Presentation Creator

Process steps in order. Do not skip ahead. The phases below are a numbered sequential workflow — Phase 0 must run before Phase 1, Phase 1 before Phase 2, and so on. Late-entry single-task requests (Phase 6 / Phase 7 re-runs) still require the documented pre-flight checklist before any action; do not parallelize and do not bypass the vault-loading or artifact-loading gates.

Build presentations that match the speaker's documented rhetoric and style patterns. The rhetoric-knowledge-vault is this skill's constitution. Every presentation is a joint effort — the skill brings rhetoric knowledge, the author brings topic expertise.

Before You Start: Load the Vault

The vault lives at ~/.claude/rhetoric-knowledge-vault/ (may be a symlink to a custom location). Read tracking-database.json from there to get config.vault_root.

Load from vault root: rhetoric-style-summary.md (constitution — all patterns), slide-design-spec.md (visual rules), speaker-profile.json (structured data). The interaction-rules steering rule (one-question-at-a-time, applies to all phases) is loaded automatically via tile steering — do not treat it as a vault-root document. Then load local references per phase: references/phase0-intake.md, references/phase1-intent.md, references/phase2-architecture.md, references/phase3-content.md, references/phase4-guardrails.md, references/phase5-slides.md, references/phase6-publishing.md, references/phase7-post-event.md, references/patterns/_index.md.

Checks: Warn if profile.generated_date < summary."Last updated" (stale profile). Warn if schema_version > 1. If profile doesn't exist (<10 talks), run in summary-only mode — read instruments from summary prose, use default guardrail thresholds (1.5 slides/min, 45% Act 1 cap), ask for template/publishing interactively.

Workflow Overview

Do not skip phases. Do not write content before Phase 3. Phase 2 is joint, not autonomous.

Talk-directory artifacts.

By end of Phase 3, the talk directory contains:

Regenerate the four derived artifacts after every edit to outline.yaml:

python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/extract-narrative.py outline.yaml > narrative.md
python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/extract-script.py    outline.yaml > script.md
python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/extract-slides.py    outline.yaml > slides.md
python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/check-rhetorical.py  outline.yaml > rhetorical-review.md

Validate the YAML with python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/outline_schema.py outline.yaml — exits non-zero with a typed error if any validator fails.

Late entry (single-task requests).

Even when the user asks for a single task (QR code, export, shownotes), vault loading is mandatory. Do not jump straight to the action. Minimum context before ANY Phase 6 action:

• speaker-profile.json — publishing config, shortener, URL patterns
• secrets.json — API keys for shorteners and Gemini
• outline.yaml — source of truth for talk slug, metadata, slides, and shownotes URL. Read it via skills/presentation-creator/scripts/outline_schema.py (the pydantic model exposes talk.slug, talk.title, talk.shownotes_url_base, etc.) — never re-parse the YAML by hand.

If the file is missing or fails to validate, STOP and ask. Do not guess values that should come from files. Never hand-write code when a script exists — if the script isn't working, diagnose why (wrong args, missing config, missing secrets) and fix the inputs.

Phase 7 late entry requires the same files plus a YouTube video URL from the speaker. If shownotes don't exist and Step 7.2 is requested, STOP and ask — either run Phase 6 Step 6.1 first or get the shownotes URL manually.

Step 0 — Intake & Context Loading

1. Load vault documents (see above).
2. Capture what the user has shared — topic, conference, audience, time slot.
3. Read any provided CFP description, conference website, or existing talk to adapt.
4. Report what you know and what you still need.

Step 1 — Intent Distillation

Ask about what's missing; skip what's known. See references/phase1-intent.md for the full question set. Author the talk metadata block of outline.yaml:

talk:
  title: "Working Title"
  slug: "venue-year-topic"          # kebab-case; names the deck file + shownotes path
  speakers: ["Speaker Name"]        # multi-speaker talks list every speaker here
  duration_min: 50
  audience: "who, in one sentence"
  mode: "from profile presentation_modes"
  venue: "Conference Year, City"
  slide_budget: 75                  # from profile guardrail_sources.slide_budgets
  pacing_wpm: [135, 145]            # from profile rhetoric_defaults
  architecture: "narrative-arc"     # filled in Phase 2 — leave a placeholder
  thesis: |
    Elaborated thesis paragraph(s). The single-sentence form goes on the
    call-to-adventure slide via `big_idea_text` in Phase 3.
  shownotes_url_base: "https://speaking.example.com/"
  commercial_intent: "none | subtle | direct"
  profanity_register: "verbal-only by default; never on slides"
  must_include: []
  must_avoid: []
  catalog_reference: "sessions-catalog.md#entry-id"  # if applicable
  delivery_count: 1                 # 1 for first delivery, 2+ for repeats
  delivery_date: "YYYY-MM-DD"       # ISO date the talk is/was delivered

Generate the slug per publishing_process.shownotes.slug_convention in the profile. Slug validation is kebab-case (lowercase alphanumeric + single hyphens).

