13 KiB
Presentation Master
World-class presentation creation skill that embodies best practices from presentation masters and adapts to your needs.
Overview
Presentation Master is not just a presentation generator—it's a presentation coach that teaches world-class design principles while creating slides. Built on decades of wisdom from Garr Reynolds, Nancy Duarte, Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, TED speakers, Edward Tufte, and Steve Jobs, this skill ensures every presentation meets the highest standards.
Key Innovation
Instead of just making slides, this skill:
- Teaches presentation best practices through guided creation
- Validates against proven design principles automatically
- Adapts to different presentation types and audiences
- Coaches you through checkpoints to ensure quality
- Learns from each presentation to improve future recommendations
What Makes a Great Presentation?
Based on research of thousands of successful presentations, the masters agree on these principles:
- Simplicity - Less is always more (Seth Godin: 6 words max per slide)
- Visual Dominance - Show, don't write (Garr Reynolds: Pictures > text)
- Story Structure - Random facts don't stick; stories do (Nancy Duarte: Sparkline)
- One Idea Per Slide - Cognitive load is real (Guy Kawasaki: 10 slides max)
- Audience as Hero - It's their transformation, not your information (Duarte)
- Data Integrity - Visual truth matters (Edward Tufte: Lie factor 0.95-1.05)
Features
Guided Creation with Checkpoints
Phase 1: Discovery & Context Analysis
- Analyzes topic, audience, duration, purpose
- Detects presentation type (board update, keynote, training, TED-style)
- Recommends story framework
Phase 2: Content Development
- Researches topic if needed
- Extracts key concepts (max 10 per Kawasaki)
- Drafts slide outline with one concept per slide
- Identifies slides needing visuals
Phase 3: Visual Strategy
- Proposes image types (infographic, photo, diagram, data viz)
- Suggests visual concepts and metaphors
- Estimates generation costs
- Gets approval before generating
Phase 4: Generation & Validation
- Generates approved images in parallel
- Builds slides using selected format (PPTX/Slides/Canva)
- Applies design rules automatically
- Runs validation scoring (0-100)
- Generates quality report
Phase 5: Iteration & Refinement (if needed)
- Applies requested changes
- Re-validates quality
- Saves to Obsidian with metadata
- Documents learnings
Automatic Quality Validation
Every presentation is scored 0-100 against these criteria:
- Simplicity (10pts): Word count, visual clutter
- Visual Dominance (10pts): Image quality, text-to-visual ratio
- Story Structure (10pts): Narrative arc, emotional beats
- One Idea/Slide (10pts): Concept clarity
- Typography (8pts): Size (30pt+ minimum), consistency
- Layout (7pts): Hierarchy, whitespace, alignment
- Color/Contrast (7pts): Readability (4.5:1 minimum)
- Media Quality (8pts): Image resolution, relevance
- Cognitive Load (20pts): Mayer's 12 multimedia principles
- Data Integrity (10pts): Tufte principles (if applicable)
Target Score: 85+ for high-quality presentations
Critical Violations (Auto-Fail)
- Font size < 30pt
-
10 core concepts
- Bullet points detected
- Paragraphs (>2 sentences)
- Poor contrast (<4.5:1)
- Default templates
Multi-Format Support
Phase 1 (Current): PPTX
- Uses existing pptx skill
- Direct PptxGenJS API for simple slides
- Saves to Obsidian Research folder
Phase 2 (Coming): Google Slides
- Google Slides API v1
- Supports all 3 accounts (psd, kh, hrg)
- Returns shareable link
Phase 3 (Future): Canva
- Canva REST API
- Auto-applies brand kits
Slide Patterns
Six proven patterns that form the foundation of world-class presentations:
1. Title Slide
Purpose: Set tone, introduce topic Elements: 3-6 words, strong visual or clean typography Best for: Opening, section breaks
2. One Big Idea
Purpose: Maximum impact, single concept Elements: 1-3 words max, 60-120pt font Best for: Key insights, memorable moments (Seth Godin's 6-word rule)
3. Visual + Caption
Purpose: Visual storytelling with context Elements: Large high-quality image (70-80%), short caption (1 line) Best for: Concepts, examples, emotional moments
4. Data Visualization
Purpose: Show quantitative information clearly Elements: Clean charts following Tufte principles Best for: Evidence, trends, comparisons
5. Timeline / Process
Purpose: Show progression, sequence, chronology Elements: 3-7 steps, visual connections, minimal text Best for: Processes, roadmaps, historical progression
6. Transition / Section Break
Purpose: Signal major shifts Elements: 1-5 words, distinct visual treatment Best for: Moving between major sections
See principles/slide-patterns.md for comprehensive details on each pattern.
