The Minto Pyramid Principle

Barbara Minto holds that the mind automatically sorts information into pyramid-shaped groupings, and that ideas arranged as a pyramid from the start take less effort to write and even less to read. Her method covers thinking creatively, reasoning clearly and expressing ideas with clarity; defining complex problems and setting the objectives of a document; judging ideas and ranking their importance; building reasoning into a coherent, transparent argument; and testing that argument. Minto treats clear communication with clients, colleagues or a management board as a key factor in personal success, and aims for thinking that passes from the page to the reader with little effort. It appeared in 1996.

Technology growth leader and mentor Patricia Reed pointed would-be consultants to it as a guide to writing effectively for business, while warning that it is very dry.