---
name: presenter-notes
description: "Write presenter notes that actually help mid-talk — cue-grain phrases instead of scripts, the transitions and numbers that deserve verbatim capture, the timing marks that keep the talk on schedule, and the Q&A crib built in. Use when asked write my speaker notes, I either script everything or wing it, what goes in the notes pane, or I keep running over time. Produces the notes at cue grain, the verbatim-worthy lines, the timing marks, and the Q&A crib."
---

# Presenter Notes Skill

Speaker notes fail at both extremes: the full script (read aloud, killing the delivery it was meant to save — audiences hear reading in one sentence) and the blank pane (winging it, losing the transitions, blowing the timing, garbling the one number that mattered). The working notes are *cue-grain*: per slide, the point in a phrase, the 2–3 beats in order, and — captured verbatim because paraphrase ruins them — the transitions ([deck-narrative-arc](../deck-narrative-arc/SKILL.md) thread sentences), the precise numbers with their caveats, and the opening/closing lines. Plus the two things notes are uniquely positioned to hold: timing marks and the Q&A crib.

## What This Skill Produces

- **The cue notes** — per slide: the point-phrase, the beats, the exit line
- **The verbatim set** — transitions, numbers-with-caveats, the open and the close — the only full sentences allowed
- **The timing marks** — where the talk should be at T/4, T/2, 3T/4, and the designated skippable slides if behind
- **The Q&A crib** — the likely questions with answer-beats and appendix pointers ([exec-vs-working-deck](../exec-vs-working-deck/SKILL.md) appendix indexing)

## Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:
- **The deck** — notes attach to real slides; headline-titled decks ([deck-outline-first](../deck-outline-first/SKILL.md)) half-write their own cues
- **The time slot and the stakes** — a 10-minute board readout gets tighter marks than a 45-minute training; high-stakes talks earn more verbatim capture
- **The presenter's failure mode, honestly** — over-scripts and reads? Wings it and rambles? Freezes on numbers? The notes design compensates for the actual person
- **The hard questions expected** — the crib is built from real anticipated Q&A, not generic

## Framework: The Notes Rules

1. **Cues, not prose:** per slide — the point in ≤6 words ("month-two leak, onboarding") + the beats in order ("cohort spike → the two causes → why it's fixable") + the exit line to the next slide. Phrases prompt; sentences get read; the pane's format enforces the difference.
2. **Verbatim earns its place three ways:** the *transitions* (the thread sentences that carry the arc — paraphrased transitions drop the thread) · the *numbers with their exact caveats* ("$2.1M, excluding the pilot cohort" — the caveat garbled live becomes a correction email tomorrow) · the *open and close* (the two moments nerves hit hardest; a memorized-ish first line buys composure for everything after).
3. **Timing marks are the pacing instrument:** the slide numbers where T/4, T/2, 3T/4 should find you — glanceable mid-talk — plus the pre-designated skips ("behind at slide 9 → skip 11–12, the appendix holds them"). Deciding what to cut *while presenting* cuts the wrong thing every time; the marks pre-decide.
4. **The Q&A crib rides in the notes:** the 5–8 likely questions, each with answer-beats (not essays) and the appendix slide number — "pricing pushback → beats: cohort math, the pilot result → slide 24." The crib converts Q&A from ambush to retrieval.
5. **Notes are rehearsal artifacts:** one full run *from the notes* — every place the presenter stumbles or ad-libs better than the note, the note updates ([runbook-writer](../runbook-writer/SKILL.md) stranger-test logic, applied to future-you under stage lights, who is a stranger). Notes never rehearsed are speculation in a smaller font.

## Output Format

# Presenter Notes: [talk] — [T] min

## Per Slide
**[#] [headline]** — point: [≤6 words] · beats: [1 → 2 → 3] · exit: "[the verbatim transition]"

## The Verbatim Set
[Open: "…" · Close + ask: "…" · The numbers with caveats, exact]

## Timing Marks
[T/4 @ slide _ · T/2 @ _ · 3T/4 @ _ · behind-plan: skip [slides], say "[the bridge line]"]

## Q&A Crib
| Likely question | Answer beats | Appendix |
|---|---|---|

## Quality Checks

- [ ] No slide's notes exceed cue grain except the earned verbatim set
- [ ] Every transition is captured verbatim
- [ ] Numbers carry their exact caveats
- [ ] Timing marks and pre-decided skips exist
- [ ] One full rehearsal ran from these notes and updated them

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not script the talk — the room hears reading instantly, and forgives it never
- [ ] Do not paraphrase transitions live — the thread sentences are load-bearing; that's why they're verbatim
- [ ] Do not improvise cuts when behind — the pre-decided skips exist because live cutting amputates the argument
- [ ] Do not walk in without the crib — Q&A is the half of the talk you don't control; the crib is its notes
- [ ] Do not treat notes as private scaffolding exempt from rehearsal — unrehearsed notes fail exactly when needed, which is their only job

## Example Trigger Phrases

- "Write my speaker notes."
- "I either script everything."
- "What goes in the notes pane?"
- "I keep running over time."