Pitch Deck Skill

Use When

• User wants to create an investor pitch deck (seed, Series A/B/C)
• User wants a product launch or feature announcement presentation
• User wants an enterprise sales deck or client-facing pitch
• User wants a business proposal or strategy presentation in slides
• User mentions "pitch deck", "investor deck", "sales deck", "fundraising presentation"

Don't Use When

pitch-deck vs morph-ppt

Hard Rules (Non-Negotiable)

These rules are checked by evaluators and will FAIL the deck if violated. No exceptions beyond the explicit list below.

H-FONT: Body Text Minimum Size + Font Consistency

ALL body text must be ≥ 16pt. This applies to EVERY visible text element unless it falls into the explicit exceptions below.

Elements that MUST be ≥ 16pt (no exceptions):

• Card body copy / card descriptions
• Flow diagram node description text
• Team bio text
• Timeline step labels
• Business model card copy
• Sub-labels under stat callout numbers (e.g., "Total Addressable Market")
• Any paragraph or supporting text block

Permitted exceptions (only these — nothing else):

• Chart axis labels / tick labels: 10pt minimum (e.g., axisFont="10:64748B:Calibri")
• Chart legend text: 10pt minimum (e.g., legendFont="10:64748B:Calibri")
• Table header/body rows: 11-12pt minimum (table cells have constrained space)
• Icon badge initials (letters inside avatar ellipses): any size acceptable

If you are unsure whether something is an exception: it is NOT. Set it to 16pt.

Font consistency (enforced across every shape):

The font pairing declared in creating.md Section A.3 (e.g., Georgia for titles, Calibri for body) applies to EVERY text shape in the entire deck without exception. This includes:

• Connector labels (if any)
• Footer shapes
• Page number shapes
• Small caption or source-credit shapes
• Notes callout shapes

❌ BANNED: Using any font not declared in your A.3 pairing (e.g., adding Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or any other font mid-deck) ❌ BANNED: Omitting the font property on any shape and relying on PowerPoint defaults

Before delivery, scan every add command in your script and confirm every shape has an explicit "font" value matching your declared pairing.

H-OVERLAP: No Shape May Overlap Another Shape's Text

After adding connectors and arrows, immediately take a PNG screenshot and verify:

1. Every connector is visible (not missing)
2. No connector or arrow overlaps any text box content

If a connector overlaps text, reposition the connector OR send it behind the text box using --prop zorder=back. See creating.md C.9 for the full connector verification protocol.

H-PALETTE: Color Palette Discipline

Use ONLY colors from your pre-defined palette ($PRIMARY, $SECONDARY, $ACCENT1, $ACCENT2, etc.). Do NOT introduce additional accent colors not defined at the start of the script. If you used purple on Slide 3 but it was not in your initial palette definition, remove it. Every color in the deck must trace back to a named palette variable.

Common traps — these WILL cause a FAIL:

• ❌ BANNED: Red (FF0000, CC0000, E53935, etc.) to indicate "bad/wrong/competitor weakness" — use your palette's darkest color instead
• ❌ BANNED: Green (00FF00, 4CAF50, 34A853, etc.) to indicate "good/correct/your advantage" — UNLESS green is explicitly declared as a palette variable (e.g., ACCENT1="34A853")
• ❌ BANNED: Gray (888888, 999999, AAAAAA, CCCCCC, etc.) as a neutral/background color — use a palette light color (e.g., $LIGHT) instead
• ❌ BANNED: Any bare hex color value that does NOT appear in your palette variable block

How to express contrast and status without new colors:

• "Bad/competitor" column or row → use your palette's darkest or most muted shade (e.g., $DARK, $DARK2)
• "Good/your product" column or row → use your palette's primary or accent color (e.g., $PRIMARY, $ACCENT1)
• Neutral/disabled state → use a light-opacity version of an existing palette color, not gray
• Tick mark vs cross mark in comparison tables → use the same text color as the column; do NOT switch to red/green

Core Concepts

1. Layout-First Construction -- Select a slide pattern from creating.md Section C, then fill with content. Never manually calculate x/y from scratch.
2. Color Palette Upfront -- Define 5-6 hex colors as shell variables before building. All commands reference $PRIMARY, $SECONDARY, etc.
3. Slide Pattern Library -- 11 pre-tested spatial blueprints with positioning tables. See creating.md Section C.
4. Chart Styling is Non-Negotiable -- Every chart uses the modern recipe: plotFill=none, chartFill=none, subtle gridlines, series.outline.
5. Speaker Notes as Checklist Item -- Add 2+ sentence notes after each content slide is complete.

