Minto Pyramid Guide

As a product manager, you need to have great communication skills so that you can clearly express the vision, requirements, and results of your product. For this, you can use communication tools.

Communication tools eliminate guesswork by providing you with an adaptable framework to apply to a range of use cases. One such tool, the Minto Pyramid, presents ideas in a clear and logical manner. Barbara Minto developed the Minto Pyramid in her 1985 book, “The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking.”

This article explains the Minto Pyramid in detail, covering the main components, when and why to use it, and the challenges you may face.

What is the Minto Pyramid?

The Minto Pyramid helps you structure your communications. It allows you to start with the conclusion, before moving on to more detailed and convincing arguments, as well as additional information.

When viewed, this information appears in the form of a pyramid:

How is the Minto pyramid structured?

The Minto pyramid approach structures ideas hierarchically, starting with the main idea at the top and breaking it down into sub-ideas or supporting arguments below.

As you progress, you group information into categories that summarize your data, making it easier to understand general themes.

The 3 main components of the Minto pyramid

The Minto pyramid is based on three main elements:

The main idea

The main idea is the central message or key point you are addressing with your content. It is at the top of the pyramid and should be clear to the audience without the need to go into depth.

You can consider this a great title, headline, or statement. For example:

• Next year will be the year of AI for our product
• The growth of AI will be essential to improving our customer experience
• Our expansion into social media sales will double our revenue next year
• The next quarter will be marked by a product focus on operational excellence

Supporting content

Supporting content contains the main arguments or explanations that support the main idea. They develop the main idea and form the second layer of the pyramid.

These could be the key areas that led to your conclusion. For “Our expansion into social media sales will double our revenue next year,” supporting content could include:

• Our TikTok followers have grown from 50,000 to 250,000 in the current year
• Instagram’s e-commerce customers have grown to 130 million
• WhatsApp now has over 2 billion users

By understanding these additional points, you will feel more confident about doubling your social media sales because the indicators point to success.

Data and details

Finally, each piece of supporting content should be backed up by specific data and evidence. These make up the bottom layers of the pyramid and, in the example, can illustrate specific areas of social media that could be targeted. For example, you might say:

• Our current TikTok revenue is $20,000 per week, with three posts per week. Posting daily content with one SKU per day aims to generate an additional $20,000 per day in revenue
• Our current Instagram revenue is $10,000 per week, however, cross-posting TikTok content can generate an additional $15,000 per day in revenue
• Creating our WhatsApp business account can provide a new channel for our products and our goals are $20,000 per week in the first year

As you move down the pyramid, there should be a logical flow of arguments with detailed information gathered to support previous arguments.

When to use the Minto Pyramid

The Minto Pyramid can be used in a variety of situations to help convey information in a clear, concise, and logical manner. Some of the most common use cases include:

• Presentation of strategies, roadmaps, business plans or project updates
• Provide reporting to provide clear and structured analysis and recommendations to clients
• Write memos, emails and documents that are easy to understand and follow
• Break down complex problems into manageable parts and develop clear solutions

Challenges in using the Minto Pyramid

As with any principle or framework, difficulties can arise. In the case of Minto’s pyramid, these typically include:

Rejection of the main idea

Because the Minto pyramid starts with the main idea, the audience may end up rejecting an idea without hearing the rest of the information about it. If the report or presentation were reversed, an audience member might agree with most of the supporting information, but might disagree with the main point made.

Starting with the main idea helps you sort things out faster, but you also run the risk of abandoning something prematurely. A lot depends on how effectively you describe your main idea.

Limited collaboration

Again, by starting with the main idea, you risk limiting the audience’s ability to collaborate and help determine a solution.

Suggestions made by the public can also be difficult to implement with limited group involvement.

In summary

By using the Minto Pyramid, you can improve your ability to convey complex information clearly, concisely, and convincingly. To help you, remember these basic principles:

Good luck and comment if you have any questions!

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