LinkedIn Carousels

Create LinkedIn carousel blueprints that people actually finish reading. This skill produces slide-by-slide copy with wireframe briefs for Figma/Canva handoff — covering story arc, copy, layout, navigation cues, and design direction.

Doctrine inherited (Step 7 — 0626 rollout, locked 2026-06-04)

Output complies with output-tenets.md, output-simplicity.md, ai-speak-anti-patterns.md, design-production.md. Step 6 calibration: see [[feedback_execution_doctrine_refinements_step6]].

Refinements applied: R1 (slide copy is end-customer-facing — no source tags on slides; cleaned cites in caption appendix), R2 (carousel + caption + designer brief ship as one doc with toggles), R3 (slide copy capability-led, never "thrilled"), R5 (anchor post / blog opener mirrors carousel slide 1), R6 (closing slide = sign-up primary, blog as fallback), R9 (verb-led slide titles).

Source: Nick Broekema's carousel framework — "Create Carousels That Attract and Convert" methodology. His carousels consistently hit 68K-183K impressions with 15-27 page documents.

What this produces:

1. Story arc outline — which of the 6 framework sections each slide belongs to
2. Slide-by-slide copy — headline, body text, annotations per slide
3. Wireframe brief — layout type, visual elements, color zone, navigation cues per slide
4. Post caption — the LinkedIn text post that accompanies the carousel
5. Design handoff notes — dimensions, font hierarchy, color palette, navigation system

How it differs from linkedin-infographics: That skill creates single-image visual frameworks (Vince Pierri methodology). This skill creates multi-slide narrative documents (12-15 pages) that guide readers through a complete story arc.

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Claude Code Triggers

Invoke this skill when user says:

• "Create a carousel about [topic]"
• "LinkedIn carousel for [topic]"
• "Multi-slide post about [topic]"
• "Carousel breakdown of [topic]"
• "Slide deck for LinkedIn"
• "Turn this into a carousel"

Do NOT invoke when:

• User wants a single-image infographic → Use linkedin-infographics
• User wants a text-only LinkedIn post → Use linkedin-expert-posts or linkedin-personal-posts
• User wants hook variations only → Use linkedin-hooks
• User wants a presentation deck → Use pptx skill

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Inputs

Required

Input	Description	Source
Topic/angle	What the carousel teaches	User provides
Content type	How I / How to / Case study / Framework / Listicle	User selects or inferred
Target audience	Who this is for (ICP)	User provides or from linkedin-content-guide

Optional (improve quality)

Input	How It Helps
Brand guidelines	Colors, fonts, visual identity for wireframe brief
Tone of voice	Voice calibration for slide copy
Proof points	Real metrics, screenshots, testimonials for Results section
Visual references	Example carousels to match style
Hook library	Pre-generated hooks from /linkedin-hooks

If inputs are missing: Ask for topic, content type, and audience.

Validation:

• Topic is specific enough for 1 carousel (not 3 topics crammed together)
• Content type selected
• Target audience is clear
• Any metrics/results provided are real (not fabricated)
• Rule of Ones applies: 1 audience, 1 problem, 1 solution

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Design integration — DESIGN.md tokens for slide briefs

Upstream contract: This skill consumes the client's DESIGN.md file at projects/consulting/{client}/brand/{MMYY}-brand-kit.md (or the user's own brand kit for personal-brand carousels). The YAML token frontmatter supplies the values; the prose body's "Do's and Don'ts" supplies the design guardrails.

Carousel brief production rules:

1. Quote exact token values — never describe by prose name alone:
   • ✅ Slide background: colors.surface (#FFFFFF). Headline: typography.headline-lg (Inter 32px / 600 / 1.1 / -0.02em). Brand accent: colors.primary (#1A1C1E)
   • ❌ Use the brand's primary color for headlines
2. Reference the DESIGN.md path at the top of the carousel brief so the Figma/Canva designer can validate
3. Apply Do's and Don'ts as slide guardrails:
   • "One primary color per screen" → primary used only on cover slide CTA + final CTA slide
   • "Two font weights max per surface" → no italic-bold-thin stacking on any single slide
   • "Don't mix rounded and sharp corners" → all slide elements use one radius family from rounded.*
4. Include a per-slide spec table with: token-cited background, headline type, body type, accent color, image treatment, padding from spacing.*
5. Cover and CTA slides get the strongest application of brand-primary; intermediate slides use neutrals + brand-surface

Forbidden: recommending color names ("vibrant orange") when token names exist; suggesting type styles outside the brand's defined typography.* tokens.

Authority: Full integration contract in .claude/rules/design-production.md (auto-loaded). When in doubt, that file wins.

If no DESIGN.md exists: pause and recommend running /brand-kit first. Do not invent tokens.

