For consultants with findings to present
Pyramid Principle and SCQA Template
Your governing thought, an SCQA opening, three to five key points with their evidence, and a slide-by-slide outline with an action title on each.
Three moves can lift margin back above 6% by the end of next year
Governing thought, key line and evidence
- 1Repricing 20 chain accounts recovers about 0.9 pointsDiscounts rose from 8% to 13%; 14 of 20 contracts renew within nine months
- 2Buying centrally again recovers about 0.5 pointsRebates fell from $2.3M to $1.2M once each depot bought on its own
- 3Merging the two smallest depots saves about 0.6 pointsTheir cost per delivery runs 40% above the other four depots
- AskThree decisions needed today to start next quarterRepricing rules, central buying, and consultation at two depots
What you'll get
Governing thought, SCQA, key points and a slide outline
- Your answer in one sentence, opened with SCQA
- Three to five key points, checked for overlaps and gaps
- A slide outline with an action title on every slide
Before and after
Your findings in. A storyline out.
Week 6 notes: margin down from 6.1% to 4.2% in the year to June. Chain discounts up from 8% to 13% since the competitor came in. Rebates down $1.1M since depots buy separately. Two small depots cost 40% more per drop. 14 chain contracts renew in the next nine months.
Governing thought: Chain discounts, lost rebates and two costly depots pulled margin down from 6.1% to 4.2%. Complication: Margin fell from 6.1% to 4.2% in the year to June. (Source: your notes) Key point 1: Deeper discounts to chain accounts have cut margin since a competitor arrived. · Discounts rose from 8% to 13% since a competitor came in. (Source: your notes) Needs more evidence. Slide 4 title: Discounts to chain accounts rose from 8% to 13% after a competitor arrived. To confirm: how much margin each cause cost.
Every point shows where it came from in your notes. Points with thin evidence are flagged, and anything the notes don't prove goes on the to-confirm list.
Why it works
What is the pyramid principle, and where does SCQA fit?
The pyramid principle is Barbara Minto's method for structuring a document or deck: lead with your answer, then group the points that prove it beneath it. Her own site says your thinking "will be easy for a reader to grasp if you present the ideas organized as a pyramid under a single point." That point is the governing thought. Under it sits the key line, the points that prove it, each with its evidence. Her Situation, Complication, Question framework opens the document, and your answer completes the SCQA.
Minto gave the pyramid three rules, recalled in a McKinsey alumni profile. Each point summarizes the ones below it, and the points in a group are the same kind of idea, in logical order. The template turns those rules into checks you can run on your key line, including no overlaps and no gaps between points. It then asks for the evidence under each point and where each piece came from, so a partner or client can trace every claim to its source.
Last, the template turns the pyramid into a slide-by-slide outline with an action title on every slide, so the titles alone tell the story. The worked example takes the invented distributor from our issue tree examples from a 1.9-point margin fall to an 11-slide outline. Paste your findings and River drafts a first pyramid, pointing to where each point came from. The storyline builder works from a full set of notes, and the consulting deck review checks finished slides.
What lands in your doc
What's inside the pyramid principle template
- The governing thought
Your whole answer in one sentence, written so a reader who stops there still has it. - An SCQA introduction
Situation, complication, question and answer, each with a line on what belongs in it. - Three to five key points
The key line, with six checks for overlaps, gaps, order and whether the points add up. - Evidence with sources
Two to four facts or quotes under each point, each with where it came from, plus a to-confirm list. - A slide-by-slide outline
An action title for every slide, with the point it supports, what the slide shows and its source. - A fully worked example
An invented distributor's margin recovery, from SCQA to an 11-slide outline, with notes on why each part works.
How it works
From findings to storyline
Open the template
Click Edit with AI. The template opens in River with every section in place, beside the worked example.
Paste your findings
Optional. Paste your notes or key numbers, and River drafts a first pyramid that shows where each point came from.
Test the pyramid
Run the checks on your key line, then make sure every point has evidence you can name.
Outline the deck
Turn the pyramid into slides with action titles, then have River tighten the titles or draft the executive summary.
Questions consultants ask
Common questions
What is the pyramid principle?
The pyramid principle is a way to structure a document or presentation so the answer comes first. You state one governing thought, support it with three to five key points that don't overlap, and put the evidence under each point. More than five points is hard to hold in mind, so group them under fewer, broader ones.
What is the SCQA framework?
The SCQA framework is a four-part opening: situation, complication, question and answer. The situation is something the reader already accepts. The complication is what changed. The question is the one the complication raises, and the answer is your governing thought. Barbara Minto teaches the first three as her SCQ framework, for identifying the question in the reader's mind.
What is a governing thought?
It is the single sentence at the top of the pyramid that every other point supports. A good one tells the reader what to do or believe, and why. Umbrex's guide to McKinsey problem solving asks for every level as a declarative sentence: "expansion" is a topic, while "We need to expand into the European market" makes a claim.
What is an action title?
It is a slide title written as a full sentence that states what the slide proves. "Discounts to chain accounts rose from 8% to 13% in 18 months" is an action title; "Pricing" is not. Keep each one to two lines, and make sure the slide backs it up. Read in order, the action titles should tell the whole story.
Can River make the slides too?
River drafts the storyline and a slide outline with an action title and the chart each slide needs, not designed slides. Slideworks' ex-McKinsey founder tested five AI presentation tools and wrote: "None of the five tools tested produces a deck I would send to a client today."
Will River fill gaps in my evidence?
No. River builds the pyramid only from the findings you paste and shows where each point came from. A key point with too little evidence is flagged, numbers you didn't give stay in brackets, and open facts go on a to-confirm list before anything reaches the client.
Is this the official Minto template?
No. River is not affiliated with Barbara Minto or Minto Books International. The pyramid principle and the SCQ framework are hers, set out in The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking and Problem Solving, the 1996 edition. Her own course and textbook are at barbaraminto.com.
Your next step
More for your project
Lead with the answer
Open the template with every section in place, or paste your findings to get a first pyramid and slide outline.