Shape: talk
A spoken talk with slides has five parts, in this order:
- the point;
- the plan;
- one section per claim;
- the point again;
- the questions.
The outline fits any slide tool, or none. Its filled example is example-talk.html, an HTML deck that passes every deck check.
When to use it
- A conference or seminar talk, the defence of a thesis or an internship report, a lecture, or a pitch of about ten to forty minutes.
- Not for a deck read without a speaker: the business decision maker style says how that changes.
- Inside a fixed slot, cut material to fit it. Do not speed up (academic audience).
- Length is a convention: Beamer 2026 advises not more than one slide per minute, and Kawasaki 2005 advises 10 slides in 20 minutes (both conventions, untested).
- A short slot, 3 to 10 minutes, as in a lightning talk: one idea, and no plan slide; say the point at the start and at the end (casual audience; convention, untested). Declare the slot in the deck,
<html data-minutes="5">, so the checks apply it.
How each part maps to the evidence
| Part | What it does | Evidence | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title slide stating the point | gives the one thing to remember in the first minutes | Peyton Jones 1993, TED 2026 (example only) | convention, untested |
| The plan | tells the listener the parts, as an organiser | overview first; Rowley-Jolivet 2005 (talks open differently from papers) | measured for organisers; supported with caveat for talks |
| One section per claim: sentence headline | states the claim of each slide | Garner 2013 | supported with caveat |
| One section per claim: evidence | shows a figure or table placed with the words that explain it | Garner 2013; draw relations | supported with caveat |
| What to say on each slide | adds to the slide and does not repeat it | Adesope 2012, Yue 2013 | measured |
| Points shown as spoken | builds a figure in step with the voice | Liu 2022, Ito 2026 | supported with caveat (recorded narration only) |
| Gesture | points at what is said | Hostetter 2011, Dargue 2019 | measured |
| Segments of long material | splits the hour into parts | Rey 2019 | supported with caveat (lab lessons) |
| The point again | returns to the point and ends on it | Peyton Jones 1993 | convention, untested |
| Questions and backup slides | prepares the likely questions with slides for them | Xu 2022 (secondary) | convention (the research is descriptive) |
Each key (Author Year) is listed in bibliography. No part of this shape has been tested against another talk structure on listener outcomes; position says what is not known.
The principles it applies
| Part | Principle |
|---|---|
| Title slide stating the point; the plan; the point again | a talk is not a paper, overview first |
| Sentence headline and its evidence | claim headline with evidence, figure next to its text |
| What to say on each slide | no script on screen |
| Builds, clips and demos | reveal with the voice, motion adds, never replaces |
| Type, contrast and colour on every slide | legible in the room, colour as a signal |
| Pointing while speaking | gesture with the words |
| Questions and backup slides | plan the questions |
Skeleton
Copy this into your slide tool as one outline. The lines after "Say:" are for the speaker, not for the slide.
# Slide 1. Title that states the point
On the slide: the title as one sentence stating the point, your name, the venue and the date.
Say: the point in one sentence, and why the listener should care.
# Slide 2. The plan
On the slide: three to five parts, in the order they come, as a short list or a simple map.
Say: what each part does, in one sentence each.
# Slides 3 to n. One section per claim
## Claim slide
On the slide: a headline that is a sentence of at most two lines stating the claim. Below it the evidence, a figure or a table, with the few key terms that explain it.
Say: what the figure shows, where to look, and what follows. Point at the part as you name it. Do not read the slide.
## Evidence build (optional)
On the slide: the same figure, with each part appearing as you reach it.
Say: the step you are on, and pause before the next one.
## Section close
On the slide: the claim again, in a few words.
Say: how this claim supports the point, and where the evidence is weak.
# Slide n+1. The point again
On the slide: the point of slide 1, in the same words.
Say: the point, the parts that supported it, and what follows. End here.
# Slide n+2. Questions
On the slide: the point and a way to reach you.
Say: invite questions. Repeat each question before you answer it.
# Backup slides
On the slide: one slide per likely question, with its headline and its evidence.
Say: nothing until a question needs the slide. Prepare the list of likely questions before the talk.Rehearsal
What no file shows, checked by running the talk once aloud, timed, before an honest listener:
- the talk fits the slot, with time left for questions;
- you point at each part of a figure as you name it;
- you say the sentence and the screen keeps only its terms;
- you repeat each question before you answer it.