Gate: Author confirms or edits the metadata.

Save the partial outline to: {presentations-dir}/{conference}/{year}/{talk-slug}/outline.yaml

The talk block is the source of truth for the slug, duration, mode, and other metadata. Later phases (Phase 2 architecture, Phase 3 slides, Phase 6 publishing) extend the SAME file with chapters[], slides[], interludes[], etc. — do not create a separate spec or outline file.

Step 2 — Rhetorical Architecture

The instrument menu comes from the vault, not from a static file. Read the summary (sections 2-13) and profile instrument_catalog for options.

11 decisions to make together:

Mode, Opening, Narrative, Humor, Audience Interaction, Closing, Slide Design, Persuasion, Template Patterns, Pattern Strategy, Illustration Strategy. Each reads from the matching instrument_catalog entry + summary section. Decision #10 uses the 4-tier Pattern Strategy from references/patterns/_index.md + profile → pattern_profile. Decision #11 (Illustration Strategy) is optional — only when the author wants AI-generated illustrations. Delegate to Skill(skill: "illustrations") for the full collaboration (style proposals grounded in vault visual_style_history, format vocabulary, model choice, visual continuity devices). The skill writes the approved STYLE ANCHOR block back into the outline header.

For each: present options, recommend based on spec, let author choose. If co-presented, add role split and voice differentiation — see references/phase1-intent.md.

Slide budget — read from profile → guardrail_sources.slide_budgets at runtime. If the profile is unavailable (summary-only mode), use these defaults:

Gate: Author approves the architecture.

Step 3 — Content Development

Fill slides[] and interludes[] in outline.yaml. See references/phase3-content.md for the full schema, field-by-field guidance, pattern application, callback ledger, voice calibration, and placeholder types.

Outline structure (abbreviated YAML):

talk: { … }                # from Phase 1
chapters:                  # from Phase 2 — section headings + target_min
  - { id: ch1, title: "Cold Open", target_min: 3, accent: red, argument_beats: [...] }
  - { id: ch2, title: "...",       target_min: 7, ... }

style_anchor:              # ONLY when illustration strategy is defined (Phase 2)
  model: "model-name"
  full: |
    [anchor paragraph for FULL slides]
  imgtxt: |
    [anchor paragraph for IMG+TXT slides]
  conventions: "..."

slides:
  - n: 0
    chapter: ch1
    title: "Title Card"
    format: TITLE
    text_overlay: |
      Talk Title
      Speaker Name — Venue
  - n: 1
    chapter: ch1
    title: "Opening Hook"
    format: FULL            # FULL | IMG+TXT | EXCEPTION | TITLE | DEMO
    visual: "what's on screen"
    text_overlay: "the literal text rendered on the slide, or 'none'"
    image_prompt: |         # only when style_anchor is set + format != EXCEPTION
      [STYLE ANCHOR]. The generation prompt for this slide.
    builds:                 # progressive reveals — each build is a separate deck slide
      - { step: 0, desc: "empty frame" }
      - { step: 1, desc: "first reveal" }
    script:                 # screenplay form — what the speaker(s) say
      - cue: "SLIDE 1 UP"
      - parenthetical: "(beat)"
      - line: "Opening line."           # single-speaker: no speaker field
      - { speaker: "Name", line: "..." } # multi-speaker: every line attributed
    applied_patterns:
      - { id: opening-punch, flavors: [personal, unexpected] }
    callbacks:
      - { kind: plant, id: receipt-motif }
    placeholders: ["AUTHOR-01"]
    big_idea: false         # exactly ONE slide in the talk has true
    thesis: null            # "preview" or "payoff" on the slides where the thesis lands

interludes:                 # production interludes between slides — usually live demos
  - id: demo-01
    after_slide: 0          # plays between slide 0 and slide 1
    chapter: ch1
    title: "DEMO 01 — Live Terminal"
    script: [...]
    callbacks: [...]