Story Frameworks
Choose the right narrative structure for your presentation:
Nancy Duarte's Sparkline
Duration: 20-30 minutes Slides: 18-25 Best for: Keynotes, vision casting, inspirational talks Structure: Alternate "what is" (reality) with "what could be" (aspiration)
Steve Jobs' Rule of Three
Duration: 15-30 minutes Slides: 12-18 Best for: Product launches, demos, persuasive presentations Structure: Three main sections, three points per section
TED Talk Structure
Duration: 15-20 minutes Slides: 12-18 Best for: Idea-centric, inspirational talks Structure: Hook → Personal → Core Idea → Call to Action → Close
Classic Three-Act Structure
Duration: 20-45 minutes Slides: 15-35 Best for: Case studies, transformation narratives Structure: Setup (25%) → Confrontation (50%) → Resolution (25%)
See principles/story-frameworks.md for detailed breakdowns.
Adaptive Pattern Selection
The skill automatically recommends pattern distribution based on presentation type:
Board Update: 40% Data Viz, 30% Visual+Caption, 20% Transitions, 10% Titles Keynote: 40% Big Ideas, 30% Visual+Caption, 20% Titles, 10% Transitions Training: 40% Process, 30% Data Viz, 20% Visual+Caption, 10% Titles Pitch: 30% Data Viz, 30% Big Ideas, 25% Visual+Caption, 15% Titles/Transitions
Image Generation Integration
Intelligent visual recommendations based on slide content:
- Numeric data → Infographic
- Abstract concepts → Conceptual image/metaphor
- Concrete examples → Realistic photography
- Processes/flows → Diagrams
- Trends/comparisons → Data visualization
Cost Management:
- Shows estimated cost before generating ($0.13-$0.24 per image at 2K)
- Allows opt-out of specific images
- Tracks spending in presentation metadata
Naming Convention:
{presentation-id}-slide-{number}-{type}.png
Example: cybersecurity-2025-slide-02-threat-timeline.png
Brand Integration
Automatically applies branding:
- PSD presentations: Uses psd-brand-guidelines skill
- Personal presentations: Uses personal brand (if defined)
- Client presentations: Custom brand kit (future)
File Structure
presentation-master/
├── SKILL.md # Main skill documentation
├── README.md # This file
├── package.json # Dependencies
├── principles/
│ ├── masters.md # Best practices from experts (1,200+ lines)
│ ├── validation-rules.md # Quality scoring system
│ ├── slide-patterns.md # Template library (3,500+ lines)
│ └── story-frameworks.md # Narrative structures (5,000+ lines)
├── scripts/
│ ├── analyze-context.js # ✅ Detect presentation type & recommend framework
│ ├── validate-presentation.js # ✅ Score presentation 0-100
│ └── suggest-images.js # ✅ Visual recommendations & cost estimation
└── adapters/
├── pptx-adapter.js # ✅ PowerPoint translation layer
├── slides-adapter.js # ✅ Google Slides translation layer
└── canva-adapter.js # (future) Canva integration
Usage Examples
Example 1: Board Update
User: "Create presentation on cybersecurity trends for school board, 15 minutes"
Geoffrey:
**Context Analysis**
- Type: Board/Executive Update
- Audience: School board (non-technical)
- Duration: 15 minutes
- Purpose: Inform + Recommend action
**Recommended Structure**
Current State → Trends → Implications → Recommendations (10 slides)
[After approval]
**Draft Outline**
1. Title: Cybersecurity Trends 2025
2. Current Threat Landscape [visual: threat timeline]
3. Trend 1: AI-Powered Attacks [visual: concept illustration]
...
