Pyramid templates for Solution proposal, Delegating problem solving, Report/Show-off etc.
<Introduction>
The introduction (ideally presented as a story) leads to the opening
statement of the thesis and consists of:
- A factual summary of the current Situation
- A Complicating factor or uncertainty that the audience should
care about - The explicit or implied Question that this factor or uncertainty
raises in the audience's mind, and which your thesis answers.
<The Pyramid>
- 1st pyramid row: A main idea/governing thought, answering to the
question (Targeted to audience; Overarching; Powerful; Supportable) - 2nd pyramid row: Supporting arguments of the main idea (inductive),
each of which answers a question (how, why etc.) - Supporting arguments of each of the layer arguments (deductive),
each leads logically to the next.
<Closing>
- restatement of the main point (your answer) and key supporting
arguments - reminder of why it's important and what's at stake
- concrete action plan (who, what, when)
Checklist
- Did we use SCQ Framework to undercover issues in concern?
- Having identified issues, what is our main message (governing
thought)? Is it TOPS? - Should we use an argument or a grouping?
- Does our final structure pass the relevant logic test?
- For arguments, does the second point comment on the first point in a
way that leads to the third point and only the third point? - For groupings, are the points logically the same (e.g., all steps,
all problems, all benefits) and in the logical order? - Do both arguments and groupings support their summary in a MECE way?
Mutually exclusive (ME) check: Is each point used only once and in
the best place? Collectively exhaustive (CE) check: Do we have all
the points we need to support or defend the summary idea?
More explanations on argument structure
How to support an idea - Argument structure (Deductive reasoning)
General process: Non-controversial statement about situation >
Comment on situation > Implication of situation and comment
("therefore" point). Each logically leads to the next.
Argument patterns examples:
- Success requires X > You are not equipped to do X > Therefore,
develop capability for X - Success requires X > You are not focusing on X > Therefore,
shift focus to X - You are pursuing X > Y would be better > Therefore, change
direction to Y - You thought X was a problem > Further investigation shows it's
Y > Therefore, shift focus to Y - Performance is not as expected > Underlying cause is X >
Therefore, take steps to fix X
Pros: Demonstrates that no other avenue will work, can be particularly
effective with resistant audiences
Cons: If audience disagrees with "situation" or "comment," argument will
fail to persuade. Requires audience to remember much information before
getting to "so what".
How to support an idea - Grouping structure (Inductive reasoning)
Use same kind of idea: reasons/examples/actions, each answers a
question(how, why etc.)
Pros: Major points easy to remember Very effective for action-oriented
audience If one point rejected, remaining points may still persuade
Cons: Could be too forceful for some audience