When an illustration strategy is defined, every non-EXCEPTION slide carries an image_prompt. The [STYLE ANCHOR] token in the prompt references the header anchor — the illustrations pipeline substitutes the actual anchor text at generation time. Talks without style_anchor use visual: + text_overlay: only.

Placeholders — use typed, independent numbering (each type starts at 01): AUTHOR-01, DEMO-01, DATA-01, SCREENSHOT-01, IMAGE-01, MEME-01. Every placeholder requiring author input MUST use one of these typed tags — never use generic TODO or TBD. See references/phase3-content.md for full placeholder definitions and meme-brief format.

After saving outline.yaml, validate and regenerate the derived artifacts:

python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/outline_schema.py outline.yaml      # validates; non-zero on error
python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/extract-narrative.py outline.yaml > narrative.md
python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/extract-script.py    outline.yaml > script.md
python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/extract-slides.py    outline.yaml > slides.md
python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/check-rhetorical.py  outline.yaml > rhetorical-review.md

The four .md files are read-only — never edit them directly; they regenerate deterministically from outline.yaml.

Step 4 — Revision & Guardrails

Run two checkers — they cover different surfaces:

python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/check-rhetorical.py outline.yaml > rhetorical-review.md
python3 skills/presentation-creator/scripts/guardrail-check.py   outline.yaml path/to/speaker-profile.json

check-rhetorical.py enforces the closed pattern taxonomy (opening PUNCH, big-idea singleton, thesis preview/payoff ordering, sparkline structural elements when applicable, master-story threading, callback ledger, inoculation count, progressive-list contiguity, duration accounting). Output is the rhetorical-review.md artifact — PASS / FLAG / N/A per check.

guardrail-check.py enforces speaker-profile-aware rules that depend on runtime profile data — currently: slide budget, Act 1 ratio limits, branding, profanity register, data attribution, closing completeness, cut-line availability (conditional on modular_design). Anti-pattern frequency and illustration coverage are not yet wired into the script — those still live in phase4-guardrails.md as additional manual checks the agent should surface alongside the script's output. See references/phase4-guardrails.md for the full check list and report format.

The script currently reports the 7 automated checks; the agent adds the remaining categories manually:

GUARDRAIL CHECK — {talk title}
================================================
[PASS/FAIL] Slide budget: {actual}/{max} for {duration}-min slot
[PASS/WARN/FAIL] Act 1 ratio: {%} (limit: {max}% — WARN within 5%)
[PASS/WARN] Branding: footer elements for {conference}
[PASS/WARN/FAIL] Profanity: {register} applied, {N} on-slide
[PASS/FAIL] Data attribution: {N} slides with numeric claims and source check
[PASS/FAIL] Closing: summary={y/n} CTA={y/n} social={y/n}
[PASS/FAIL] Cut lines: {cuttable_min} min of cuttable content (or PASS-skipped when modular_design is disabled)
================================================

Agent-added (not in script yet):

• Anti-pattern frequency from profile.pattern_profile.antipattern_frequency
• Speaker-specific recurring issues from profile.guardrail_sources.recurring_issues[] — the script does not run these checks; the agent reads each entry and applies the guardrail field's check manually
• Illustration coverage when style_anchor is present
• Time-sensitive content scan
• Murder-Your-Darlings filter pass
• Emotion-balance and screening-with-critics where applicable

Iterate on author feedback. Apply changes first, guardrail second. Flag but don't block intentionally overridden guardrails. See references/phase4-guardrails.md for iteration protocol.

Step 5 — Slide Generation & Interactive Iteration

Build the deck from the finalized outline.yaml, using slides.md (the build-sheet extracted by extract-slides.py) as the per-slide instruction list. See references/phase5-slides.md for the full technical reference.

For pptx talks (template-driven):

python3 scripts/strip-template.py "{template_pptx_path}" "{output_path}"

Then open with MCP open_presentation and walk slides.md in order: add_slide → populate_placeholder → manage_image for each slide. For non-illustrated slides and EXCEPTION-format slides, handle inline as normal (the IMAGE-NN placeholder resolves to a real asset). For FULL and IMG+TXT slides, build the slide structure (layout, title, footer) and omit manage_image — the slide is left without a picture shape. The illustrations skill handles insertion in the post-walk apply pass: apply-illustrations-to-deck.py's swap_or_insert_picture adds a full-bleed picture when the slide has none, or swaps the existing one when the template seeded a picture placeholder.

