---

name: narrative-axes description: Sense / Claim / Proof — the three transversal axes that cut across every level of the storymaking hierarchy (arc, beat, loop, slide, component).

Narrative axes — Sense, Claim, Proof

The storymaking canon has two orthogonal dimensions:

• Levels answer "where does it happen?" — arc, beat, loop, slide, component.
• Axes answer "what function does it serve?" — Sense, Claim, Proof.

Levels are the architecture. Axes are the forces that make the architecture do work. Every canon item — every arc, beat, loop, slide type, tool, component — activates some mix of the three axes. A deck where Sense is missing feels mechanical. A deck without Claim is decoration. A deck without Proof is theatre.

The three axes

• Sense — direction, tension, cohesion. Why the audience stays with us.
• Claim — the thesis being advanced (whole deck, pillar, loop, slide title, beat "so-what").
• Proof — the evidence that makes the Claim survive scrutiny.

Levels × axes

Level	Description	Examples	Sense	Claim	Proof
Arc	Total shape of the story; defines direction and full transformation.	Hero's Journey, Consultant's Gambit, Sparkline	Gives global direction, tension, and closure.	Carries the central thesis of the deck.	Accumulates the deck's total evidence.
Beat	Major narrative moment within the arc; each tract has a function.	Setup, Complication, Evidence, Turn, Resolution	Gives purpose and rhythm to the tract.	Frames which idea must advance in that part.	Defines what kind of support the tract needs.
Loop	Mini-argument inside a beat; sequence of slides defending one point.	Logic Chain, Pattern Hunter, Aha Moment, Tale of Two Worlds	Connects steps so the argument flows.	States a defensible mini-thesis.	Orders evidence to sustain the thesis.
Slide	Smallest autonomous unit of communication.	Problem slide, chart slide, recommendation slide, closing ask	Places the slide in the flow.	Articulates the insight via the action title.	Visual/textual body that carries the proof.
Component	Concrete piece inside a slide.	Title, chart, table, quote, benchmark, source note	Reinforces hierarchy, emphasis, transition.	Names, distinguishes, or expresses an idea.	Provides data, source, comparison, or proof.

Reading rules

1. Every canon item declares its mix. A villain-naming pattern is high Claim + Sense, low Proof. A peer-gap chart is high Proof + Claim, low Sense. A Hero's Journey arc is high Sense, ambient Claim and Proof.
2. Mix shifts by level. The same item (e.g. a quote) can be Proof at the slide level and Sense at the loop level if it sets emotional tone.
3. No orphan Claims. Every Claim should resolve into Proof at the next-finer level — a deck Big Idea is proven by pillars; a pillar is proven by loops; a loop's mini-thesis is proven by slides; a slide's action title is proven by its components.
4. No empty Sense. Sense without Claim is mood. If a tract carries direction but advances no idea, cut it or fold it into the neighbouring beat.
5. No naked Proof. A chart without a Claim it serves is decoration. The action title is what makes Proof legible.

Diagnostic questions

Apply at every level when reviewing a deck:

• Sense: Why does the audience care to keep going? What's the local tension?
• Claim: What single idea is this advancing? Could a reader repeat it back?
• Proof: What would make a sceptic concede? Is the evidence load-bearing or ornamental?

The Plausibility loop is just this question applied recursively: at every level, does each Claim have Proof, and does each Proof serve a Claim?

Canonical phrasing

Beats, loops, and slides are the architecture. Sense, Claim, and Proof are the forces that make the architecture work.

Every canon item must declare on which levels it operates and what mix of Sense / Claim / Proof it activates.

See also

sense, claim, proof, plausibility-loop