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Modes — Index

A mode is the deck's narrative + persuasion skeleton — how the argument is organized and advanced across pages. Lock one mode per deck; it shapes page sequencing, title voice, page-structure tendencies, and speaker-notes register.

A mode is not a visual style. Mode = how you argue; visual style = how it looks (see visual-styles/_index.md). The two are locked independently — any mode pairs with any visual style (a pyramid deck can look swiss-minimal or dark-tech).

1. Catalog (5 modes)

Each mode has its own file with: narrative skeleton, page-structure tendencies, speaker-notes register, and a page skeleton example. Read only the file for the mode you lock — never glob the directory.

Mode	Narrative skeleton	Best for
`pyramid`	Conclusion first; MECE arguments; every datum carries a comparison	Decision support, analysis, strategy, board / exec reports
`narrative`	Story arc — situation → tension → resolution; suspense and turns	Pitches, case studies, brand journeys, fundraising
`instructional`	Concept decomposition; step-by-step; parallel exposition	Training, tutorials, explainers, knowledge sharing
`showcase`	Visual-led impact; big imagery / numbers; emotional rhythm	Launches, brand reveals, event / promo decks
`briefing`	Neutral, complete, scannable; topic titles, even weight, no thesis	Status updates, reference decks, catalogs, meeting packs, FAQs

The five partition presentation intent, not aesthetics: persuade (pyramid) · tell a story (narrative) · teach (instructional) · impress (showcase) · simply inform (briefing).

A mode is a lens, not a mandate over the user's own structure. When the user brings their own outline, it is authoritative: transcribe it into design_spec.md §IX as given — page order and titles preserved — and let the mode govern only voice / register and page-internal treatment. A mode never reorders a user's pages or rewrites their given titles (mode is Reference-strength; a user-authored outline is exactly the override). When the user gives no structure, the mode does the structural lifting. To lay an outline out with the least reshaping, briefing imposes the lightest skeleton.

2. Auto-selection — content / audience signal → mode

Signal	Recommended mode	Alternates
Strategic decision / analysis / board / investor	`pyramid`	`narrative`
Pitch / case study / origin story / campaign arc	`narrative`	`showcase`
Course / onboarding / how-to / science explainer	`instructional`	`pyramid`
Product launch / brand reveal / event opener / keynote / 发布会 / TED	`showcase`	`narrative`
Status update / reference / catalog / FAQ / meeting pack / 周报 / 参考	`briefing`	`pyramid`

No single signal dominates — read the deck's actual purpose from c. Key Information. When two modes fit, follow the primary intent of the body pages, not the cover. A data review legitimately runs almost entirely pyramid; do not force variety.

Close calls — the genuinely adjacent pairs; every other pair is far enough apart that the auto-selection signal decides.

Torn between	…the first when	…the second when
`pyramid` / `briefing`	it must land a recommendation — conclusion-first, every number compared	it must inform completely without arguing — topic titles, even weight
`narrative` / `pyramid`	the point lands through a story arc, tension → resolution	the point lands as a conclusion stated up front, then supported
`narrative` / `showcase`	an argument travels through the story	presence leads — minimal copy, one big visual per page
`instructional` / `briefing`	the goal is to build understanding step by step	the goal is to lay out a complete reference to scan

"Keynote-style" is a mode request, not a visual style — it means showcase pacing (one big idea per page, full-bleed hero, reveal rhythm), skinned by whatever visual style fits the brand (swiss-minimal clean, dark-tech dramatic, glassmorphism premium). Don't reach for a "keynote" visual style — there isn't one, by design.

3. How to use

Strategist reads this index at confirmation d. Layer 1.
Pick one mode from the auto-selection table + the deck's stated purpose.
Lock it: write - mode: <name> into spec_lock.md, record the rationale in design_spec.md.
Executor reads only modes/<locked-mode>.md at generation entry — never globs this directory.

Lock scope: deck-wide (one mode per deck). The five are the catalog you select from; if the structure is genuinely mixed, pick the mode of the body pages and let pages vary within it, or recommend a custom blend (§4). Recommend the best fit; the user confirms.

4. Escape hatch — `custom`

custom holds any bespoke narrative direction the five don't give as-is — and what kind of thing it is doesn't matter. It might be a nameable cadence (dialectic 正反合, myth-vs-reality, countdown / Top-N, Socratic), a deliberate multi-act fusion of several modes, or the user's own feel for how the deck should carry (confrontational here, detached there). Don't try to taxonomize it.

Either side may originate it. The user can ask for it directly; or the Strategist — as the deck's strategist — may recommend custom when a bespoke direction (often a fusion of two modes) genuinely serves the deck better than any single preset. Like every confirmation, it's a recommendation the user confirms or overrides — and the recommendation must spell the custom out in plain language (what the cadence / fusion / posture actually is), never present the bare token custom, so the user confirms something legible. Either way, the Strategist crystallizes the intent into a - mode_behavior: paragraph — concrete enough that the Executor can follow it per page (the act sequence or posture shifts, the title voice, the page rhythm, the notes register). Set - mode: custom in spec_lock.md with that sibling line; the Executor follows the prose in place of a preset file. (This records the intent so it survives 20 pages of generation — the Executor only ever reads spec_lock.md, never the chat.)

One value per deck — fusion is one custom, not several modes. A deck always locks a single mode. A multi-mode blend is expressed as one mode: custom whose mode_behavior paragraph describes the acts — never by locking several modes.

First ask whether it's really fusion. A locked mode is a tendency, not a cage: a narrative deck can still carry one analytical (pyramid-style) page, an instructional deck one showcase reveal — that is leaning within a dominant mode, and needs no custom. Reach for custom only when there is genuinely no single dominant spine.

The one thing to avoid: reaching for custom as a dodge — defaulting to it because picking among the five takes judgment. When a preset genuinely fits, lock the preset; propose custom when a bespoke direction earns its place, not to avoid choosing. (And a user-stated direction is authoritative the same way a user-supplied outline is — see the lens-not-mandate note in §1.)

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