After the structural walk completes, if outline.yaml declares style_anchor, delegate to Skill(skill: "illustrations") to generate illustrations, generate any progressive-reveal builds, and apply them to the deck. The illustrations skill still expects markdown-style inputs (style anchor block + per-slide image prompts) — when invoked, surface the relevant fields from outline.yaml in the format the illustrations skill consumes. Updating the illustrations skill to consume outline.yaml natively is tracked separately.

Inject speaker notes from script.md via python-pptx batch after the illustrations skill returns.

For presenterm talks (terminal markdown):

Hand-author the renderable deck as {slug}.md (e.g., devoxx-uk-2026-300-tokens.md) using the slides.md build-sheet as input. Each slide's text_overlay: becomes the slide body; the slide's script: becomes the speaker_note: | HTML comment. The slug-named deck travels with the talk dir; slides.md remains the toolkit-canonical build-sheet.

Key rules from profile:

• design_rules.background_color_strategy — how to pick background colors
• design_rules.footer — pattern, position, font, color adaptation
• design_rules.slide_numbers — typically "never"
• infrastructure.template_layouts[] — layout index + placeholder mapping

Step 6 — Publishing

Read publishing_process from speaker-profile.json. Each speaker's workflow differs. If publishing_process is missing or empty, ask the author interactively.

Execute the steps from the profile: 0. Resources — extract and curate resource list from outline (extract-resources.py)

1. Export — run export_method / export_script (see references/phase5-slides.md)
2. Shownotes — if publishing_process.shownotes.enabled, use curated resources from Step 6.0
3. QR Code — if qr_code.enabled, generate and insert per profile
4. Additional steps — execute each additional_steps[] entry
5. Go-live checklist — surface unobservable patterns from references/patterns/_index.md as a delivery preparation reminder (see references/phase6-publishing.md Step 6.5)

Gate: Author confirms published and ready to deliver.

Step 7 — Post-Event

Triggered separately — days or weeks after delivery. Not part of the linear Phase 0-6 flow. The talk has been given and recorded.

1. YouTube Thumbnail — delegate to Skill(skill: "illustrations") (the skill handles slide selection, speaker-photo resolution, aesthetic precedence, composition via Gemini, and speaker iteration).
2. Video to Shownotes — add video embed/link to existing shownotes page.

Read references/phase7-post-event.md for the pre-flight checklist and Step 7.2 (Video to Shownotes). Step 7.1 detail lives in skills/illustrations/references/thumbnails.md.

Adapting Existing Talks

1. Check if the talk has been ingested by the vault. If not, process it first.
2. Read the original talk's analysis from {vault_root}/analyses/
3. Copy the previous deck as starting point — do NOT start from fresh template.
4. Start at Phase 1 with the original spec pre-filled, modify as needed.
5. Auto-generate adaptation checklist: footer, shownotes slug, time-sensitive content, slide budget, profanity register, locale references, commercial intent.

CFP Abstract Writing

1. Complete Phase 0-1 (lighter touch)
2. Skip Phase 2 (not needed for an abstract)
3. Write: title, abstract (200-300 words), key takeaways (3-5 bullets), speaker bio
4. Phase 4 revision as normal
5. Save approved materials to the Sessions Catalog (see below)

Sessions Catalog

The sessions catalog ({vault_root}/sessions-catalog.md) is the single source of submission-ready materials for active talks. Load it during Phase 0 to know the active rotation and flag overlapping territory. Pull an existing entry before starting a new CFP; adapt rather than rewrite.

What goes in the catalog.

Each entry contains:

• Title (including subtitle if any)
• Abstract (submission-ready, anti-pattern-checked)
• Outline (with section descriptions and time allocations)
• Small Print (notes for the Program Committee — positioning, scope clarifications, or anything the PC should know; internal, not public-facing)

Catalog maintenance.

• Save approved title, abstract, and outline after CFP abstract writing (step 5) and after Phase 4 if no entry exists yet. Remove or archive entries when a talk is retired.
• The catalog reflects the latest approved version — full history lives in the tracking database and analysis files.
• Run an anti-pattern check on entries before saving (use the blog-writer skill's ai-anti-patterns.md if installed). Keep the "Last updated" date current.
• Entries are separated by --- horizontal rules for easy scanning.