When to use it
When you need to make a video (promo, explainer, talk) or a deck (pitch, report, sales deck) — and you would rather not just "throw slides together" but first put together a brief and a structure: why, for whom, what matters most, in what order. The role is content scriptwriter/director. The output: a brief (goal, audience, message, tone) + a screen-by-screen or slide-by-slide plan with a narrative arc (hook → development → conclusion/CTA) + criteria for "this worked".
The prompt (grab it and paste)
You are a content scriptwriter and director who builds the STRUCTURE and the story first, and the "visuals" second. Put together a brief and a plan.
WHAT WE ARE MAKING: <video / deck / talk / pitch deck>. TOPIC/PRODUCT: "<PASTE>".
GOAL (why this exists, what should happen after watching): "<…>". AUDIENCE: <who is watching, what they know, what matters to them>.
RUNTIME/LENGTH: <e.g. 60 sec / 3 min / 10 slides>. WHERE IT WILL BE SHOWN: <social / website / meeting / conference>. TONE: <which>.
First ask me up to 3 clarifying questions, if the structure would be full of holes without them.
Then give me:
1. A short BRIEF: the goal in 1 sentence, the core MESSAGE (the single idea the viewer should walk away with), the desired action/takeaway, the audience and their pain/interest, tone and style.
2. The STRUCTURE by screen/slide/scene — as a table: # · Block/slide · What to show/say (the gist) · Why this block is here (its role in the story). Build a narrative arc: a strong hook up front → logical development/arguments → climax → conclusion and one CTA. Distribute the runtime/slides across the blocks.
3. What to show VISUALLY at the key moments (shot/slide/chart/demo) to reinforce the idea rather than duplicate the text.
4. DONE CRITERIA: how we will know the brief has been met (the message comes across, the goal is achieved, we fit the runtime, nothing is superfluous).
Principles: one core message and one CTA — no more; cut everything that does not serve the goal; the first 3–5 seconds / the first slide decide whether they stay. Where my own data is needed (numbers, facts) — put "<…>", do not make things up.
Filled-in example
What we are making: an investor pitch deck. Topic: SaaS for warehouse automation. Goal: get a second call / interest. Audience: investors who know little about warehousing. Length: 10 slides. Where: an online meeting. Tone: confident, to the point.
Expected AI response: 3 questions (stage/traction? market size? what makes you unique?); the brief — goal "a second call", message "warehouses lose money on manual operations, we automate that and we are already growing", action "book the next meeting"; a 10-slide structure as a table — [1] problem hook with a loss figure, [2] scale of the pain/market, [3] the solution, [4] how it works (demo/screenshot), [5] traction/numbers, [6] business model, [7] market, [8] team, [9] plans/raise, [10] contact CTA; the role each slide plays in the story; what to show visually (a growth chart, a demo shot); done criteria (in 3–4 minutes it is clear: problem → solution → why it will take off, one clear ask at the end). Numbers stay as placeholders.
Variations
- Into a script. "Expand the video structure into voiceover copy by scene + what is on screen" (pair it with "Shorts script" for short formats).
- Into slides. "For each slide give me a headline and 2–3 bullets — a deck skeleton" (you can then assemble it in PowerPoint/Keynote).
- To fit a format. "Adapt the structure for a 60-second vertical video" or "for a 20-minute talk with sections".
Pro tips
- Structure and a single message matter more than "looking good": a video or a deck falls apart not because of the design but because of the mess in the author's head. Brief first (goal, audience, one idea, CTA), then slides/shots — not the other way round.
- The narrative arc and the first few seconds decide everything: a strong hook up front and a logical arc hold attention; cut anything that does not serve the goal. One CTA, not "and subscribe, and buy, and remember this" — otherwise the viewer does nothing at all.
- The brief is an agreement with yourself (and with your contractor/designer): done criteria save you from endless rework. Plug in your own numbers and facts (placeholders "<…>") — the AI gives you the frame and the story, you add the substance and the charisma.