Slides deck

Convert ideas into structured, deliverable slide decks

Slides are not documents. One idea per slide. The constraint is a feature, not a bug.

Deck archetypes (determine before writing)

Archetype	Purpose	Structure
Pitch deck	Fundraising or executive buy-in	Problem → Market → Solution → Traction → Ask
Product demo	Show a feature working	Context → Demo flow → Outcome → Next steps
Report / update	Status, data, retrospective	Summary → Data → Insights → Actions
Talk / keynote	Conference or all-hands	Hook → Thesis → 3 points → Call to action
Design review	Critique a design	Objective → Current state → Proposal → Trade-offs

Slide anatomy

Every slide has one job. Ask: "What should the viewer believe or do after this slide?" If the answer is two things, split the slide.

TITLE     — the claim (not the topic). "Revenue grew 43%" not "Q2 Revenue"
BODY      — the evidence for the claim (one paragraph, one chart, or one list)
TAKEAWAY  — optional; the one-sentence so-what if it isn't obvious

Output formats

Format	Use case
Markdown slides	Marp or Slidev; deliverable as .md; in version control
Reveal.js HTML	Self-contained; shareable as a URL; no install
Structured outline	For the user to paste into their own tool (Google Slides, Keynote, PowerPoint)

Default: Markdown slides (Marp format) unless the user specifies otherwise.

Marp frontmatter (standard)

---
marp: true
theme: default
paginate: true
footer: "Company · Deck Title · Month Year"
---

Slides separated by ---. Speaker notes after <!-- on a blank line below the slide.

Pitch deck structure (12 slides)

1. Title — company name + one-line value prop + date
2. Problem — the specific pain; quantify it
3. Solution — what you do; one sentence
4. Demo / Product — screenshot or flow; show don't tell
5. Market — TAM/SAM/SOM or specific segment size with source
6. Business model — how you make money; unit economics if available
7. Traction — the best metric you have; growth rate preferred
8. Competition — honest 2×2 or table; say why you win
9. Team — relevant prior experience only; no fluff
10. Roadmap — 12-month milestones; tied to the ask
11. Financials — 3-year projection; key assumptions
12. Ask — specific amount; use of funds; timeline

Steps

1. Determine archetype. Ask if not obvious from context.
2. Gather inputs. Key message, audience, time limit (slides × 2 min is a rough guideline), any existing content.
3. Outline first. One line per slide, in order. Confirm the flow makes a logical argument before writing content.
4. Write slides. One claim per slide. Titles are claims, not topics. Cut any slide whose removal wouldn't weaken the argument.
5. Add speaker notes. 3–5 sentences per slide; the detail the audience gets verbally; not a transcript.
6. Format and export. Apply consistent heading hierarchy, spacing, and brand colours if provided.
7. Verify. Read the title of every slide in sequence — they should form a coherent summary of the argument without looking at the body.

Review checklist

• One idea per slide — no slide makes two separate claims.
• Titles are claims — "Revenue grew 43%" not "Revenue".
• Speaker notes present on every substantive slide.
• Deck tells a story without body copy — title sequence is a coherent argument.
• No wall-of-text slides — body ≤ 5 bullet points or 1 chart or 1 short paragraph.
• Ask/CTA explicit — the last slide states what you want the audience to do.

Rules

• Title = claim, not topic. This is the single most impactful change you can make to most decks.
• Cut slides ruthlessly — a 10-slide deck that lands beats a 40-slide deck that exhausts.
• Speaker notes are for the speaker, not a transcript — never read notes verbatim.