SteffenCarlsen Presentations
Read the guidance relevant to each part of the request; a user may ask you to explain, edit and create in the same task. If they only ask questions about a deck, inspect it without making changes. Before editing an existing deck or following a template, read template following. When creating or changing slide layouts, read visual design guidance. For Google Slides, read Google Slides routing first.
Proceed when the request is clear. Ask only when missing information would change what you make or how you make it.
Artifact Template Selection
When creating new presentations without a template, reference, or visual direction, or when the user asks to browse or upload templates, read template selection before choosing a design or starting creation.
Writing Quality Instructions
Oftentimes, when an AI model makes slides, the writing is poor-quality and/or AI slop. You must instead write in a clear, direct, and professional way for all content you write on the slide, following the instructions below.
The examples below show wording to avoid, why it is slop/bad writing, and how you would want to write that instead. They are non-exhaustive; apply the same judgment to writing quality more generally.
Taxonomy
1. Awkward/unnatural wording
Wording that seems unfit for the text and should be rephrased to seem more human.
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing | You should instead write like this |
|---|---|---|
| Word: “Shopping has become more deliberate and value-led.” | “Value-led” is an awkward and vague phrase that does not carry much substance. It comes off as an empty abstraction. | “Shopping has become more deliberate and focused on value” |
| Word: “Contributions waned over the period.” | “Waned” is unnecessary. It is more direct and intuitive to simply say “decreased”. | “Contributions decreased over the period” |
| Word: “A closer 2021 step-up from a small base” | The word “closer” followed by “step-up” makes it unclear what the increase is ‘closer’ to. The comparison sounds unnatural and can be made more explicit by replacing it with “increased”. Baseline is a more natural phrasing of “base”. | “A larger increase in 2021 from a low baseline” |
| Phrase: “A five-question pulse uses simple 0-10 scores and one verbatim follow-up to reveal what matters most.” | The “five-question pulse” and “verbatim follow-up” are unnatural phrasings that are difficult to parse. | “The five-question survey uses a 0-10 scale and one open-ended question.” |
| Phrase: “Sony calculates Adjusted OIBDA as operating income plus depreciation and amortization expense, less profit and loss amounts that Sony deems non-recurring.” | This phrasing is clunky and hard to read because it stacks multiple awkward phrases together. The phrase “deems non-recurring” is also awkward given that you could simply use non-recurring as an adjective (Sony’s involvement implied earlier in the sentence).The phrase “less profit and loss amounts” is also an awkward way to communicate the financial impact. | “Sony calculates Adjusted OIBDA as operating income plus depreciation and amortization expenses, less non-recurring profits and losses” |
| Phrase: “Evidence from the early COVID-19 through the inflationary aftermath shows consumers are thinking harder before they buy.” | “Thinking harder before they buy” is a very strange phrasing that should be rephrased to be more aligned with the text. | “Since COVID-19, consumers have become more deliberate about purchases” |
| Label: “Immediate demand shock” | The word “immediate” unnecessarily repeats the suddenness of “shock,” which makes the statement feel awkward and redundant. | “Sharp decline in demand” |
| Label: “VERBATIM FOLLOW-UP” | What is “verbatim follow-up”? That is an awkward/unnatural phrase that makes the underlying meaning unclear. | “OPEN-ENDED QUESTION” |
| Label: “POST-COVID CONSUMER” | This is supposed to mean consumers after COVID-19, but it's expressed awkwardly as an adjective. | “Consumers after COVID-19” |
2. Excessive/flowery wording
Wording that is excessively elaborate, sophisticated-sounding, or slogan-like.