Workflow Overview

Phase 1: Understand -- Identify deck type (seed/launch/investor/sales), slide count, data provided, color preference.

Phase 2: Plan -- Select deck structure from creating.md Section A. Define palette as shell variables. Map each slide to a pattern from Section C. Verify no two consecutive slides share the same layout.

Phase 3: Build -- Create file, set metadata, then officecli open for resident mode. Build slide by slide using batch mode (heredoc syntax for 4+ elements). Apply chart/table recipes from Sections D/E. Add speaker notes after each slide. officecli close before QA.

Phase 4: QA & Deliver -- Run officecli validate. Check the QA checklist below. Deliver with note about validation exceptions if cell merge was used.

Quick Start -- 6-Slide Seed Pitch

# Setup
officecli create pitch.pptx
officecli set pitch.pptx / --prop title="FitPulse" --prop author="Alex Kim"
officecli open pitch.pptx        # Resident mode — all batch operations run in memory
PRIMARY="FF6B35"; SECONDARY="1A1A2E"; ACCENT1="00C9A7"; DARK="16213E"; MUTED="64748B"
# MUTED is declared here so stat sub-label colors use a palette variable, not a bare hex gray

# Slide 1: Title (gradient background, pattern C.1)
cat <<'EOF' | officecli batch pitch.pptx
[
  {"command":"add","parent":"/","type":"slide","props":{"layout":"blank","background":"1A1A2E-16213E-180"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[1]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"FitPulse","x":"2cm","y":"5cm","width":"29.87cm","height":"4cm","font":"Georgia","size":"48","bold":"true","color":"FF6B35","align":"center","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[1]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"AI That Trains With You","x":"2cm","y":"10cm","width":"29.87cm","height":"2cm","font":"Calibri","size":"22","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[1]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"Seed Round | $500K","x":"2cm","y":"13cm","width":"29.87cm","height":"1.5cm","font":"Calibri","size":"16","color":"00C9A7","align":"center","fill":"none"}}
]
EOF
officecli set pitch.pptx "/slide[1]" --prop transition=fade

# Slide 2: Market (3-stat callout, pattern C.2)
cat <<'EOF' | officecli batch pitch.pptx
[
  {"command":"add","parent":"/","type":"slide","props":{"layout":"blank","background":"FFFFFF"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[2]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"A $96B Market","x":"2cm","y":"1cm","width":"29.87cm","height":"3cm","font":"Georgia","size":"36","bold":"true","color":"1A1A2E","align":"left","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[2]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"$96B","x":"2cm","y":"5cm","width":"9cm","height":"4cm","font":"Georgia","size":"64","bold":"true","color":"FF6B35","align":"center","valign":"bottom","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[2]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"Total Addressable Market","x":"2cm","y":"9.5cm","width":"9cm","height":"2cm","font":"Calibri","size":"16","color":"64748B","align":"center","fill":"none"}},
  // ^^^ "64748B" = $MUTED declared above. Use $MUTED in your palette; in heredoc use its literal hex value.
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[2]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"$14.7B","x":"12.5cm","y":"5cm","width":"9cm","height":"4cm","font":"Georgia","size":"64","bold":"true","color":"FF6B35","align":"center","valign":"bottom","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[2]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"Fitness App Market","x":"12.5cm","y":"9.5cm","width":"9cm","height":"2cm","font":"Calibri","size":"16","color":"64748B","align":"center","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[2]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"$320M","x":"23cm","y":"5cm","width":"9cm","height":"4cm","font":"Georgia","size":"64","bold":"true","color":"FF6B35","align":"center","valign":"bottom","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[2]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"AI Fitness (beachhead)","x":"23cm","y":"9.5cm","width":"9cm","height":"2cm","font":"Calibri","size":"16","color":"64748B","align":"center","fill":"none"}}
]
EOF
officecli set pitch.pptx "/slide[2]" --prop transition=push-left
officecli add pitch.pptx "/slide[2]" --type notes \
  --prop text="The global fitness market is 96 billion. Our beachhead is the 320M AI fitness niche."

