Claude buries the point by default. It warms up, gives context, then lands the conclusion at the bottom where nobody reads it. Barbara Minto built the Pyramid Principle at McKinsey to fix exactly that: answer first, three reasons, then evidence. The Project setup and the style file that keep it permanent are in the guide.
1| The restructure
Rewrite this using the Minto Pyramid: open with my single main conclusion in one sentence, then exactly three supporting reasons, then the evidence under each. Cut anything that does not sit under one of the three.
2| The buried lede test
Read this draft and tell me the one conclusion it is actually building toward. If I only had one sentence to give my boss, what would it be? Then tell me where in the draft I hid it.
3| The three reason audit
Check my three reasons. Do they overlap, and together do they fully cover the case? Flag any that is a detail pretending to be a reason.
4| The so what pass
Go line by line and ask so what after each one. Delete every line that cannot answer it. Show me what survives.
5| The email version
Compress this into an email under 150 words in the same structure: answer, three reasons, evidence only where it earns its place. Keep my voice.
Run 2 before 1 on anything you’ve already written. You need to know what the draft was secretly arguing before you restructure it.
Save this, then run number 2 on the last long email you sent. Ninety seconds and you’ll see exactly where you hid the point.
