| name | BalajiSlides |
| description | Balaji Srinivasan slide design system. USE WHEN balaji slides, balaji style, evidence slides, balaji presentation, split layout slides, create balaji deck, artifact-driven slides. |
BalajiSlides
Slide design system based on Balaji Srinivasan's presentation style. Evidence over decoration. Every slide makes one argument backed by a real artifact — screenshot, map, chart, code snippet, or quote. No corporate templates, no stock imagery, no bullet-point walls.
Customization
Before executing, check for user customizations at:
~/.claude/skills/PAI/USER/SKILLCUSTOMIZATIONS/BalajiSlides/
If this directory exists, load and apply any PREFERENCES.md or configurations found there.
MANDATORY: Voice Notification (REQUIRED BEFORE ANY ACTION)
You MUST send this notification BEFORE doing anything else when this skill is invoked.
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8888/notify \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"message": "Running the WORKFLOWNAME workflow in BalajiSlides skill to ACTION"}' \
> /dev/null 2>&1 &
Workflow Routing
| Workflow | Trigger | File |
|---|
| CreateBalajiSlides | "create slides", "balaji deck", "make presentation", "build slides" | Workflows/CreateBalajiSlides.md |
Quick Reference
- Layout: Left-headline / right-visual split (35/65)
- Headlines: Bold, 1-6 words, opinionated thesis statements
- On-slide text: Headline only. Optional 1-line caption. No paragraphs on slides.
- Speaker notes: All explanatory text, context, and talking points go here — the speaker SAYS it, the audience SEES the visual
- Visuals: Real artifacts only — screenshots, maps, charts, code, photos
- Background: White or light gray (dark for code slides only)
- Typography: Sans-serif, high contrast, left-aligned
Full Design Guide: Read DesignGuide.md in this skill's root for complete style rules.
Examples
Example 1: Create a talk on network sovereignty
User: "create balaji-style slides on why decentralized identity matters"
-> Invokes CreateBalajiSlides workflow
-> Loads DesignGuide.md for style rules
-> Structures numbered sequence (Section 1, 2, 3...)
-> Each slide: opinionated headline + 2-4 sentence body + real artifact
-> Outputs markdown slide content ready for Google Slides
Example 2: Convert existing bullet-point deck to Balaji style
User: "reformat these slides in balaji style"
-> Invokes CreateBalajiSlides workflow
-> Reads existing slide content
-> Converts bullet lists to short paragraphs
-> Replaces decorative visuals with real evidence artifacts
-> Adds opinionated headlines to each slide
Example 3: Create a single evidence slide
User: "make a balaji-style slide showing app store rankings"
-> Invokes CreateBalajiSlides workflow
-> Uses Pattern 2: Full-Screen Evidence
-> Screenshot dominates slide, small title overlay top-left
-> Minimal text — the visual IS the argument
