conference-talk-builder

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:

1. Introduction - Current status quo
2. Problem Statement - What needs solving
3. Exploration - Initial attempts
4. Experimentation - Deep investigation
5. Solution - The breakthrough
6. Challenges - Implementation difficulties
7. Apply Knowledge - Integration into project
8. 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

1. Gather experience, main points, target audience
2. 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
3. Generate markdown slides with proper formatting
4. Iterate based on feedback