deck-outlining

name	deck-outlining
description	Pattern for turning a brief into a coherent deck outline — intent detection, section ratios, draft headings, expansion
when_to_use	The user asks to outline, plan, scaffold, or draft a new deck from a brief. Includes "make me a deck about X", "outline a pitch for Y", "what slides do I need for Z".

Outlining a deck from a brief

The goal is an outline the user can walk through and say "yes, that arc". Not a generic skeleton; a deck shaped by what kind of deck this is.

The mandatory prelude

Every outlining call starts with:

1. recall_deck_style — load the user's deck-style rulebook. If empty, use defaults (3-5 bullets per slide, <=10 words each, parallel verb-led phrasing) and tell the user "I haven't learned your deck style yet — this is generic; keep what works and I'll learn."
2. plan_deck_outline(brief, target_slide_count=10) — get the intent (pitch / training / report / status / general), the intro/body/closing slide budget, and intent-specific hints.

If the user gave no slide count, default to 10. If the brief mentions a constraint ("3-minute pitch" → ~5 slides, "30-minute training" → ~15), respect it.

The pattern: detect intent → set ratios → draft headings → expand

1. Detect intent. plan_deck_outline does this from keywords. If the result feels wrong (the brief mentions "pitch" but the user clearly means a status update), override the intent in your draft, but say so explicitly: "I read this as a status update, not a pitch — tell me if you want pitch shaping instead."
2. Honour the ratios. The scaffold returns {"intro": N, "body": N, "closing": N}. Build that many slides in each section; don't pad and don't trim without saying why.
3. Draft headings. One title per slide. Statement titles ("Q3 revenue beat plan by 8%") beat label titles ("Q3 revenue"). Keep titles to <=10 words.
4. Expand each slide. 3-5 bullets, <=10 words each, parallel phrasing. 2-4 lines of speaker notes that carry the narration — not a repeat of the bullets.

Anti-patterns

• Too many sections. If you're proposing >5 top-level sections in a 10-slide deck, you're slicing the arc too thin. Merge.
• Hidden CTA. The ask should be on its own slide, near the end, with a verb-led title. If it's buried in a "Next steps" bullet on the wrap-up, it'll get missed.
• Missing agenda for long decks. Anything over 8 slides needs a one-line agenda right after the title. Skip for short decks.
• "Thanks / Questions?" as the closing slide. That's not a closing — it's a placeholder. Put the CTA there, or leave the deck closing on the strongest takeaway.
• Three threads, one deck. A deck does one thing. If the brief mentions three goals, ask which is primary; the other two go in an appendix or a separate deck.
• Speaker notes that echo the bullets. Notes are for what the speaker says; bullets are what stays visible after they look away. Echo = wasted real estate.

Output shape

Return the outline as a structured block:

Slide 1 — Title: <title>
  Bullets:
    - <bullet>
    - <bullet>
  Notes: <2-4 lines>

Slide 2 — Title: …
  …

The taskpane parses this to surface per-slide "Insert as new slide" buttons. Keep titles, bullets, and notes on their own lines.

When the brief is thin

If the brief is one sentence ("a deck about onboarding"), ask exactly one clarifying question — audience or duration — and proceed with reasonable defaults if the user doesn't answer. Don't outline blind on a vague brief.