minto-pyramid-01

name

minto-pyramid-01

description

Structure or rewrite memos, reports, PRDs, proposals, analytical writeups, explanations, and presentation content using Barbara Minto's pyramid principle. Use when Codex needs to turn loose notes or a flat draft into a top-down argument with a governing thought, Situation-Complication-Question-Answer introduction, Key Line, deductive or inductive support, point-driven headings, problem-definition framing, or storyboarded slides.

Minto Pyramid 01

Overview

Use this skill to fix structure before polishing prose.

Apply it when the task requires:

• one governing thought instead of topic sprawl
• a clear reader question and answer
• grouped support points with valid logic
• point-driven headings instead of filing labels
• problem-definition framing before deep analysis
• slide or presentation flow derived from the argument

Workflow

1. Calibrate the task

• Identify the reader, deliverable, and desired decision or action.
• State the one question the document must answer.
• State the answer in one sentence.

If the answer is still fuzzy, switch to a bottom-up pass:

• list the points you believe matter
• group like ideas together
• infer the higher point from each grouping
• keep moving upward until one top point emerges

2. Build the introduction

• Draft the Situation: state the first noncontroversial fact the reader will accept.
• Draft the Complication: state what changed, failed, appeared, or became urgent.
• Draft the Question: make the reader's next question explicit.
• Draft the Answer: state the top point early.

Use this flow even if the final prose will imply part of it.

3. Build the Key Line

• Ask what new question the answer raises.
• Decide whether the support is deductive or inductive.
• If inductive, name the plural noun for the grouping.
• Keep sibling points at the same level of abstraction.
• Order them by deductive, time, structural, or degree logic.

4. Expand one level at a time

• Ask what question each point raises.
• Answer that question one level down.
• Keep each child group directly responsive to the parent.
• Remove topic labels that are not real ideas.
• Rewrite vague action statements as visible end products.

5. Shape the output

• For prose: use point-driven headings, parallel wording, and clear transitions.
• For analysis: define the problem before gathering unlimited data.
• For decision work: prefer explicit yes-or-no issues over fuzzy "key issues."
• For presentations: storyboard from the introduction, Key Line, and one level below.

6. Validate before finalizing

Check these questions:

• Can the whole document be summarized by one top point?
• Does the introduction create the exact question the document answers?
• Does every support group contain the same kind of idea?
• Is every support group in a visible order?
• Can every inductive grouping be named by a plural noun?
• Are action ideas written as end products?
• Do the headings tell the same story as the body?

Reference Loading

• Read pyramid-writing.md for the writing rules, SCQA introductions, deduction vs induction, grouping, ordering, headings, and transitions.
• Read problem-solving-and-presentation.md when the task involves diagnosis, recommendation design, issue analysis, logic trees, or storyboarding slides.
• Read templates.md when you need a working structure for a memo, brief, deck, or final validation pass.

Guardrails

• Do not begin with a background dump if the answer is already known.
• Do not use headings like Background, Findings, or Recommendations as substitutes for thought.
• Do not mix causes, actions, results, and evidence in one sibling group.
• Do not keep disconnected facts that do not explain or defend a higher point.
• Do not gather all data before defining the problem.
• Do not turn a slide deck into a visual recitation of report text.