# Storytelling & Deck Structure — Arcs + Slide-by-Slide Skeletons

The deck is an argument, not a document. Every deck proves **one thesis**; every slide advances it by
exactly one step. This file holds the narrative frameworks, the proven arc per deck type, and concrete
slide-by-slide skeletons you can fill from the brand study. The visual layout of each slide → `slide-design.md`;
the words → `../marketing/SKILL.md`.

## First principles

- **One thesis.** Write the single sentence the whole deck must make the audience believe. If a slide doesn't serve it, cut the slide. Tape the thesis to the top of the skeleton.
- **One idea per slide.** A slide is a single assertion + its proof. Two ideas = two slides.
- **Assertion headlines.** Title every slide with the point ("Onboarding v2 cut churn 40%"), never the topic ("Churn"). A reader skimming only the headlines should get the full argument.
- **Tension → resolution.** Decks persuade by opening a gap (problem, stakes, "why now") and closing it (your solution, proof, ask). No tension = no attention.
- **The Rule of the Spine:** title slides → one-liners that, read in sequence, ARE the pitch. Build the spine first; decorate second.
- **Pacing.** Vary slide "weight": a heavy data slide earns a light statement slide. Big-number and full-bleed statement slides reset attention. Aim ~1–2 min/slide when presenting.
- **Cut to the ask.** Every deck ends by telling the audience exactly what to do next, with one primary CTA.

## Narrative frameworks (pick one as the spine)

| Framework | Shape | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Problem → Solution → Proof → Ask** | Classic persuasion | Pitch, sales, investor |
| **SCR (Situation → Complication → Resolution)** | McKinsey "Pyramid" | Board, QBR, exec memos |
| **Hero's journey (audience = hero)** | Status quo → call → struggle → guide (you) → win | Keynote, brand/vision |
| **Before → After → Bridge** | Pain now → world with you → how to get there | Sales, product launch |
| **What / So What / Now What** | Fact → meaning → action | QBR, research readout, internal update |
| **PAS (Problem → Agitate → Solve)** | Sharpen the pain before relieving it | Cold sales, demand-gen decks |
| **STAR moment** | Build to one Something They'll Always Remember | Keynote, launch reveal |

Whichever you pick, the *micro*-structure of each content slide is the same: **assertion headline →
single supporting visual/point → (talk track in notes)**.

## Deck arc by type (slide-by-slide skeletons)

Each skeleton is a *starting* spine — reorder/merge for the specific audience, but keep the tension→resolution.
Numbers in brackets are typical slide counts.

### Pitch / Investor deck [10–15 core, + appendix]

The fundraising standard (problem-first, traction-forward). Mirrors what investors expect to see.

1. **Title / company one-liner** — name + the single sentence: "We help [who] [outcome] by [mechanism]."
2. **The problem** — a real, expensive, urgent pain, in the customer's words. Make it ache.
3. **Why now** — the shift (tech/regulatory/behavioral) that makes this possible/inevitable today.
4. **The solution** — your wedge, one sentence + one visual. What you do, simply.
5. **Product / demo** — show it working; a screenshot/flow, not a feature list.
6. **Market size** — TAM/SAM/SOM with *stated assumptions* (bottom-up beats a giant top-down circle).
7. **Business model** — how you make money; pricing; unit economics if strong.
8. **Traction** — the slide investors lean in for: growth chart, revenue, retention, logos. Real numbers.
9. **Competition / differentiation** — a 2×2 or feature matrix; the one thing only you can say.
10. **Go-to-market** — how you acquire customers repeatably and cheaply.
11. **Team** — why *this* team wins (relevant, earned secrets), not headshots-as-decoration.
12. **The ask** — raise size, instrument, and use of funds → milestones it buys.
13. **Vision / closing** — the big "if this works" world. End on ambition.
14. **Appendix** — financials, cohort detail, FAQs, the model. Defend, don't front-load.

**Golden rule (from investor materials): every number agrees across deck, one-pager, and model.** Build a
single source of truth (traction, pricing, raise, use of funds, team titles, milestones) and cross-check
every figure before delivery. A conflicting number is a hard stop. Mark anything aspirational `[[NEEDS PROOF]]`.

### Sales deck [8–12]

Customer is the hero; you are the guide. Lead with their world, not your company.

1. **Hook / their world today** — name the customer's status quo and its hidden cost.
2. **The problem & its stakes** — what it costs them to keep doing it this way (quantify).
3. **The shift / "why change now"** — what makes the old way untenable.
4. **The promised land** — the after-state; the outcome they actually want.
5. **Your solution as the bridge** — how you get them there (mechanism, one visual).
6. **Proof it works** — case study with a hard number, logos, a quote with a metric.
7. **How it works** — the 3-step "so it's easy to adopt" path; de-risk the switch.
8. **Pricing / packages** — clear, anchored; the recommended option highlighted.
9. **Objection handling** — the top 2–3 "yeah but…" answered head-on.
10. **The ask / next step** — one CTA: "book the pilot", "start the trial". Make it small and clear.