Genesys render substrate: for Genesys personal-brand carousels, use the genesys-design skill (.claude/skills/primitives/design/genesys-design/) — its ui_kits/carousel/index.html template + colors_and_type.css tokens (the CSS binding of Genesys brand/0626-brand-kit.md) turn the token-cited brief into a real branded HTML slide, not just a Figma/Canva handoff.

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The 6-Part Carousel Framework

Every carousel follows this structure. The framework is the same regardless of content type — what changes is the tone and approach within each section. Detailed per-content-type tables in the premium reference.

#	Section	Slides	Purpose
1	Cover	1	Grab attention. Hook headline (5-10 words, action+goal=result) + subheading + on-brand visual + author name.
2	Context	1-3	Set up the topic. Why you made this; what readers can expect. A 16-year-old should understand the topic after these slides.
3	Breakdown	4-6	Core teaching. One idea per slide. Lists over paragraphs. Visual storytelling preferred.
4	Results	1-2	Real evidence — metrics, screenshots, testimonials, before/after. Never fabricate. Mark missing data as [NEED: real X].
5	Recap/Bonus	1	Reward readers. Either numbered recap or extra bonus tips beyond main content.
6	CTA	1-2	Promo CTA (conversion) + Growth CTA (follower) — best practice is both, Promo second-to-last + Growth last.

Total target: 12-15 slides. Listicles can flex up to 18 when list items justify it.

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Slide Design Principles

Voice-locked rules — these stay in body.

Navigation Is Everything

Navigation is the #1 reason people finish or abandon carousels. Every slide must have a forward momentum element:

Navigation Element	Where to Use	Example
Arrows (→ ↓)	End of slides, next to CTAs	"Let's do a breakdown →"
Breadcrumbs	Section labels	"Framework breakdown 3/6 →"
Section titles	Top of slides	Framework section number in corner
Transition prompts	Bottom of slides	"So are carousels dead? Let's see →"
Progress indicators	Corner of slides	Section number badge (1-6)

Key insight from Nick: "Have you noticed being (subconsciously) guided through this carousel with arrows, breadcrumbs, and titles? It makes people forget this carousel is 15 pages long."

Color Breaks Signal Sections

Use different background colors for different framework sections:

• Light — Cover, Context slides (warm, inviting)
• Dark — Breakdown slides, key teaching (focus, authority)
• Accent — Results slides, CTA (energy, action)

Mobile-First Design

• Dimensions: 1080 x 1350 pixels (portrait, optimized for mobile feed)
• Text size: Must be readable on phone — no tiny labels
• Layout: Simple, generous white space
• Density: Max 4-5 bullet points per slide, or 2-3 short sentences
• Visual hierarchy: Title → Body → Labels (3 sizes max)

The Rule of Ones

Every carousel must follow:

• 1 audience — Talk to one specific person
• 1 problem — Address one specific pain
• 1 solution — Teach one specific approach

5th-Grade Writing

• Simple language, short sentences
• Actionable: people understand it and can execute what you teach them TODAY
• Write in "How I..." so your audience can relate, understand, visualize, and learn

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Process

4-phase flow: Story Arc Design → Slide-by-Slide Copy → Wireframe Brief → Post Caption. Full step-by-step + per-content-type tables in the premium reference.

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Anti-Hallucination Guardrails

1. Never invent metrics or results. Mark as [PLACEHOLDER: need real data]
2. Don't fabricate testimonials or screenshots. Mark as [NEED: real screenshot of X]
3. No invented case studies. Only use real client examples
4. Mark assumptions clearly. Use "Example:" prefix for illustrations
5. Results section must use real evidence or be explicitly marked as needing it

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Quality

Pre-delivery checklist covers Rule of Ones, readability, story arc, navigation, and design contract (DESIGN.md token compliance). Worked examples ("How I" + Listicle) and anti-examples in the premium reference.

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Final ship gate

Run /premortem --output before ship. See /premortem skill for the 5 execution domains (will-it-resonate / will-it-convert / will-it-stay-on-brand / will-stakeholder-push-back / will-it-degrade-over-time) and output template.

Then run /voice-reviewer — the content ship gate: voice + brand quality (pm-loop.md).

Trivial-case escape: ## Premortem\nNo failure modes — trivial change satisfies the contract for genuinely trivial outputs.

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Persuasion & stickiness pass

Output complies with persuasion-and-stickiness.md — Cialdini's 7 persuasion levers + Heath's SUCCESs. Deploy the 1-2 Cialdini levers that fit the reader's barrier (never all seven; every lever must be TRUE), run the SUCCESs diagnostic (Simple / Unexpected / Concrete / Credible / Emotional / Stories) over the near-final draft, then the rule's pre-ship gate.

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