claude-scientific-skills/scientific-skills/markdown-mermaid-writing/templates/presentation.md

Presentation / Briefing Template

Back to Markdown Style Guide — Read the style guide first for formatting, citation, and emoji rules.

Use this template for: Slide-deck-style documents, research presentations, briefings, lectures, walkthroughs, or any content that would traditionally be a PowerPoint. Designed to read well as a standalone document AND to serve as speaker-ready presentation notes.

Key features: Collapsible speaker notes under every section, structured flow from context through content to action items, figure captions, and footnote citations.

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How to Use

1. Copy this file to your project
2. Replace all [bracketed placeholders] with your content
3. Delete sections that don't apply (but keep the core flow)
4. Add/remove content topics (H3s under 📚 Content) as needed
5. Follow the Markdown Style Guide for all formatting
6. Add Mermaid diagrams wherever a concept benefits from a visual

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Template Structure

The presentation follows a 6-section flow. Each section has an H2 with one emoji, content, and optional collapsible speaker notes.

1. 🏠 Housekeeping — Logistics, context, announcements
2. 📍 Agenda — What we'll cover, with time estimates
3. 🎯 Objectives — What the audience will walk away with
4. 📚 Content — The main body (multiple H3 topics)
5. ✍️ Action Items — What happens next, who owns what
6. 🔗 References — Citations, resources, further reading

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The Template

Everything below the line is the template. Copy from here:

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[Presentation Title]

[Context line — project, team, date, or purpose]

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🏠 Housekeeping

• [Logistics item or announcement]
• [Important deadline or reminder]
• [Any prerequisite context the audience needs]

💬 Speaker Notes

• Timing: 2–3 minutes for this section
• Tone: Conversational, get the room settled
• [Specific note about announcement context]
• [Transition line:] "With that covered, here's our plan for today..."

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📍 Agenda

• Housekeeping (3 min)
• [Topic 1 name] (10 min)
• [Topic 2 name] (15 min)
• [Topic 3 name] (15 min)
• Action items and Q&A (10 min)

Total: [estimated time]

💬 Speaker Notes

• Reference this agenda when transitioning between topics
• If running long on a topic, note what you'll compress
• "We have a natural break around the halfway point"
• Adjust timing based on audience engagement — questions are good

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🎯 Objectives

After this presentation, you'll be able to:

• [Action verb] [specific, measurable outcome]
• [Action verb] [specific, measurable outcome]
• [Action verb] [specific, measurable outcome]

💬 Speaker Notes

• Reference these objectives throughout the presentation
• "This connects back to our first objective..."
• At the end, revisit: "Let's check — did we hit all three?"
• Strong action verbs: Identify, Analyze, Compare, Evaluate, Design, Implement, Explain, Distinguish, Create, Apply

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📚 Content

[Topic 1 title]

[Opening context — why this matters, what problem it solves]

Key points:

• [Point 1 with brief explanation]
• [Point 2 with brief explanation]
• [Point 3 with brief explanation]

Image placeholder: images/slide-[filename].png Figure 1: [What this image demonstrates]

💡 Key insight: [The one-liner the audience should remember from this topic]

💬 Speaker Notes

Teaching strategy

• Open with a question: "[Engaging question for the audience]?"
• Take 2–3 responses
• "Good thinking. Here's how this actually works..."

Core explanation (3–5 min)

• Start with the definition/concept
• Walk through step by step
• Use a real-world example: "[Specific scenario]"

Common misconceptions

• What people think: [Misconception]
• What's actually true: [Reality]
• How to address it: [Reframe]

Transition

• "Now that we understand [concept], let's look at how it applies to..."

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[Topic 2 title]

[Context and explanation]

Comparison of approaches:

Approach	Best for	Tradeoffs
[Option A]	[Scenario]	[Pro/con]
[Option B]	[Scenario]	[Pro/con]
[Option C]	[Scenario]	[Pro/con]

flowchart LR
    accTitle: [Short title for this diagram]
    accDescr: [One sentence describing what the diagram shows]

    step1[⚙️ Step one] --> step2[🔍 Step two] --> step3[✅ Step three]

[Explanation of what the diagram shows and why it matters]

💬 Speaker Notes

Walk through each option (5–6 min)

Option A:

• "Used when [scenario]"
• "Advantage: [benefit]"
• "Disadvantage: [drawback]"

Option B:

• "Used when [scenario]"
• "Advantage: [benefit]"
• "Disadvantage: [drawback]"

Decision-making exercise

• Ask: "Given [scenario], which would you choose?"
• Take responses, discuss reasoning
• "In practice, professionals choose based on [criteria]"

Real-world example

• "[Company/project] chose Option B because [reasoning]"
• "The result was [outcome]"
• "This matters because [relevance to audience]"¹

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[Topic 3 title]

[Context and explanation]

Process:

1. [First step with explanation]
2. [Second step with explanation]
3. [Third step with explanation]

⚠️ Common pitfall: [What goes wrong and how to avoid it]

[Deeper explanation, examples, or data supporting the topic]

💬 Speaker Notes

Interactive element

• Pause at step 2: "What happens next?"
• Take guesses before revealing step 3
• "Why does this matter? Because [stakes]"

If audience is advanced

• Skip the basics, jump to: "[Advanced angle]"
• Challenge question: "What if [scenario changed]?"

If audience is struggling

• Slow down, repeat the analogy
• "Think of it like [simple comparison]"
• Offer to cover more in Q&A

Timing

• This should take about [N] minutes
• If running long, compress the [specific part]

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✍️ Action items

Next steps

Action	Owner	Due
[Specific action item]	[Person/team]	[Date]
[Specific action item]	[Person/team]	[Date]
[Specific action item]	[Person/team]	[Date]

Key takeaways

1. [Takeaway 1] — [one sentence summary]
2. [Takeaway 2] — [one sentence summary]
3. [Takeaway 3] — [one sentence summary]

💬 Speaker Notes

• Walk through each action item explicitly
• "Who owns this? When is it due?"
• "Questions about any of these?"
• Revisit the objectives: "Did we hit all three?"
• "Thank you for your time. I'm available for follow-up at [contact]."

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🔗 References

Sources cited

All footnote references from the presentation are collected here:

Further reading

• Resource title — Why this is useful
• Resource title — What it provides

Tools mentioned

• Tool name — Purpose and how to access

💬 Speaker Notes

• "These resources are available in the shared document"
• "Start with [specific resource] — it's the most practical"
• "If you want to go deeper, [specific resource] covers the advanced topics"

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Last updated: [Date]

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1. [Author/Org]. ([Year]). "[Title]." [Publication]. https://example.com ↩︎