Conference Talk Builder
Create compelling conference talk outlines and iA Presenter markdown slides using the Story Circle narrative framework.
Process
1. Gather Information
Ask the user for:
- Talk title and topic
- Target audience and knowledge level
- Main points to cover
- Brain dump of everything they know
- Problem they're solving or story they're telling
- Constraints (time limit, specific technologies)
2. Read the Story Circle Framework
Load references/story-circle.md for the eight-step narrative structure.
The framework maps tech talks to:
- Top half: Established practices and order
- Bottom half: Disruption and experimentation
3. Create the Outline
Structure the talk using eight Story Circle steps:
- Introduction - Current status quo
- Problem Statement - What needs solving
- Exploration - Initial attempts
- Experimentation - Deep investigation
- Solution - The breakthrough
- Challenges - Implementation difficulties
- Apply Knowledge - Integration into project
- Results & Insights - Lessons learned
Map user's content to these steps. Show outline and refine based on feedback.
4. Generate iA Presenter Slides
Read references/ia-presenter-syntax.md for markdown formatting rules.
Create slides that:
- Use
---to separate slides - Add tabs before content visible on slides
- Leave speaker notes without tabs
- Include comments with
//for reminders - Format code blocks with syntax highlighting
Structure the slide deck:
- Title slide
- Introduction with speaker bio
- One or more slides per Story Circle step
- Code examples broken across multiple slides
- Closing slide with contact info and resources
5. Refine and Iterate
After showing slides:
- Ask if sections need expansion or compression
- Check if code examples need better formatting
- Verify story flow makes sense
- Adjust based on feedback
Gotchas
- Story Circle steps 3-4 (Exploration/Experimentation) are where most talks lose structure — ensure the "struggle" before the solution is clear
- iA Presenter syntax requires tabs before visible content — content without tabs becomes speaker notes only
- Code on slides must be readable on bad projectors — break across multiple slides, use large font
- Don't skip the iterate step — first draft outlines always have pacing issues
Key Principles
Tell a Story: Focus on how you approached a problem and solved it.
Keep It Readable: Break code across slides. Test on bad projectors.
Engage the Audience: Use humor where appropriate. Ask questions.
Make Follow-up Easy: Include memorable URL or QR code linking to resources.
Example Workflow
Topic: Migrating from JavaScript to TypeScript
- Gather experience, main points, target audience
- Map content to Story Circle:
- Introduction: Current JS codebase - Problem: Type safety issues - Exploration: Research into TypeScript - Experimentation: Pilot conversion - Solution: Incremental migration strategy - Challenges: Third-party library types - Apply: Full codebase migration - Results: 40% reduction in runtime errors
- Generate markdown slides with proper formatting
- Iterate based on feedback