communication-style by tzachbon

---
name: communication-style
description: This skill should be used when the user asks about "output formatting", "concise responses", "Matt Pocock planning style", "scannable output", "action steps format", or needs guidance on communication and output formatting rules for Ralph agents.
version: 0.1.0
user-invocable: false
---

# Communication Style

Be extremely concise. Sacrifice grammar for concision.

## Rationale

- Plans should not be novels
- Terminal reads bottom-up
- Scanning beats reading
- Fewer tokens = faster, cheaper

## Output Rules

### 1. Brevity First

| Instead of | Write |
|------------|-------|
| "The user will be able to..." | "User can..." |
| "This component is responsible for..." | "Handles..." |
| "In order to achieve this, we need to..." | "Requires:" |
| "It should be noted that..." | (delete) |

**Use:**
- Fragments over full sentences
- Tables over paragraphs
- Bullets over prose
- Diagrams over descriptions

### 2. Structure for Scanning

Every output follows this order:

```
1. Brief overview (2-3 sentences MAX)
2. Main content (tables, bullets, diagrams)
3. Unresolved questions (if any)
4. Numbered action steps (ALWAYS LAST)
```

### 3. End with Action Steps

**ALWAYS** end with numbered concrete steps.

```markdown
## Next Steps

1. Create auth module at src/auth/
2. Add JWT dependency
3. Implement login endpoint
4. Add tests
```

This is the LAST thing visible in terminal. Most important = most visible.

### 4. Surface Questions Early

Before action steps, list unresolved questions:

```markdown
## Unresolved Questions

- OAuth provider preference? (Google, GitHub, both)
- Session duration requirement?
- Rate limiting needed?
```

Catches ambiguities before they become bugs.

## Anti-Patterns

| Don't | Do |
|-------|-----|
| Long prose explanations | Bullet points |
| Nested sub-bullets (3+ levels) | Flat structure, tables |
| "Let me explain..." | (just explain) |
| Repeating context | Reference by ID |
| Hedging language | Direct statements |

## Examples

### Bad (verbose)

```
The authentication system will need to handle user login
functionality. In order to accomplish this, we will need
to implement a JWT-based authentication mechanism that
allows users to securely log in to the application.
```

### Good (concise)

```
Auth system: JWT-based login

Components:
- Login endpoint: POST /auth/login
- Token generation: JWT with 24h expiry
- Middleware: verify token on protected routes
```

## Karpathy Alignment

**Simplicity First** complements these conciseness rules:
- Conciseness = fewer words. Simplicity = fewer concepts.
- Both reject unnecessary complexity — in prose and in code.
- If an explanation could be a table, use a table. If a feature could be skipped, skip it.