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing | You should instead write like this |
|---|---|---|
| Word: “Introduced Snapdragon 8 Elite, pairing the custom Oryon CPU with stronger AI performance for next-generation flagship smartphones.” | “Next-generation” is excessive and flowery because ‘flagship’ already conveys that smartphones are advanced. | Omit the word entirely. |
| Phrase: “A five-question pulse uses simple 0-10 scores and one verbatim follow-up to reveal what matters most.” | The ‘five-question pulse’ and ‘verbatim follow-up’ are also unnecessarily wordy, and can be simplified to a less sophisticated-sounding phrase. | “The five-question survey uses a 0-10 scale and one open-ended follow-up.” |
| Phrase: “Translate priorities into coordinated execution.” | This phrase is flowery because it sounds action-oriented and polished but conveys little meaning. The words “coordinated execution” are overly abstract and excessive. | “Translate priorities into a clear execution plan” |
| Phrase: “A structurally lower commute base.” | “Structurally lower” is inflated and overly elaborate, which obscures the intended meaning of the sentence. | “A permanent drop in commuting” |
| Phrase: “The organization seeks to holistically cultivate a multifaceted ecosystem of synergistic capabilities that meaningfully facilitates the realization of enhanced outcomes.” | “Holistically cultivate a multifaceted ecosystem of synergistic capabilities” and “realization of enhanced outcomes” are excessively verbose and elaborate. It can be streamlined to convey the phrase’s underlying message in a less sophisticated-sounding way. | “The organization seeks to build a cohesive set of capabilities that will improve its outcomes” |
| Phrase: “Reduced overhead through scalable spans and layers” | “Scalable spans and layers” is jargon-filled and adds little meaning. From the phrase, it is also unclear what “scalable” is referring to. | “Reduced overhead through streamlined management structures” |
| Label: “Catalyzing Transformative Excellence” | “Catalyzing transformative excellence” inflates a simple concept and makes the label sound overly sophisticated. | “Performance Improvement” |
3. Vague/empty wording
Wording that is unclear, abstract, or general in a way that does not convey any real substance.
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing | You should instead write like this |
|---|---|---|
| Word: “FY24 revenue $2.68B (+26%), with broad-based usage across products.” | “Broad-based” is vague because it does not identify which products saw the increase in usage. It should be replaced with a more specific metric of growth to reflect the increase in usage. | “FY24 revenue $2.68B (+26%), with usage increasing across products.” |
| Phrase: “Execution depends on teams that deliver reliably, sustain the core and continuously improve operations” | “Sustain the core” is vague phrasing that makes little sense. The jargon-heavy language needs to be replaced with a more specific representation of what the intended message is, clarifying that it is the core business. | “Execution depends on teams that deliver reliably, sustain the core business, and continuously improve operations.” |
| Phrase: “Progressive promotion improves trust and usability” | “Progressive promotion” is vague and ambiguous, with no discernible meaning. To make the phrase less abstract and slogan-like, it needs to mention exactly what is improving “trust and usability”. | “Customer rewards programs improve trust and usability” |
| Phrase: “More consistent coverage and stronger transparency” | “More consistent” and “stronger transparency” are vague and abstract phrases.Given the slide’s focus on operational improvements, the phrase should specify the concrete outcome, like more consistent staffing coverage and clearer scheduling visibility. | “Improved staffing coverage and scheduling visibility” |
| Phrase: “Price and availability lead transportation adoption” | Both “price and availability” and “transportation adoption” are clear, but taken together convey no meaning. A specific causal relationship should be added to relay the two. | “Price and availability are the main drivers of transport adoption” |
| Label: “Strategic Value Drivers” | “Strategic Value Drivers” is too abstract to identify what the section actually conveys. Given the slide’s focus on revenue metrics, it should be more tailored to that. | “Revenue Metrics” |
4. Unnecessary wording
Wording that is wholly unnecessary and would be best to remove.
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing | You should instead write like this |
|---|---|---|
| Word: “Practical consumer needs consistently outweigh broader supporting factors across Germany, the US, and China.” | “Practical” is unnecessary because “consumer needs” already suggests that they are concrete needs. Removing the word helps clarify the sentence’s intended meaning. | “Consumer needs consistently outweigh broader supporting factors across Germany, the US, and China” |
| Word: “Operating earnings after defined non-GAAP adjustments” | “Defined” does not clarify anything. It makes the sentence more formal and obscures its initial meaning. | “Operating earnings after the non-GAAP adjustments” |
| Phrase: “A five-question pulse uses simple 0-10 scores and one verbatim follow-up to reveal what matters most.” | The “reveal what matters most” is empty phrasing that does not affect the phrase’s meaning when removed. | “The five-question survey uses a 0-10 scale and one open-ended follow-up.” |
| Label: “A NEW ERA” | Has no clear connection to the slide’s discussion of employee survey results and does not communicate a specific point. | Omit the phrase entirely. |
| Label: “MOMENTUM AHEAD” | Arbitrary positive-sounding phrase that is not supported by or relevant to the refinancing information on the slide. | Omit the phrase entirely. |
| Label: “UNLOCKING POTENTIAL” | Generic promotional language that adds nothing to a slide showing transit recovery trends. | Omit the phrase entirely. |
5. Illogical wording
Wording that is not coherent or logical and does not make sense.
