Glossary
The pyramid principle is a way of structuring a message so the main point comes first: the answer at the top, a small number of supporting reasons beneath it, and the evidence for each reason at the base. Developed by Barbara Minto at McKinsey, it is the reason consultants' emails start with the recommendation, and the simplest fix for messages that bury their point.
Most people write in the order they think: they gather facts, analyse them and arrive at a conclusion, then present it in the same order. The reader has to follow the whole journey before learning where it ends. The pyramid principle reverses that. You tell the reader the destination first, then show the route only as far as they need to trust it.
The reader can stop at any level and still have the point. A busy executive reads the first line; a sceptical one reads the reasons; an analyst reads the evidence. Nobody has to dig.
Minto's companion technique for introductions is SCQA: situation (what the reader already knows), complication (what has changed or gone wrong), question (the question that raises), and answer (your governing idea). It works because it is a compressed story: a situation, a tension and a resolution. The difference is that in writing, you get to the answer within a few sentences.
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Situation | Our vendor contract renews on 31 March. |
| Complication | It renews at a 12% increase, and a comparable vendor has quoted 18% less. |
| Question | Should we switch? |
| Answer | Yes. Please approve the switch by Friday so we can give notice on Monday. |
In a short email, the answer moves to the very top and the SCQA becomes the paragraph beneath it.
The two are often presented as opposites, and they are not. Both are about order. A business story runs context, tension, resolution because a listening audience needs a reason to care before it hears the ask. A pyramid puts the resolution first because a reading decision-maker needs the ask before they decide whether to keep reading. The rule of thumb: spoken to a room, story first; written to someone who decides, answer first.
Spoken to a room, story first. Written to someone who decides, answer first.
Before: Hi Rahul, following up on our discussions over the last few weeks. We have been reviewing the vendor contract, which comes up for renewal at the end of March. As you know, the current vendor has served us reasonably well, although there have been some service issues. We also received a quote from another provider, which looks competitive. I have attached both for your reference. Let me know your thoughts.
After: Rahul, can you approve switching vendors by Friday? The current contract renews on 31 March at a 12% increase; the new vendor quoted ₹14 lakh a year less for the same service, and two of our group companies already use them. If you approve, I will give notice on Monday and run both side by side through April.
The second version is shorter, asks for something specific, and can be acted on from the first line. Everything the reader needs is there, in the order they need it: the decision, the reason, the evidence, the next step.
Take your next three emails and rewrite the first line as the answer or the ask, with a date. Then ask a colleague to read only that line and tell you what you want. The say-it-back test is the fastest way to find out whether your pyramid has a top. the free business storytelling check includes an email exercise that tests exactly this.
Tour De Force runs this as live, experiential training for teams worldwide — online and in person. Talk to us, or play The Weekly Challenge from our gamified learning apps to see the method in ten minutes.
Questions
A method for structuring messages so the main point comes first, supported by a few grouped reasons and then the evidence. It was developed by Barbara Minto at McKinsey and is widely used in consulting and executive communication.
Situation, complication, question, answer. It is a short opening that sets up the reader's context, introduces what has changed, names the question that raises, and gives your answer.
They share the core idea of putting the conclusion first. BLUF, short for bottom line up front, is a military writing convention that simply moves the conclusion to the top. The pyramid principle adds structure underneath it: grouped, non-overlapping reasons and supporting evidence.
For decision presentations to senior audiences, yes: state the recommendation on the first slide, then the reasons. For a broader audience you need to persuade, open with a short story to earn attention, then state the ask clearly.
Keep reading
Get in touch
Book a 30-minute discovery call and we'll shape an experiential programme around your goals.
Book a discovery call →