How to Use the Pyramid Principle to Write Research Reports

Use the Pyramid Principle to make your research insights stick (and get acted on)

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If you’ve ever spent weeks on a research report only to have stakeholders skim it, misinterpret it, or worse, ignore it entirely, you’re not alone.

No matter how great your research is, if you don’t communicate it well, it won’t have an impact.

This realization hit me early in my career when I spent three weeks crafting a beautifully detailed 30-page research report. I presented it to the product team with excitement, only to hear:

• “Can you summarize the key takeaways in a few sentences?”

• “So… what do you actually want us to do with this?”

• “I didn’t have time to go through everything, can we just chat?”

I was crushed. All that effort, and they weren’t even reading it. That’s when I realized I was structuring my reports the wrong way.

Fast forward to today, and I structure every single research report using The Pyramid Principle—and it has changed everything.

Now, my reports don’t just get read. They drive real product decisions.

Let’s break this down step by step, so you can apply this immediately, even if you’ve never written a report like this before.

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What is the pyramid principle?

The Pyramid Principle, developed by Barbara Minto at McKinsey, is a method for structuring information clearly, logically, and persuasively.

Here’s how it works:

1. Start with the answer. (Lead with your main insight—don’t bury it at the end.)

2. Support it with key arguments. (Break down why this is true.)

3. Back up those arguments with evidence. (Provide qualitative & quantitative data.)

This flips the usual way research reports are written. Instead of working toward the conclusion, you start with it.

Think of it like a pyramid:

• Conclusion First

• Key Arguments

• Supporting Evidence

Instead of:

1. Background – Why we did this research

2. Methodology – How we did it

3. Findings – What we discovered

4. Conclusion – What it all means

We flip the structure:

1. Conclusion First – “Users aren’t converting because the sign-up process is too complicated.”

2. Key Arguments – “We found three primary reasons why: (1) Confusing UI, (2) Lack of trust, (3) Poor onboarding.”

3. Supporting Evidence – “40% of users abandon at step 2. Interviews reveal they don’t know what happens after sign-up.”

This ensures stakeholders get the most critical information first—even if they only read the first page.

Step 1: Start with the answer

This was the hardest shift for me to make. We’re trained to present findings the way we uncover them:

• First, we explain the background—why we did the research

• Then, we talk about the methodology—how we did it

• Finally, we build up to the key insight—what we discovered

But here’s the problem: Most stakeholders won’t make it to the end of your report.

They don’t need to know how you got to the answer before hearing what the answer is.

The Pyramid Principle flips this approach by leading with the most important takeaway first, then explaining how you got there.

Why This Matters

Think about it from your stakeholders’ perspective:

• A busy product manager opens your report between back-to-back meetings

• A VP of Design skims through it while multitasking

• A data analyst checks it while debugging an issue

None of them have time to dig through background information to find the insight. You have to put it right in front of them.

If your key takeaway is buried on page 7, you’ve already lost them.

Start with the answer in your report

Your first sentence should immediately answer the key question your research set out to explore.

Let’s say you conducted a study on why users abandon checkout.

Instead of this typical approach:

“We conducted research to understand why users weren’t completing checkout. Our study involved usability testing, surveys, and behavioral analytics. We analyzed the user journey and identified several key pain points. Based on our findings, we believe that the primary issue is a lack of trust in the payment process.”

Try this instead:

“Users abandon checkout because they don’t trust the payment process.”

Right away, your stakeholder knows the most important piece of information.

Then, in the next few sentences, you briefly explain why:

“Through usability testing and surveys, we found that 40% of users hesitate at the payment step due to unclear security messaging. Additionally, 60% of users say they don’t know what happens after entering payment details. The lack of trust indicators, such as security badges and reassurances, is a major contributor to drop-off.”

Now, before they even scroll down, your stakeholder understands the main issue. If they stop reading right here, they’ve already gotten value.

What if you have multiple findings?

If your research uncovered several important findings, you still need to start with the most critical one.

For example, if your study explored why free trial users don’t convert to paying customers, and you found three main reasons, you might structure it like this:

First sentence:

“Free trial users don’t convert because they don’t experience value early enough.”

Follow-up explanation:

“We identified three main reasons: (1) Key features are hidden behind complex onboarding, (2) Users struggle to complete setup, and (3) Many users don’t realize when their trial is ending.”

Now, the reader has the big picture immediately. If they’re interested in the details, they can keep reading—but even if they don’t, they’ve already grasped the main insights.

Write a strong first sentence

Here’s a simple formula to make this easy:

[User behavior] happens because [reason].

Or:

[Key problem] is caused by [main insight].

Some examples:

Instead of this:

“We conducted research to understand how users interact with the onboarding flow. The goal was to identify pain points that impact activation rates.”

Write this:

“Users drop off during onboarding because they don’t understand the product’s core value.”

Instead of this:

“Our study analyzed why users are struggling with navigation in the mobile app.”

Write this:

“Users struggle with navigation because key actions are buried in menus, making them hard to find.”

The key is to be direct and specific.

Mistakes to avoid

Burying the insight in background information

• Weak: “Our goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of the sign-up flow. We tested with 15 users and identified key usability issues. One major problem was confusion around account verification.”

• Strong: “Users struggle to sign up because the account verification process is unclear.”

Being too vague

• Weak: “Users find navigation difficult.”

• Strong: “Users struggle with navigation because key actions are buried in menus.”

Hedging too much

• Weak: “Some users may have difficulty understanding the onboarding process.”

• Strong: “40% of users don’t complete onboarding because they don’t see a clear next step.”

Focusing on the process instead of the insight

• Weak: “We interviewed 20 users to understand how they perceive the checkout process.”

• Strong: “Users don’t trust the checkout process, leading to a 40% drop-off rate.”

Your first sentence sets the tone for the entire report. Make it clear. Make it specific. Make it impossible to ignore.

Next steps

If you’re new to this approach, start by practicing with a past research report:

1. Take a recent report and find the main insight. What is the single most important thing your stakeholders should know?

2. Rewrite your introduction. Start with that insight instead of background information.

3. Test it out. Share it with a stakeholder and see if they engage faster.

Once you get comfortable, use this method in every research report. It will make your work more readable, more impactful, and more likely to drive action.

Step 2: Break it down into key arguments

Once you’ve stated your conclusion upfront, the next step is to explain why it’s true.

This is where many researchers struggle. They assume that the insight speaks for itself—but for stakeholders to buy into your findings, they need a clear, logical breakdown of the problem.

Think of this step as building the case for your conclusion.

Imagine you’re a stakeholder reading a research report that starts with:

“Users aren’t completing checkout because they don’t trust the payment process.”

If that’s all you read, your first question will be:

“What makes you say that?”

This is where your key arguments come in.

Key arguments are the main reasons your conclusion is true. They provide structure to your report and make your insight hard to ignore.

How to identify your key arguments