name: build-storyline
description: McKinsey-style storyline builder for presentation decks. Turns a goal into a sequence of action-title slides with a logical problem→solution flow, where each line becomes one slide title. Use when structuring pitch decks, strategy decks, problem-solving or roadmap presentations, or when the user says "build a storyline", "structure my deck", "slide-by-slide outline", "action titles".
argument-hint: [topic or goal] [--template pitch|problem|roadmap]
allowed-tools: [Read, Write]
model: sonnet
context: main
user-invocable: true
Build Storyline — Deck Narrative Backbone
Build the storyline: a sequence of messages where each line becomes one slide title, phrased as an action title (the finding, not the topic — Market grew 40% while revenue fell 5%, not Market Analysis). The reader must get the whole argument from the titles alone. Flow: problem → context → analysis → solution → roadmap. Structure before design — no slide bodies until the storyline is agreed.
Procedure
Step 1 — Anchor the opening with SCQA. Before any slides, write the four-line spine (this is what the whole deck answers):
- Situation — the stable baseline the audience already agrees with.
- Complication — what changed / what's at stake (creates urgency).
- Question — the crisp, answerable question the complication raises.
- Answer — your recommendation (the punchline; often the exec-summary slide).
If you can't state a sharp Question, stop and get it from the user — the deck has no spine without it.
Step 2 — Pick a template. Match the situation, then load the matching flow from references/templates.md:
- pitch — market opportunity → competitive position → product strategy → plan.
- problem — problem framing → root-cause (issue tree) → solution options → prioritization → next steps.
- roadmap — objective → phases → activities → timeline → success criteria.
Step 3 — Write action titles. One complete message per line. Bake in the specific number, not the vague adjective (Revenue grew 25%, not strong performance). Use parallel structure across sibling slides (Factor 1: $XM impact → Factor 2: $XM impact). Keep it to 15–25 slides for an exec deck; if you need 50, the story isn't tight.
Step 4 — Run the ghost-deck test (verification gate). Read the action titles in sequence, ignoring everything else. They must:
- Tell the complete argument with no logical jumps.
- Answer the Step-1 Question and land on the Answer.
- Each carry a clear "so what" (not raw data).
If any fail, fix the storyline — not later, not in the slides.
Step 5 — Critic pass (self-review before hand-off). Grade the storyline Green / Yellow / Red and give the top 3 fixes. Do not present a Yellow/Red as done. Rubric → references/critic.md.
Step 6 — Emit. Output the SCQA spine + the numbered storyline (+ grade). Only build slide bodies once the storyline is agreed — each title becomes a slide, the body supports the title.
Watch for: topic titles instead of findings · data with no "so what" · vague adjectives over numbers · a buried lede (put the Answer up front) · trailing off with no next steps. The ghost-deck and critic passes catch these — see references/critic.md.
References
