Must know or nice to know? The power of pyramid writing
At Stampa, we like to get to the point. We help our clients tell their stories clearly and quickly, using some of the techniques we learned as journalists.
One of the first lessons in journalism is the inverted pyramid – how to structure a news story so a time-pressed reader gets the essential information in the shortest possible time. In these times of information overload, this is more important than ever.
What is the inverted pyramid?
The principles of the inverted pyramid are easy. You start with the must know part of your message – the information you want your audience to hear above all else. If this is all they can remember, or have time to read, it needs to be said here.
The next level in the pyramid is the good to know. These are the useful details and evidence that support the story – the proof points.
And then at the bottom is the nice to know – the non-essential details that give the story colour, context and a conclusion. These are the parts that could be trimmed if necessary, without losing the core message.
Tips to remember:
- Prioritise: organise your information into the three buckets of must know, good to know, nice to know.
- Use the 5Ws and H: the core principles of what, who, why, when, where and how guide every journalist’s story. They can also be applied in corporate comms: what’s your message, who’s your audience, why are you communicating and when best to communicate? The where and how relate to the channel or format to use for your message.
- Edit well: be ruthless – cut unnecessary and complex language, leaving short, sharp sentences that pack a punch. Ask a colleague for a ‘second eye’.
- Use active language: add urgency and pace by using the active voice, where the subject of the sentence performs the action. Avoid passive language, which leads to longer, less compelling sentences.
Do you need communications support? Find out more about Stampa’s strategic content services.