# Slide 3: Traction (chart + stats, pattern C.4)
cat <<'EOF' | officecli batch pitch.pptx
[
  {"command":"add","parent":"/","type":"slide","props":{"layout":"blank","background":"FFFFFF"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[3]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"Explosive Early Traction","x":"2cm","y":"1cm","width":"29.87cm","height":"3cm","font":"Georgia","size":"36","bold":"true","color":"1A1A2E","align":"left","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[3]","type":"chart","props":{"chartType":"areaStacked","categories":"Month 1,Month 2,Month 3","series1":"Casual:8000,14000,19200","series2":"Enthusiast:2500,5200,9600","series3":"Pro:500,1200,3200","x":"2cm","y":"4cm","width":"17cm","height":"13cm","colors":"FF6B35,00C9A7,845EC2","plotFill":"none","chartFill":"none","gridlines":"E2E8F0:0.5","legendFont":"10:64748B:Calibri","legend":"bottom","series.outline":"FFFFFF-0.5"}},
  // NOTE: legendFont=10 above is a CHART INTERNAL exception (axis/legend) — allowed.
  // All standalone stat sub-labels and body text outside the chart MUST be >= 16pt (Hard Rule H-FONT).
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[3]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"50K","x":"21cm","y":"4cm","width":"11cm","height":"2.5cm","font":"Georgia","size":"44","bold":"true","color":"FF6B35","align":"center","valign":"bottom","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[3]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"Downloads","x":"21cm","y":"6.8cm","width":"11cm","height":"1.2cm","font":"Calibri","size":"16","color":"64748B","align":"center","fill":"none"}},
  // ^^^ "64748B" = $MUTED. Stat sub-label: must be >= 16pt (Hard Rule H-FONT). Do NOT copy 12pt from old examples.
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[3]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"40%","x":"21cm","y":"8.5cm","width":"11cm","height":"2.5cm","font":"Georgia","size":"44","bold":"true","color":"00C9A7","align":"center","valign":"bottom","fill":"none"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[3]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"MoM Growth","x":"21cm","y":"11.3cm","width":"11cm","height":"1.2cm","font":"Calibri","size":"16","color":"64748B","align":"center","fill":"none"}}
  // ^^^ "64748B" = $MUTED. Stat sub-label: must be >= 16pt (Hard Rule H-FONT). Do NOT copy 12pt from old examples.
]
EOF
officecli set pitch.pptx "/slide[3]" --prop transition=push-left
officecli add pitch.pptx "/slide[3]" --type notes \
  --prop text="50K downloads in 3 months with 40% MoM growth. Premium tier growing fastest."

# Slides 4-5: Team (C.11) + Problem/Solution (C.7) -- use patterns from creating.md
# Slide 6: Closing (C.12) -- gradient matching slide 1, fade transition

# Close and QA
officecli close pitch.pptx
officecli validate pitch.pptx

QA Checklist

Run before every delivery. See creating.md Section G for the full checklist.

1. officecli validate = 0 errors. Exception: slides with cell merge may report schema warnings that are cosmetic (PowerPoint renders correctly).
2. Every chart is editable (click -> Edit Data appears in PowerPoint)
3. Every table is a native table object (click -> table editing mode)
4. Speaker notes on all content slides (exclude title and closing), >= 2 sentences each
5. No two consecutive slides share the same layout structure
6. Font consistency: every shape in the deck uses only the declared font pairing (Georgia + Calibri). No shape may use an undeclared font (Hard Rule H-FONT).
7. Palette-only colors: scan all fill and color values — no bare hex outside the declared palette block. No red/green/gray introduced for status indicators (Hard Rule H-PALETTE).

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• No morph transitions, clone-slide, or !! naming
• No 3D effects, motion paths, or video embedding
• No template merge ({{key}} patterns)
• No custom SVG geometry or WordArt
• No reading/editing existing .pptx (use officecli-pptx)

Known Issues

See creating.md Section H for the full list with workarounds. Key issues:

Adjustments After Creation

When the user requests changes after the deck is built:

After any swap or move, re-query the affected slide with officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[N]' --depth 1 — shape indices shift after reordering.

Help System

officecli pptx set              # All settable elements and properties
officecli pptx set shape        # Shape properties in detail
officecli pptx add              # All addable element types
officecli pptx view             # All view modes