**Visual Strategy**
- 7 images recommended
- Estimated cost: $0.94 (2K resolution)
- Mix: 3 infographics, 2 charts, 1 diagram, 1 illustration
[After approval and generation]
**Quality Score: 91/100**
✓ All fonts 36pt+
✓ Avg 4.2 words/slide
✓ High contrast (8.5:1)
⚠ Slide 8 has 7 words (rec: 6 max)
Created: /Obsidian/Research/cybersecurity-trends-2025-board.pptx
Example 2: Keynote
User: "Create keynote on future of education for conference, 30 minutes"
Geoffrey:
**Context Analysis**
- Type: Keynote/TED-style
- Audience: Education professionals + parents
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Purpose: Inspire + Shift perspective
**Recommended Structures**
1. Sparkline: What is → What could be (12 slides) ⭐
2. Rule of Three: Past → Present → Future (9 slides)
3. Three-Act: Problem → Trials → New reality (10 slides)
[Continues with guided creation...]
Dependencies
pptxgenjs: PowerPoint generation library (current Phase 1)image-genskill: Visual content generationpsd-brand-guidelinesskill: Brand colors/logosresearchskill: Content developmentobsidian-managerskill: Knowledge storage
Installation
This skill is part of Geoffrey's skill library. No separate installation needed.
Ensure dependencies are installed:
cd /Users/hagelk/non-ic-code/geoffrey/skills/presentation-master
bun install
Triggers
Natural language activation:
- "create presentation"
- "make presentation"
- "build presentation"
- "design deck"
- "make slides"
- "create slides"
- "presentation for..."
- "slides for..."
Version
Current: 1.2.0 (Phases 1-3 Complete)
- ✅ Phase 1: PPTX support via pptx skill
- ✅ Phase 2: Visual Intelligence (analyze-context, suggest-images, validate-presentation scripts)
- ✅ Phase 3: Google Slides support via google-workspace skill Future: 1.3.0 (Canva integration)
Learning & Iteration
After each presentation, metadata is saved to Obsidian:
{
"presentation_id": "cybersecurity-2025-board",
"type": "board-update",
"duration": "15min",
"slides": 10,
"quality_score": 91,
"images_generated": 7,
"generation_cost": 0.94,
"user_edits": ["slide-8-wording"],
"effectiveness": "approved-minor-changes",
"created": "2025-11-24",
"learnings": "Board prefers data charts over concept graphics"
}
This enables:
- Quality score trending
- Pattern library expansion
- User preference learning
- Cost optimization
Philosophy
Code Before Prompts (Geoffrey Principle):
- Deterministic design rules codified in software
- AI orchestrates, doesn't improvise design
- Validation is automatic, not subjective
Progressive Disclosure (Geoffrey Principle):
- Tier 1: Core workflow (always loaded)
- Tier 2: Detailed principles (loaded when skill activates)
- Tier 3: Scripts and data (fetched just-in-time)
Checkpoints Are Non-Negotiable:
- Structure approval before content development
- Outline approval before visual strategy
- Visual approval before generation
- Quality review before finalization
References
Books:
- Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
- Resonate by Nancy Duarte
- slide:ology by Nancy Duarte
- The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte
- Multimedia Learning by Richard Mayer
Articles:
- Guy Kawasaki: The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint
- Seth Godin: Really Bad PowerPoint
- TED: Create + Prepare Slides Guide
Principles Documentation:
principles/masters.md- Comprehensive best practicesprinciples/validation-rules.md- Quality scoring detailsprinciples/slide-patterns.md- Pattern specificationsprinciples/story-frameworks.md- Narrative structures
Future Enhancements
Phase 4: Canva Integration
- Canva REST API adapter
- Auto-apply brand kits
- Template library integration
Phase 5: Advanced Features
- Auto-generate speaker notes
- Rehearsal timing suggestions
- A/B test different structures
- Effectiveness tracking
- Personal pattern library from successes
Contributing
Improvements welcome! When adding new features:
- Follow existing architectural patterns
- Document in appropriate principles file
- Add examples to SKILL.md
- Update version in package.json
- Add learning to metadata tracking
License
MIT License - See LICENSE file for details
Remember: The best presentations are simple, visual, story-driven, and focused on the audience's transformation—not the speaker's information.
Built with ❤️ by Geoffrey