Talk Stage 4: Position + CHECKPOINT
Generates strategic angles, titles, descriptions, and a peer-feedback draft. Then **stops and waits** for your angle + title choice before Stage 5 can proceed.
When to Use This Skill
- After Stage 3 (Concepts) — needs the concept catalogue
- When deciding how to frame the talk
- Before sending the CFP (uses the generated descriptions directly)
What This Skill Does
- **Reads inputs** — summary + concepts + event constraints
- **Generates angles** — 3-4 distinct angles with force/weakness analysis
- **Recommends** — one clear choice with structured justification
- **Generates titles** — 3-5 options per angle
- **Generates descriptions** — short abstract + long CFP description
- **Generates feedback draft** — ready-to-send message (3 formats)
- **CHECKPOINT** — displays choice request and waits for user response
- **Saves 4 files**
Input
- `talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-summary.md` (required)
- `talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-concepts.md` (required)
- Event constraints: duration, audience, CFP format if applicable
Output
- `talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-angles.md`
- `talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-titre.md`
- `talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-descriptions.md`
- `talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-feedback-draft.md`
angles.md Format
# Talk Angles — {provisional title}
**Goal**: Choose the angle that maximizes impact for {audience}.
**Audience**: {audience description}
---
## Angle 1: {Angle name}
**Pitch**: {2-3 sentences describing the talk from this angle}
**Strengths**:
- {strength 1}
- {strength 2}
**Weaknesses**:
- {weakness 1}
- {weakness 2}
**Audience fit**: Strong / Medium / Weak — {short justification}
**Verdict**: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (out of 5)
---
[Angle 2, Angle 3, (optional Angle 4) — same structure]
---
## Recommendation: Angle {X}, enriched by the others
**Angle {X} is the right choice.** Here's why:
### 1. It's the only angle that integrates the others
[Structure showing how other angles feed into the main one]
### 2. The narrative arc is natural and compelling
[Why the story holds better with this angle]
### 3. The metrics lend credibility throughout
[Which metrics support this angle most]
### 4. The final message emerges naturally
[How the conclusion flows from this angle]
---
## Recommended structure with sub-angles
| Act | Duration | Main angle | Integrated sub-angle |
|-----|----------|-----------|---------------------|
| 1. {name} | {n} min | {main angle} | {sub-angle} |
...titre.md Format
# Titles — Talk {slug}
**Selected angle**: Angle {X} — {name}
**Constraints**: {duration} min | {audience}
---
## Titles for the recommended angle
### Option 1 (recommended)
**{Main title}**
*Optional subtitle: {subtitle}*
Strengths: {why this title works}
Audience appeal: {who it hooks}
### Option 2
**{Title}**
Strengths: {strengths}
[Options 3-5]
---
## Titles for alternative angles (backup)
### If Angle 2 chosen
- **{title}**
- **{title}**
[If Angle 3 chosen — same]
---
## Verdict
**Recommendation**: Option 1 — "{title}"
**Why**: {short justification}descriptions.md Format
# Descriptions — Talk {slug}
---
## Short description (abstract, ~100 words)
{Full text — direct, engaging, starts with the impact or concrete promise.
Not "In this talk, we will..."}
---
## Long description (CFP, ~250 words)
{Full text — context, what the audience will learn, who it's for.
Includes key metrics if available.
Direct and factual tone.}
---
## Speaker pitch (bio-ready, ~50 words)
{Speaker introduction in 1-2 sentences, their relationship to the topic}
---
## Tags / Keywords
{5-10 relevant tags for CFP or search}CHECKPOINT (mandatory — Step 7)
After generating and saving the 4 files, display:
---
CHECKPOINT: Angle + Title choice
I've generated 4 files:
- talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-angles.md → {n} angles analyzed
- talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-titre.md → {n} title options
- talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-descriptions.md
- talks/{YYYY}-{slug}-feedback-draft.md
Before starting the script (Stage 5), I need your choice:
1. Which angle do you choose? (recommended: Angle {X} — {name})
2. Which title do you prefer? (recommended: "{title}")
You can also modify, combine, or propose something different.
Reply to start the script.
---**Do not invoke Stage 5 without explicit user confirmation.**
Angle Generation Rules
- Minimum 3 angles, maximum 4 (beyond that it's noise)
- Each angle must be genuinely distinct (not variations of the same)
- The recommendation must be clear and argued — not "your choice"
- Always test: "can this angle sustain the full duration without repeating?"
Anti-patterns
- Click-bait titles ("What nobody tells you about AI")
- Recommending the last angle listed by default (recency bias)
- Descriptions that read like slide summaries
- Skipping the CHECKPOINT — it's the pipeline's most important control point
- Marketing language in descriptions (revolutionary, game-changer)
Validation Checklist
- [ ] 3-4 angles with force/weakness/audience-fit analysis
- [ ] Clear recommendation with structured justification
- [ ] 3-5 titles for the recommended angle
- [ ] Short description (~100 words) and long description (~250 words)
- [ ] Feedback draft generated from template
- [ ] CHECKPOINT displayed clearly
- [ ] 4 files saved
Tips
- Send `feedback-draft.md` to a peer before the checkpoint — 10 minutes of external feedback can save hours of rework on the script
- The recommendation is a starting point, not an order — your audience knowledge overrides any algorithmic suggestion
- Weak titles are usually too abstract: test each title by asking "would someone in the hallway stop walking to read this?"
Templates
- Peer feedback formats: [`templates/feedback-draft.md`](templates/feedback-draft.md)
Related
- [Stage 3: Concepts](../stage-3-concepts/SKILL.md) — prerequisite
- [Stage 5: Script](../stage-5-script/SKILL.md) — starts after this CHECKPOINT
- [Orchestrator](../orchestrator/SKILL.md)
