The Writing Weapons McKinsey Taught Me: From Logical Thinking to Copywriting

Chapter 6 Pyramid structure, how to turn it into reports and presentations

——Copy that shows logical persuasion, you have to write like this
6.1 Use the pyramid structure as a blueprint
To tell a story, you must first think about the structure
Until Chapter 5, the pyramid structure we have learned is enough to help you deal with all kinds of copywriting encountered in business, which can be called a universal design diagram.Like pluripotent stem cells, they can differentiate into various internal organs.

However, no matter how great your design is, it is practically impossible to present the design as a finished product, or use it directly for a presentation.In contrast, no matter how wonderful the design is, if the finished product cannot be made in the end, it will be wasted.For example, no matter how good the original book is, if the imagery is a mess, the movie is not a success.

Therefore, it is very important to implement the design drawings into the final format.Next, I will sequentially introduce how the pyramid structure is implemented into two business copy formats: reports and presentations.

Write out the "topic" pyramid first
I used the example of "Momotaro" in the previous chapter as the subject matter, and unfolded its pyramid structure and problem-solving story into the final format.First of all, what needs to be confirmed is the design drawing of the copywriting, that is, the pyramid structure.

Figure 6-1 is the theme pyramid of "Momotaro", showing the main theme and key theme.At this point, no information has been added, it is still just a "container", showing the structure of something you want to express.Write only the pyramidal structure of the topics, called the "logical tree".

The main theme of this example is "the analysis of Taozi and its meaning to the old woman".The SCQ of the prompt question (that is, the introduction part of the story), the R of the conclusion, and the O of the main body of the story are key themes and belong to the same level.

Fill in the "information" to build the upper half of the pyramid
Next, what needs to be confirmed is the information put into the topic container, which is to complete the "information pyramid".Please refer to Figure 6-2.

As you can see, the pyramid has "header information" written on both the main and key levels.The theme remains the same.Taking this example as an example, under the main theme and key theme of the pyramid structure, short information of dozens of words is added, that is, title information.

If you write too long, it cannot be called a "title", but should be positioned as the body.In this chart, in order to make it easy for everyone to understand, I have listed the two key topics of "prompting questions" and "conclusions" at the same level.

The three O parts are juxtaposed at the same time in the structure, and in the development of the story, connective words are used to connect the sequence of development.In addition, the main information of this design drawing is the same as the key information of conclusion R.

Build the full version of the pyramid
Adding the main summary under the subject and secondary information under the title completes the full version of the pyramid structure. (Figure 6-2)

This "Momotaro" example is one of the most encompassing pyramid structures.The benefit of having a main summary increases the longer the length of information you have to provide.Likewise, if the content of secondary information is too long, it will help to convey the message if you summarize it at the key level.

In this pyramid structure, secondary information is completely transformed into text information.If you want to make a more rigorous pyramid structure, you must also mark the levels of secondary information, and these information are in a parallel or in-line relationship with each other.

Next, we need to implement this pyramid structure into a format that can be used in practice.First, let's take a look at the format of the report.

6.2 How the pyramid is written as a "report"

If the content is very long, put the main summary first

Please see Figure 6-3.Even though the appearance is different, it can still be seen from the structure that it is a pyramid structure.The author's name has been omitted from this sample format, please include it as appropriate.And between the main themes and the main messages, someone will add the background to making the report.

Also, since this example format is approximately one A4 page in length, it is not necessary to include a main abstract.However, if the report has many pages, it may be better to include a main abstract.Asking recipients to read the main abstract first to grasp the overall context before reading the content will lessen their burden than reading a lengthy text from the beginning.

Due to the example format in Figure 6-4, the main summary has been added, so that the entire report consists of a total of six subsections.In Chapter 2, we learned that segmentation is a collection of multiple pieces of information under a theme and information.

Generally speaking, on an A4 paper, it is best to put about five subsections (a set of SCQs, three Os and an R).If you put only three sections, each section will be too long.It should be noted that there should be no more than seven segments.When there are more than seven segments, there will be a sense of fragmentation.In the form of reports, there must be a blank line between each paragraph, so that the burden on the recipient can be relieved, and books are another matter.

If it is too long, how can I delete it?
If you want to lengthen the content, you can increase the length of secondary information.In some cases, it is even possible to write the "secondary information" in this format as a summary under the key topic, and then insert the secondary information composed of multiple paragraphs below.At this time, it is best to set the number of segments of secondary information at three to five.As I said before, if you want to lengthen the content, you must add detailed descriptions.

Be aware that even if you want to lengthen the content, if you add key topics/information that were not originally set, then there will be problems.The reason for this is that if you do this, important topics/information will be missing from an otherwise shorter version.On the contrary, if you want to shorten the content, you must not cut the existing topic/information immediately, because this will make the important topic/information you should provide disappear.Therefore, it is best to adjust the length only by adding or subtracting the explanation part.

The "title" should be sharp, and the subject can be omitted
In this example format, each section has a heading about a line or so after the subject, which is the information with a "●" appended at the beginning.If one must be omitted between the subject and the title, then omit the subject and leave the title (message).

Of course, it is better to be able to leave the theme.Generally speaking, the things written as themes are usually "situation analysis", "demand forecast", "status of other companies", etc., which are general and inaccurate words.Little attention has been paid to the possibility of using messages as headlines, which is a shame because messages are clear and catchy sentences.

Even if the topic suggests "what you want to say", it is not information after all, so it cannot convey "what you are talking about".In other words, even if the way of expression "the effectiveness of peaches" can convey the effectiveness of peaches that you want to talk about next, it cannot convey its content.However, if it is expressed in information, then in terms of content, "peach can bring nourishing and nourishing effects" is very clear.Then, in the next paragraph, continue to lay out what the message wants to convey.Therefore, it is better to use information to express the title attached to the front of the section, so that the effect is better.

Don't make headlines out of thin air, mention them in the text
At the top of each section, the title shows the message you most want to convey.Therefore, you'd better be able to remind the same information as the title again in the article, but not necessarily the same words.Many people mistakenly think that "the information that has been suggested in the title does not need to be mentioned in the text", which is wrong.Be careful not to use the title as the conclusion of the body.The title is the title, and the text is the text. It is not appropriate to regard the title as the result of abstracting the text.

If you are worried that "the same information as the title appears at the beginning of the text, which will make people feel repetitive", then please place the information similar to the title in the text at the end of the paragraph.This way, the header and end-of-body information wraps up and down the entire paragraph.At this time, the information at the end is used for confirmation and will not make people feel repetitive.

(End of this chapter)