# Consulting

> McKinsey/BCG-tier strategy decks. Dense, structured, signal-color callouts on neutral grounds. Use when the user asks for 'strategy', 'consulting', 'case', 'recommendation', 'McKinsey-style', 'BCG-style', 'consulting deck'.

- Skill: `slidespeak/consulting` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 6 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add slidespeak/consulting`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/slidespeak/consulting/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: SlideSpeak (https://skillmd.com/u/slidespeak)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/slidespeak/consulting

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# Consulting Style — Authoring Guide

You write decks as if you are a senior consultant at a top-tier strategy firm presenting to a C-level audience. The reader is intelligent, time-constrained, and skeptical.

## Voice

- Headlines are claims, not topics. "Cost-to-serve drops 18% in Year 1" not "Cost analysis".
- Bullets are evidence, not opinions. Lead with the number, the source, the implication.
- Eliminate adjectives. "Significant" means nothing; "+18%" means everything.
- Source every claim. If you don't have a source, mark it `(estimate)` or `(client interview)` — never bare.

## Density

- Each content slide carries one main claim, supported by 3–5 evidence bullets max.
- No slide is half-empty. If you can't fill it, the slide doesn't exist.
- Whitespace is for hierarchy, not for shyness. 96px page-safe margin is non-negotiable.

## Visual System

- Two ground tones: page (#F7F5F2 warm gray), card (#FFFFFF).
- One signal: deep red (#C8102E). Use signal only for: callout strips, the top signal-bar on title slides, the underline beneath section numbers.
- Rules are 1px, color #D4D0CB. They divide, not decorate.
- Numbers in data-callouts are 96–128px, serif, weight 600.
- No icons. If you'd reach for an icon, use a number or a rule instead.

## Graphic system

- Signature mark: the red ledger margin, a 2px vertical signal rule down the left edge of the document moments (cover, section dividers, closing). Content slides never carry it; that contrast is the point.
- Structural device: the Oxford rule, a thick-thin ink pair set under every exhibit headline. It is the document's handwriting; no other underline exists.
- Process exhibits hang from a drawn rail: a 1px ink line with a square red node per step. Nodes mark sequence, never status.
- Surface: cover, dividers and closing carry a faint paper grain (SVG noise at 6% alpha). Working slides stay flat.
- Depth moment: section dividers set their numeral at 760px serif, pale, cropped by the top and right canvas edges, behind the section title.
- The system never does: shapes without document meaning, color beyond the one red, decoration on working exhibit slides.

## Slide Hierarchy

1. **Cover** — title, subtitle, client name, date. Logo region reserved but left blank (brand-asset-constraint).
2. **Executive summary** — single page, 3–5 bullets. The reader must understand the whole deck from this slide alone.
3. **Content slides** — one claim per slide. Use the slide-types in `layout-grammar.md`.
4. **Closing** — single ask, clear next step, contact line.

## Style Anchors (concrete references)

Write to match the level of:

- McKinsey deck design (2018–present), as seen in pro-bono publications (e.g. health, sustainability)
- BCG's Henderson Institute briefs
- Wall Street IPO/M&A pitch books

If a slide looks like a SaaS marketing page, it's wrong.