presentation-writing

name	presentation-writing
description	Create effective presentations, slide decks, and workshop materials. Use when building MARP decks, PowerPoint content, demo scripts, or any audience-facing material.

Presentation Writing

Slides are not documents. A slide that requires reading has failed.

Core Principle: Assertion-Evidence

Every slide has:

• Headline: A complete assertion (claim), not a topic label
• Body: Visual evidence supporting the assertion

Bad: "Architecture Overview" Good: "Event-driven architecture reduces coupling between services by 60%"

The headline IS the takeaway. If someone only reads headlines, they get the full story.

The Glance Test

Can the audience get the point in 3 seconds?

• If no → too much text, simplify
• If yes → the slide works

Rules:

• Max 6 lines of text per slide (prefer 3)
• One idea per slide
• No full sentences in bullet points (fragments are fine)
• Diagrams > tables > bullets > paragraphs

Methodology Selection

Talk type	Use	Why
Keynote / inspire	Duarte (story arc)	Tension between "what is" and "what could be"
Technical deep-dive	Minto (pyramid)	Lead with conclusion, support with evidence
Data/analytics	Tufte (data-dense)	Maximize information density, minimize chartjunk
Workshop / tutorial	Mayer (multimedia)	Reduce cognitive load, pair visuals with narration
Executive briefing	Minto + Duarte	Pyramid structure with emotional hook

MARP Support

For markdown-based decks (MARP/Marpit):

---
marp: true
theme: default
paginate: true
---

# Assertion Headline

![bg right:40%](./assets/diagram.png)

- Evidence point 1
- Evidence point 2
- Evidence point 3

---

Key MARP directives:

• <!-- _class: lead --> — title slides
• <!-- _backgroundColor: #1a1a2e --> — dark slides
• ![bg right:40%](img) — background image positioning
• <!-- footer: 'Company © 2026' --> — persistent footer

Accessibility

• Alt text on every image
• Minimum 24pt font (18pt absolute minimum for notes)
• Color contrast ratio ≥ 4.5:1
• Don't rely on color alone to convey meaning
• Provide speaker notes for screen reader users

Structure Template

1. Hook (1 slide) — why should they care?
2. Context (1-2 slides) — what's the situation?
3. Core content (5-15 slides) — assertions + evidence
4. So what (1 slide) — what should they do differently?
5. Call to action (1 slide) — next step

Anti-Patterns

• ❌ Topic-label headlines ("Q3 Results") — use assertions
• ❌ Reading slides aloud — slides support speech, not replace it
• ❌ Wall of text — if it needs reading, it's a document
• ❌ Decorative images — every visual must support the assertion
• ❌ Builds/animations in markdown decks — they don't export cleanly