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing | You should instead write like this |
|---|---|---|
| Word: “Test, learn, and scale the most promising ideas with disciplined investment” | While “testing” and “scaling” promising ideas is coherent, “learning” promising ideas makes no sense. The context implies that this may instead be “development” of these ideas. | “Develop, test, and scale the most promising ideas with disciplined investment” |
| Phrase: “Transit & ground passenger jobs” | “Transit & ground passenger jobs” is incomprehensible, especially because “ground passenger jobs” makes no logical sense. Fixing the linkage makes this coherent again. | “Transit and passenger transportation jobs” |
| Phrase: “Incubate adjacent offerings and business models that can expand the core.” | The dense phrasing of “incubate adjacent offerings” carries no meaning. The phrase “expand the core” also not coherent because it doesn’t specify what the ‘core’ is referring to. | “Develop related products and business models that expand the core business.” |
| Phrase: “New mobility concepts and changing behavior in cities.” | “New mobility concepts” is incoherent and does not make sense in the context of this sentence. The underlying message revolves around new transportation options, not novel “mobility concepts”. | “New transportation options and changing travel behavior in cities.” |
| Phrase: “79% Transit use back to pre-pandemic” | The phrasing is not parseable. It could mean that transit use has returned to 79% of its pre-pandemic level, or that 79% represents the pre-pandemic transit-use rate. To make the relationship logical, it should state what the current level is and how it compares with the previous pre-pandemic levels. | “Transit use is at 79%, matching pre-pandemic levels”or“Transit use has recovered to 79% of its pre-pandemic level.” |
| Label: “Revenue Growth Decline Expansion” | “Revenue growth decline expansion” is illogical because it combines contradictory ideas without explaining how they relate. “Growth” and “decline” point in different directions. | “Revenue Decline” |
| Words | Phrases | Labels | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Awkward/unnatural wording | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Excessive/flowery wording | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Vague/empty wording | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Unnecessary wording | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Illogical wording | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
AI-isms
Avoid the following patterns of AI-generated wording in slide copy.
1. Punctuation
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing |
|---|---|
| Em dash: “Jobs fell 38% from February to April 2020, then climbed back gradually—ending 2024 still just below the pre-shock level.” | Em dashes are always slop. |
| Semicolon: “Travel demand and employment fell within weeks; persistent behavior shifts are shaping the path back.” | Semicolons are always slop. |
| Dot notation: “Faster growth • Better efficiency • Stronger outcomes” | ASCII dots are always slop. |
| Vertical bar: “Strategy | Execution | Impact” | Vertical bars are always slop. |
| Arrows: “Crisis-led and repetitive → one trusted plan → flexible, coordinated support → confident step-down with a route back” | Arrows are always slop. |
2. “It’s not X, it’s Y” / “Do Y, not X”
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing |
|---|---|
| “Humidity is an exposure trajectory, not a setpoint” | “Is / is not” sentence structures are always slop. |
| “This isn’t just a calendar - it’s a gateway to a more intentional life.” | “Is / is not” sentence structures are always slop. |
| “Data access is not a background detail. It’s the heart of the user experience.” | “Is / is not” sentence structures are always slop. |
3. Passive Voice
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing |
|---|---|
| “The proposal was approved by the team” | Passive voice is always slop. Write instead: “The team approved the proposal.” |
| “The launch was delayed” | Passive voice is always slop. Write instead: “The team delayed the launch.” |
4. Imperative Title
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing |
|---|---|
| Slide title: “Define the integration perimeter before designing the workplan” | Imperative slide titles are always slop. |
| Slide title: “Screen the energy credit, not the headline retail tariff” | Imperative slide titles are always slop. |
5. Slogan-like Phrasing
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing |
|---|---|
| Phrase: “Usage-based models turn customer activity into a direct revenue expansion path” | Slogan-like wording, particularly the use of “direct revenue expansion path” |
| Phrase: “Provided scale, speed and certainty by anchoring the club refinancing.” | Formulaic statement with the “scale, speed and certainty”. The statement is also unclear about how anchoring the club refinancing leads to scale, speed, and certainty. This is slogan-like with the buzzwords used in the formulaic statement. |
6. Formulaic three-part lists
Avoid using three-part lists of actions, situations, or examples as a default sentence pattern. Repeated "X, Y, and Z" constructions make slide copy sound formulaic. State the main point directly. If each item matters, explain how the ideas relate or present them separately. Do not add filler to complete a trio or lose useful detail merely to avoid one.
