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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

AI Slide Decks
in Minutes

Claude is great at thinking. For polished design, I hand off to Gamma. Claude does the research and writing, then Gamma designs the deck. Full walkthrough with prompts below.

Most bad presentations have a content problem, not a design problem. So this workflow puts the thinking first and the design last. Claude sends the outline to Gamma through a connector, and you get back a finished deck you can edit and export.

5 Steps, Copy The Prompts

01

Connect Gamma to Claude

  1. In a Claude chat, click + at the bottom left, hover over Connectors and pick Manage connectors. You can also go to Customize (now called Plugins on many accounts), then Connectors.
  2. Click the + next to Connectors to open the directory, and search Gamma.
  3. Click Connect, sign in to Gamma and click Allow. If you have more than one Gamma workspace, pick the right one.

No Gamma account? Sign up free at gamma.app. The connector works on every Gamma plan. The free plan gives you a one-time batch of AI credits, enough to test this workflow, and paid plans refill credits monthly. (Gamma’s setup steps)

02

Research first

Don’t start with slides. Start with thinking. Claude researches your topic, pulls data and builds the foundation before a single slide gets made. If you skip this, you get pretty slides that say nothing.

Research Brief
You are my presentation strategist. I need to build a presentation, and before we design anything, I want the research and the story nailed down. TOPIC: [your topic] AUDIENCE: [who will see this: executives, clients, my team, investors, students] GOAL: [what they should think, feel or do after seeing it] LENGTH: [max number of slides, usually 8 to 15] MY MATERIAL: [attach or paste any notes, data, reports or past decks, or write "none"] STEPS: 1. Read everything I attached first. My material beats general web info. 2. Search the web for recent data, stats and examples on this topic. Prefer primary sources (official reports, company sites, original studies) and note the date of each one. 3. Build a research brief. OUTPUT (a research brief, not slides): - The 3 to 5 key points this presentation needs to make - The data, stats or examples that back up each point, each with its source link and date - The narrative arc: the story from the first slide to the last - The one thing the audience should remember - Any objection this audience is likely to raise, and how the deck should answer it RULES: - Don't write slides yet. - Never invent a stat. If you can't find a source for something, say so. - Ask me up to 3 questions if the audience or goal is unclear.

03

Build the outline

Turn the research into a slide-by-slide outline and review it before anything gets designed. This is your last easy chance to cut slides, reorder them, add data or change titles. Fixing an outline is much easier than fixing a finished deck.

Slide Outline
Turn that research brief into a slide-by-slide outline. Max [number] slides. FOR EACH SLIDE, GIVE ME: - Slide title: short and punchy, not a full sentence - 2 to 3 key points: what the audience needs to see - Any data or stat that belongs on the slide, with its source - Suggested visual: chart, diagram, icon, image or just text - Speaker note: one or two sentences I'd say out loud RULES: - Slide 1 is a hook. Don't open with "Agenda" or "About Us." Open with something that makes them pay attention. - One idea per slide. If a slide has two ideas, split it. - The last slide is a clear call to action: what should they do next? - Cut filler. If a slide doesn't earn its place, delete it. - Keep on-slide text short. Detail goes in the speaker notes. Show me the full outline and wait for my approval before you send anything to Gamma.

04

Send it to Gamma

Claude sends the approved outline to Gamma, Gamma handles layouts, spacing, typography and images, and Claude hands you back a link to the finished deck.

Send To Gamma
This outline is approved. Use the Gamma connector to generate the full presentation from it. SETTINGS: - Format: presentation, one card per slide in the outline, in the same order - Theme: [search Gamma's themes for something clean and professional, or name one you like] - Image style: [photos / illustrations / minimal / corporate] - Text density: brief. Keep slide text short. If you can't add the speaker notes to the deck, list them by slide in your reply so I can paste them into Gamma's notes panel. - Audience and tone: [same as the brief, e.g. "executives, confident and direct"] RULES: - Use my slide titles, points and stats exactly as approved. Don't add new claims or numbers. - Prioritize readability over decoration. - When it's done, send me the Gamma link and list any slide where you had to change or shorten something.

Theme tips: for clients and investors, a professional theme with photos. For your team, minimal with icons. For a creative pitch, something bold with illustrations. You can switch the theme after it’s generated.

05

Edit and export

Open the Gamma link and go slide by slide. This is the polish pass, so you’re fixing details, not rebuilding.

  1. Cut slides that don’t need to exist. If you can combine two, do it.
  2. Verify the data. Click through Claude’s sources and check every stat before you present.
  3. Swap images that feel off, or upload your own.
  4. Add your branding with a custom theme for your logo, colors and fonts.
  5. Export as PowerPoint (.pptx) or PDF, or share the Gamma link directly.

Total Time

Research and outline take 5 to 10 minutes. Gamma designs it in a minute or two. Polish takes about 5. That’s a full deck in about 20 minutes, where it used to take me half a day.

Want to stay inside Claude? With Code execution and file creation on (it’s on by default for Free, Pro and Max, under Settings, then Capabilities), Claude can build a PowerPoint file itself. I still use Gamma when the design needs to look polished fast. (How Claude connectors work)