Compile Deck

Compile Deck

Create beautiful Beamer presentations. This skill enforces the Rhetoric of Decks philosophy through concrete, measurable rules — not aspirational guidance.

Step 1: Triage

Before touching anything, answer three questions:

Q1: New deck or editing existing?

• If editing: Read the .tex file first. Understand its palette, structure, and style before changing anything.
• If new: Proceed to Q2.

Q2: Who is the audience?

1. Academic seminar — sparse, one idea per slide, titles carry the argument
2. Teaching lecture — clarity over compression, repetition OK, progressive revelation
3. Working deck (coauthors) — more detail OK, document choices, preserve uncertainty
4. External non-academic — storytelling, visual impact, minimal jargon

See domain_patterns.md in this skill directory for detailed guidance per audience type.

Q3: What's the tone?

1. Professional/Academic — use the Warm Professional palette (default) or Academic Muted
2. Colorful/Expressive — create something new each time. See palette_reference.md for inspiration.

Step 2: The Non-Negotiable Rules

These are not guidelines. They are constraints.

ONE idea per slide

If a slide has two ideas, split it. No exceptions.

Titles are assertions, not labels

• Bad: "Results"
• Good: "Treatment increased distance by 61 miles on average"
• Bad: "Literature Review"
• Good: "Prior work ignores the supply-side margin"

If someone reads only the slide titles in sequence, they should understand the entire argument.