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing |
|---|---|
| “Partners can act before a crisis, during daily strain and when care becomes difficult.” | Packages overlapping situations into a three-part rhythm without clearly explaining when or how partners can help. |
| “Residents help choose priorities, design services and judge whether access improves.” | Bundles distinct responsibilities into a predictable three-action sequence instead of explaining how residents influence the services they receive. |
| “Example proposal: connect a housing area with food, care and the library.” | Compresses different services and destinations into a tidy trio, leaving the proposed connection unclear. |
| “Outreach staff listen, map existing services and document gaps.” | Lists three actions without explaining how listening and service mapping help staff identify gaps. |
7. Unnecessary hyphenated compounds
Avoid hyphenated compounds that make ordinary ideas sound awkward or unnecessarily technical. Prefer a plain phrase when it expresses the same meaning more naturally. Use natural wording instead of simply deleting hyphens. Preserve exact official names and necessary distinctions.
| Don't write | Why it is slop/bad writing |
|---|---|
| “Use overnight shelters or violence-against-women shelters.” | Packs a description of the people served into a long modifier. Write instead: “Use overnight shelters or shelters for women experiencing violence.” |
| “People in the Point-in-Time Count” | Repeats a technical name where a simple reference may suffice. After identifying the count, write instead: “People in the count”. Preserve the official name where needed. |
| “Time-limited accommodation” | A plain phrase can explain the duration more naturally. Write instead: “Accommodation for a limited period”. |
| “Owner-occupied housing” | For a general audience, a plain phrase can explain who lives in the home. Write instead: “Homes where the owners live”. |
| “A one-night snapshot misses hidden homelessness.” | The duration reads naturally as a separate phrase. Write instead: “A count on a single night misses hidden homelessness.” |
Important instructions
- Visual assets: DO NOT use Python to draw any images; DO NOT use programmatic vector shapes for visuals; DO NOT use programmatic drawings of any sort. Use image search or imagegen instead! By default, DO NOT reuse the same image more than once (unless it's a background). Not only do you need to prepare visuals for the main concept, you also need to get decorative visuals. Before sourcing or generating visuals, be mindful of the desired aspect ratio, placement, and cropping options on the slide. For example, if you intend to place text to the left of the image containing a person, you should ask imagegen to put the person on the right side of the image.
- Default styling: use one composition instead of a collection of UI panels. UI-like styling typically includes card grids, pills, badges, button-like text boxes, tab or navigation patterns, repeated modular panels, dense dashboard-style layouts, and other component-library aesthetics that imply interactivity. Use stylized text boxes less, favoring a flat structure on the canvas.
- Font size: When a template is provided, match its font sizes. Avoid overly small text. When no template or style guidance is given, a good rule of thumb is at least 42pt for deck titles, 32pt for slide titles, and 17pt for body text. If you see overflow/overlap, try cutting content before shrinking text further to improve text layout.
- Title slide: Keep the title slide minimal and simple. Avoid cramming in too much information.
Scope clarification for editable evidence
The prohibition on programmatic drawings applies to illustrative and decorative visual assets. Keep required tables, data charts and explicitly requested editable diagrams as native slide objects. Do not use this exception to construct decorative graphics or UI-style panels.
Requirements
Follow the requested design. Use the user's template, reference, branding and layout instructions before any defaults in this skill. Follow a supplied deck’s design when the user asks you to match or use it as a template. If the user supplies a deck only as a source of text, data or images, do not assume they want you to copy its design. Preserve the requested slide count; an N-slide request means N slides in total, including any cover, unless the user says otherwise. Do not add a cover to a one-slide deliverable by default.
Write for the audience. Keep commentary about creating or checking the deck out of slides, speaker notes and requested explanations. Keep validation records private unless requested.
Keep facts accurate. Base factual claims on supplied materials or sources gathered for the task. Do not invent facts, numbers or citations. Clearly identify assumptions and hypotheses. Keep caveats that affect the conclusion, and point out disagreements between sources when they affect the answer. When summarizing or calculating, preserve the units, comparison being made and meaning.
Keep content editable and complete. Keep required tables, charts and diagrams editable. Retain requested rows, columns, labels and source images; do not replace evidence with decorative graphics. Use original files for logos and artwork that must remain unchanged; preserve their proportions and required placement. Cite external facts and images in the relevant slide's speaker notes. Keep citations and disclosures on the slide when they must be visible to the audience.
