callbacks and escalating bits
Non-linear:
references/frameworks/in-medias-res.md— Open mid-action, then rewind to explainreferences/frameworks/the-spiral.md— Revisit the same concept at increasing depth each passreferences/frameworks/the-rashomon.md— Same event from multiple perspectivesreferences/frameworks/reverse-chronology.md— Start with the outcome and work backward
Rhetorical:
references/frameworks/the-sparkline.md— Alternate between "what is" and "what could be"references/frameworks/nested-loops.md— Layer stories inside stories, resolve in reverse orderreferences/frameworks/the-petal.md— Multiple independent stories supporting one central thesisreferences/frameworks/converging-ideas.md— Separate threads that merge into a single conclusionreferences/frameworks/the-false-start.md— Begin with conventional approach, reveal why it failsreferences/frameworks/socratic-path.md— Drive through questions the audience is already asking
Example Workflow
User: "I want to create a talk about how we migrated our monolith to TypeScript"
- Stage 0: Brain dump — they have experience but no structure. Go to Stage 1.
- Stage 1: Gather details — audience is conference (intermediate), 30 min, code-heavy, story of a migration journey.
- Stage 2: Run framework scoring. Top picks: Story Circle (journey/transformation, high code affinity) and The Spiral (can revisit migration patterns at increasing depth). User picks Story Circle.
- Stage 3: Read
references/frameworks/story-circle.mdandreferences/voice-tone.md. Map the migration to the 8 steps:- You: Current JS monolith, team shipping features
- Need: Type safety issues causing production bugs
- Go: Research TypeScript, propose migration
- Search: Pilot conversion on one module, learn the hard way
- Find: Incremental migration strategy with strict mode
- Take: Third-party library types, team resistance
- Return: Full codebase migration complete
- Change: 40% fewer runtime errors, team converts to TS advocates
- Generate slide-by-slide talk script (~25-30 slides) with speaker notes in Nick's voice.
- Stage 4: Iterate — user says the "Search" section is too long, compress. Add a humor beat after the "Take" section. Done.
The user then takes this script to Slidev, Gamma, or whatever tool they prefer.