Book SummaryThe Pyramid Principle, by Barbara Minto

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Pyramid Principle

What if you could write so clearly that your reader could perfectly understand your main ideas within the first 30 seconds of reading your prose? In The Pyramid Principle, writing expert Barbara Minto claims this is possible. She argues that the secret to clear, effective writing is beginning with your conclusions. She envisions strong writing to be structured like a pyramid, with conclusions at the peak and supporting evidence branching out beneath.

Minto developed this writing approach while working for a management consulting firm. She noticed that many of her colleagues were producing unclear...

The Pyramid Principle Summary The Problem: Unclear Writing

According to Minto, people often produce unclear writing that’s time-consuming and mentally taxing to read. We’ll begin this section by exploring people’s typical writing process. Then, we’ll examine people’s typical reading process. Finally, we’ll contrast these two processes to illustrate why our typical writing approach fails to meet readers’ needs.

The Typical Writing Process

Minto argues that most people brainstorm ideas while they write, resulting in conclusions-last writing: writing that ends in a conclusion. First, they brainstorm ideas by writing sentences. Next, they review their ideas and consider how they relate to each other. Finally, they summarize these relationships in a concluding sentence. Here’s an example of conclusions-last writing: “It was an achingly gorgeous fall day. I knew that winter was around the corner. I also knew that nothing on my to-do list was urgent. So I decided to spend my Monday afternoon strolling through my tree-lined neighborhood.”

(Shortform note: Minto claims that most people automatically produce conclusions-last writing, but whether or not this is true for you may depend on your cultural background. One...

The Pyramid Principle Summary The Solution: Pyramid Writing

According to Minto, Pyramid Writing solves the problem of unclear writing by ensuring that you express your conclusions first. We’ll begin this section by explaining the main elements of the pyramid that gives this approach its name. Next, we’ll describe what it’s like to read Pyramid writing. Finally, we’ll explore what it’s like to write it.

The Elements of the Conclusions-First Pyramid

Let’s explore Minto’s pyramid structure, which we’ll call the Conclusions-First Pyramid. Here, we’ll visualize this pyramid and explain each of its labeled elements:

• The Peak: The top of the pyramid, which we call the Peak, represents the beginning of your written piece. This is where you present your piece’s main conclusion, which we’ll call the Peak Conclusion.
• Tier 1: After your Peak Conclusion comes the ideas it summarizes—the ideas that support it. These supporting ideas are the “bricks” that hold up the Peak Conclusion. We’ll call the row these supporting ideas occupy Tier 1.

(Shortform note: Minto isn’t the first writing expert to model their writing after...

The Pyramid Principle Summary Stage 1: Brainstorm

In this section, we’ll describe two steps for brainstorming your ideas: clarifying your topic and filling out the Conclusions-First Pyramid. We’ll illustrate these two steps using this one example: Imagine you’re sending an email to your neighborhood mailing list about your city’s upcoming composting program.

Step 1: Clarify Your Purpose

According to Minto, before you fill out your pyramid, you must clarify your purpose: what you want your piece to teach your readers. Minto claims that all readers are motivated to read so that they learn something new. To ensure you’ll fulfill this motivation, brainstorm answers to these two questions:

Question 1: What main question would your readers have about your topic? For example, if your topic is your city’s new composting program, your neighbors might wonder, “Should I compost?”

(Shortform note: Before determining your question, it may be helpful to pinpoint who your audience is and why they’re reading your piece. Briar Goldberg, the director of speaker coaching at TED, argues that [public speakers should try to align their message with their audience’s...

The Pyramid Principle Summary Stage 2: Write

After you’ve brainstormed your ideas in a pyramid structure, the next stage of Pyramid Writing is converting those ideas into prose. In this section, we’ll share four goals for doing so. We call these “goals” rather than “steps” to emphasize that you can accomplish them in any order.

Goal 1: Write a Clear, Engaging Introduction

According to Minto, your piece should begin with a clear, engaging introduction so that your reader understands your conclusions within the first 30 seconds of reading. Minto argues that doing this is polite: By providing your readers with a brief preview of your piece, you’re giving them the information they need to determine whether they should keep reading. For instance, imagine someone reading your composting email already believes she should compost. Once she reads your introduction, she’ll realize within the first 30 seconds that you agree; and from there, she may decide there’s no use reading a piece she already agrees with.

(Shortform note: How much can someone read in 30 seconds? Researchers estimate that [adults’ average silent reading rate (the rate for reading in their heads) is 238 words per...

Shortform Exercise: Use the Pyramid Structure to Plan a Piece of Writing

In The Pyramid Principle, Minto claims that strong writers brainstorm and organize their ideas into a pyramid structure before they begin writing. Practice this now: Pick something to write, brainstorm your conclusions and supporting ideas, and draft your introduction.

Think about something you’ll need to write soon. It could be informative (such as a report summarizing your company’s progress), expressive (such as a thank-you letter to a friend), or persuasive (such as a message persuading your social media followers to contribute to a fundraiser). Then, describe your writing piece’s topic, question, and answer (or Peak Conclusion). (For example, your topic may be an upcoming fundraising effort for hurricane relief victims. A reader may wonder, “Why should I donate?” Your answer may be that their donation will save lives and restore victims’ hope.)