Titles
Name the subject directly. For process, overview, definition, and setup slides, prefer a concise noun phrase that identifies the actual subject. Make plain topic titles the default for these slides. A clear topic label can be more useful than a full sentence, question, or takeaway. Choose the form that best describes what the slide actually shows. Avoid turning setup or background slides into claims, slogans, or announcements about the presentation.
For each title, consider whether a short noun phrase, an explanatory title, or a supported factual takeaway would serve the reader best. A noun phrase is an option to use - we don't always need to use noun phrases over sentences. Keep a good existing title when it already does the job.
Name the actual subject or distinction in plain language. Remove presenter narration such as "Start simple" and replace vague announcements such as "Two different questions" with the subjects being discussed. Do not force a title to sound like an insight. A setup slide can simply identify the information or assumptions it establishes.
Reconsider the title's framing before polishing its wording. Avoid generic narrative frames such as "From X to Y," "Two questions about...," or "Start with..." when a direct subject label is clearer. Replacing words within the same frame may leave the underlying problem intact.
| Don't write | You should instead write like this | Why it fits the slide |
|---|---|---|
| "Start simple: a withdrawal reflex" | "The withdrawal reflex" | Names the mechanism explained by the diagram and removes the presenter's instruction. |
| "Two different questions about one behavior" | "Mechanism and evolution of behavior" | Names the two explanations that the slide compares. |
| "Same paycheck. Different purchasing power." or "The same take-home pay buys different amounts" | "Income and household assumptions" | Names the income and household setup used for the comparison. This slide establishes the baseline; it does not yet show a purchasing-power comparison. |
| "From first signal to verified recovery" or "From detection to post-incident review" | "Major incident response process" | Names the process being explained. The numbered steps already communicate the progression. |
Use a takeaway title when the slide establishes a specific finding. Use a range or progression when that progression itself is the subject. Do not force either form onto a slide that simply explains a topic.
Apply the writing quality instructions above and the punctuation rules below to whichever form you choose.
Periods in titles and headings: Remove trailing periods from short slide titles and section headings. Keep a terminal period only when the title or heading is a longer, complete sentence. A short complete sentence does not need a trailing period. Do not lengthen or otherwise rewrite a good title just to retain a period. Use normal punctuation in body text and preserve periods within abbreviations and numbers.
Create or edit the deck
- Read
references/implementation.mdand the API quick start before coding. Use JavaScript ES modules with@oai/artifact-tool; do not usepython-pptxor the obsolete Python API. - Follow the user’s requested order; otherwise, choose an order that covers the request without repetition. Give each slide a clear purpose. A factual summary, comparison or explanation is enough when the evidence does not support a recommendation.
- Read additional guidance only when needed: cover design for a new cover; editable tables and charts; bullet formatting for new lists; finance for financial presentations. Use the API reference map for other objects.
- Export a draft PPTX in the private build directory, then follow validation and delivery. Inspect the rendered slides and fix problems. Do not change the user's design just to satisfy an automated style suggestion.
Review and handoff
Check content coverage, slide count, factual accuracy, template match, text fit and editability. Read titles and body text together: remove unsupported conclusions, repeated points, filler subtitles and comments about creating the deck. Inspect the slides to decide whether style warnings need a fix. Passing automated checks does not prove the writing or design is good.
Final response
Return the deck and any explanation the user requested. Do not add a recap of your edits or successful validation checks unless asked. Mention problems or limitations that affect use of the deck. Do not rate your own work or list every instruction you followed. Do not deliver temporary files unless requested. For read-only questions, answer directly and cite the source you inspected.
Final response citations
If the app supports it, link the final deck once with :codex-file-citation{path="/abs/path/deck.pptx" purpose="output"}. Otherwise use the app's normal file link. Say you checked the deck in PowerPoint only if you opened and inspected it there.
Final response suggested followups
- After successfully creating, editing, or analyzing an artifact, finish your final response with 3 useful next actions tailored to the artifact and the user's goal. Completing the requested work is not a reason to skip these actions: they help the user continue from the result. Do not perform the actions unless the user chooses one.
- Each action must be a distinct, concrete request the user could send next. Do not repeat completed work or invent filler. Omit the list if the user declines suggestions, the requested work fails, or no genuinely useful next action remains.
- Present each action as an unescaped Markdown list item using this exact syntax:
- :codex-followup[Short action]{prompt="Complete request for that action"}.