Using Skills

Built-in skills help Claude create professional documents. Here’s how to use them effectively.

Document Creation Skills

Word Documents (docx)

> create a word document with the project proposal
> include sections for: executive summary, scope, timeline, budget

Claude will:

Read the docx SKILL.md
Use python-docx to create the document
Apply professional formatting
Save as .docx file

PowerPoint (pptx)

> create a presentation about our Q4 results
> 10 slides, include charts for revenue and growth

Excel/Spreadsheets (xlsx)

> create a spreadsheet to track project tasks
> include columns: task, owner, status, due date, priority
> add conditional formatting for overdue items

PDF Forms (pdf)

> fill in the tax form with this data: [provide data]

Tips for Better Results

1. Be Specific About Structure

# Good
> create a presentation with:
> - title slide
> - 3 content slides about features
> - comparison table slide
> - call to action slide

# Bad
> make a presentation about our product

2. Provide Content, Not Just Format

# Good
> create a word doc with these meeting notes:
> - Discussed Q4 roadmap
> - Agreed on timeline: 3 months
> - Action items: John to draft spec

# Okay but requires more back-and-forth
> create a word doc for meeting notes

3. Reference Examples

> create a presentation similar to the one in docs/previous-deck.pptx
> but update with Q4 data

4. Specify Styling

> create a word document
> use our company colors: #1a365d for headers
> font: Arial for body, Arial Black for titles

Skill Limitations

Combining Skills

You can use multiple skills in one request:

> read the data from data.xlsx
> create a presentation summarizing the key findings
> also create a word document with the detailed analysis

Claude will use xlsx skill to read, then pptx and docx skills to create outputs.