### Product launch / announcement [6–10]

1. **The change** — what's new, in one line. Lead with the headline benefit, not the feature name.
2. **Why it matters** — the problem it removes / the leverage it adds.
3. **The reveal** — show it (full-bleed product shot / short loop).
4. **How it works** — 3 beats, each one idea.
5. **Proof / early results** — beta numbers, design-partner quotes.
6. **Availability & pricing** — when, where, how much.
7. **Call to action** — "get access", "upgrade", "join the waitlist".

### Keynote / conference talk [variable, statement-heavy]

Maximize memorability, minimize on-slide text. Slides are punctuation for your voice.

1. **Cold open / provocation** — a question, a surprising stat, a story. Earn attention in 30s.
2. **The big idea (thesis)** — one sentence the talk will prove.
3–N. **Acts (3 is classic):** each act = setup → tension → turn, built from statement slides + one image/chart each. One STAR moment per talk (the line/visual they'll quote).
- **Recap** — the one thing to remember.
- **Close / call to think or act** — what changes Monday morning.

Keynote slides skew to *one statement or one image* per slide; the argument lives in your delivery, the
slide reinforces. Big type, lots of negative space, no bullet walls.

### Board / QBR / exec review [10–20, dense-but-scannable]

Executives skim; lead with the answer (SCR / Pyramid Principle: conclusion first, then support).

1. **Executive summary** — the 3 things the room must know, as headlines. (If they read one slide, this is it.)
2. **Scorecard** — KPIs vs target/last-period; green/amber/red, honest.
3. **What's working** — wins with numbers.
4. **What's not** — risks/misses, owned plainly, with the plan.
5. **Deep-dives** — one per priority topic; each is *What / So What / Now What*.
6. **Asks / decisions needed** — explicit decisions you want from the board, each with a recommendation.
7. **Appendix** — the supporting detail you'll pull up if asked.

Board decks tolerate more text than a keynote because they double as a read-ahead leave-behind. Even so:
assertion headlines, one idea per slide, every number sourced.

## Presenter vs leave-behind (two variants, one narrative)

The same deck serves two jobs badly unless you split them. Decide which you're shipping; build both when needed.

| | **Presenter deck** | **Leave-behind deck** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| When | You're in the room narrating | Sent as PDF; read alone, unnarrated |
| On-slide text | Minimal — headline + one visual + 0–3 points | Self-contained — enough to follow without you |
| Where the argument lives | In your mouth + the speaker notes | On the slides themselves + appendix |
| Risk if wrong | Wall-of-text presenter slide → you read aloud, audience tunes out | Sparse leave-behind → reader can't reconstruct the point |
| Build tactic | Write the full talk track into **speaker notes**; keep slides sparse | Promote key notes onto the slide; expand the appendix |

Practical move: build the **presenter** deck first (sparse + rich notes), then derive the **leave-behind** by
promoting notes onto slides and adding context. In Markdown pipelines, speaker notes (`<!-- notes -->` /
`notes:`) export to PDF presenter notes and to PPTX notes — write the talk track there, not on the slide.

## Storyboarding before you build

1. **Write the thesis** (one sentence).
2. **Pick the arc** (table above).
3. **Outline assertion headlines only** — one line per slide. Read them top-to-bottom: do they tell the story alone? If not, the structure is broken — fix it before any pixels.
4. **Attach the proof** to each headline (the chart, the quote, the screenshot, the number + its source).
5. **Mark slide weight** (heavy data / light statement) and check pacing.
6. **Get the skeleton approved** before designing. Re-laying-out a wrong structure is the most expensive mistake.
7. Only then: theme + layout (`slide-design.md`) and build (`markdown-decks.md` or `pptx-python.md`).

## Common storytelling failures (and the fix)

| Failure | Fix |
| --- | --- |
| Company-first ("About us" slide 1) | Audience-first; their problem opens the deck |
| Feature tour with no narrative | Pick an arc; features become proof of the thesis |
| Every slide same weight → monotone | Alternate heavy/light; add statement slides to breathe |
| No tension → no attention | Open a real gap (problem/stakes/why-now) before resolving it |
| Burying the ask | One explicit CTA near the end; in board decks, decisions stated up front |
| Numbers that don't agree across assets | One source of truth; cross-check every figure (investor golden rule) |
| Reading slides aloud | Slide = visual; talk track in notes; never duplicate |
