# Pyramid Principle Structured Communication

> Structure high-stakes communication with the Pyramid Principle. Use when preparing executive summaries, recommendations, decision memos, or storyline-driven updates that need a clear answer-first flow and defensible support.

- Skill: `santos-sanz/pyramid-principle-structured-communication` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add santos-sanz/pyramid-principle-structured-communication`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/santos-sanz/pyramid-principle-structured-communication/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: santos-sanz (https://skillmd.com/u/santos-sanz)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/santos-sanz/pyramid-principle-structured-communication

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# Pyramid Principle Communication

Use $ARGUMENTS as initial context.

## When to use this skill
- Executive or leadership communication where the decision matters.
- Recommendation memos that must be scanned quickly.
- Storylines for presentations, updates, or board materials.
- Any unclear draft that needs a single governing question and answer-first structure.

## When not to use this skill
- Do not use it to discover the answer when the primary need is research, root-cause analysis, or option evaluation.
- Do not force a recommendation when the audience only needs a neutral factual status update.

## Required inputs
- Audience and decision owner.
- Governing question to answer.
- Available evidence and major constraints.
- Reading time, decision deadline, and known counterarguments.

## Workflow
1. Define one governing question and one decision objective.
2. Draft the answer first as a one-sentence BLUF.
3. Build 3-5 MECE support points with parallel phrasing.
4. Choose logic mode per level: deductive or inductive, not both.
5. Add evidence, implication, counterargument, and risk for each support point.
6. Test whether the recommendation changes under the strongest credible counterargument.
7. End with a decision, owner, date, and immediate next action.

## Ask-first questions
Ask up to 3 questions before drafting:
1. What exact decision must this communication drive?
2. Who is the final decision owner and what is their risk tolerance?
3. Which evidence is confirmed vs still assumed?

## Assumption policy
- If answers are incomplete, proceed with explicit assumptions.
- Tag each assumption with confidence: high, medium, low.
- Avoid fabricated data; request verification when confidence is low.
- Label evidence as Fact, Inference, Assumption, or Unknown and include source and date for external claims.

## Output contract
Always produce these sections in order:
1. Context
2. Decision or Recommendation
3. Analysis
4. Risks
5. Next Actions
6. Assumptions
- Every action includes an owner, due date, and success signal.
- Every recommendation states confidence and the condition that would change it.

## Guardrails
- Keep one governing question; reject multi-question drift.
- Do not mix recommendation with exploratory brainstorming in the same top level.
- Use concrete language; avoid vague claims like "optimize" without mechanism.
- Flag missing evidence when conclusions are not fully supported.
- Do not hide material counterarguments, trade-offs, or decision dependencies.

## Handoffs
- Use `research-evidence-synthesis` when the storyline lacks verified evidence.
- Use `decision-analysis-under-uncertainty` when the work still needs option comparison or decision modeling.
- Use this skill as the final presentation layer after `consulting-issue-tree-mece`, `consulting-hypothesis-driven-80-20`, or `high-agency`.

## Resources
- `references/pyramid-rules.md` - Rule set and anti-ambiguity checks.
- `references/scqa.md` - SCQA framing and transitions.
- `templates/structured-storyline.md` - Decision-ready output structure.
- `examples/pyramid-example.md` - Golden example with partial information.

## Keywords
pyramid principle, Minto, BLUF, executive communication, storyline, SCQA, structured recommendation