Phase 1: Intent Distillation — Detail

The Art of Asking

Ask each question individually. Wait for the answer before asking the next. Never present multiple questions in a single message — see the interaction-rules steering rule.

Use AskUserQuestion for structured choices when the vault provides a finite set of options (mode, profanity register, commercial intent, yes/no confirmations). Use conversational text for open-ended questions ("Tell me about the audience") — but still one at a time.

Question order (ask about what's missing, skip what's already known):

1. Purpose & thesis (the "what" and "why")
2. Audience & venue specifics (the "who" and "where")
3. Constraints & preferences (the "how" and "how not")

Concrete examples:

AskUserQuestion(
  question: "Which presentation mode fits this talk?",
  options: [
    {label: "Slide-driven polemic (Recommended)", description: "Your default — opinionated thesis with visual evidence"},
    {label: "Live-coding with slides", description: "Demo-heavy with supporting slides"},
    {label: "Panel / fireside chat", description: "Conversational, minimal slides"}
  ])
→ wait for answer →

AskUserQuestion(
  question: "What profanity register for JCON Europe?",
  options: [
    {label: "Moderate — damn/hell (Recommended)", description: "Your vault default"},
    {label: "Clean — no profanity", description: "Corporate or family audience"},
    {label: "Unrestricted", description: "Anything goes"}
  ])
→ wait for answer →

"Any venue-specific context I should know about JCON Europe?"
→ wait for answer →

AskUserQuestion(
  question: "Any commercial intent for this talk?",
  options: [
    {label: "None (Recommended)", description: "Pure thought leadership"},
    {label: "Subtle", description: "Product woven into narrative"},
    {label: "Direct", description: "Explicit product pitch"}
  ])
→ wait for answer →

AskUserQuestion(
  question: "Generated slug: 2026-06-23-jcon-robocoders — confirm?",
  options: [
    {label: "Looks good (Recommended)", description: "Use this slug for shownotes and QR"},
    {label: "I want to adjust", description: "Let me edit the slug"}
  ])

Use the vault to inform questions. If the topic overlaps with existing talks in the vault, reference them: "This overlaps with your [talk name] territory. Should we build on that argument or take a different angle?"

Co-Presented Talks

If the spec has a co-presenter:

• Identify who owns which expertise domain
• Determine the role split: provocateur/depth, alternating sections, or parallel tracks
• Clarify whose deck/template to use (default: the vault speaker's template)
• Determine how handoffs work (verbal cue, slide type change, both)
• Use [SPEAKER A]: / [SPEAKER B]: prefixes in all speaker notes throughout the outline

Shownotes Slug Generation

The slug is NOT free-form — read shownotes_slug_convention from the speaker profile config. Apply the convention to this talk's details. Example convention:

Convention: {YYYY-MM-DD}-{conference-slug}-{talk-short-name}
Input:      2026-04-16, DevNexus, "Robocoders: Judgment Day"
Result:     2026-04-16-devnexus-robocoders-judgment-day

Rules:

• Derive the slug mechanically from the convention + talk metadata (date, conference, title). NEVER invent or freestyle a slug.
• Kebab-case, lowercase, no special characters.
• Present the generated slug to the author for confirmation before finalizing the spec. The author may want to abbreviate or adjust.
• If shownotes_slug_convention is not set in the profile, ask the author for their convention and save it (same as any missing config field).

The confirmed slug goes into the Presentation Spec as Shownotes slug: and is persisted in presentation-spec.md. All downstream uses (Phase 6 shownotes URL, QR code --talk-slug, directory name) must use this exact slug.

Spec Validation

Before presenting the spec, cross-check:

• Does the thesis pass the "one sentence" test?
• Does the time slot match the content ambition?
• Is the mode selection consistent with the audience?
• Are there contradictions? (e.g., "zero profanity" + "heavy meme density" — flag it)
• If co-presented: is the role split clear? Does each presenter have enough airtime?

When Adapting Existing Talks

Pre-fill the spec from the vault's analysis of the original talk:

1. Read the original talk's entry in the tracking database
2. Read its analysis file from {vault_root}/analyses/
3. Pre-populate: mode, opening type, narrative arc, humor register, closing pattern
4. Present to author: "Here's the original spec. What changes for the new venue?"