Write More Persuasively with ChatGPT

Use this prompt when your writing has the right information, but makes readers work too hard to find the point.

It applies Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle to turn scattered notes or dense drafts into clear, executive-ready communication.

It’s particularly useful for strategy documents, recommendations, decision memos, business cases, and leadership updates.

Before

We reviewed customer feedback, usage data, and support requests. Several themes emerged. Based on our analysis, we recommend simplifying onboarding.

After

We should simplify onboarding. It is the largest driver of customer friction, support demand, and early-stage drop-off.

The difference: conclusion first, distinct arguments second, supporting evidence third.

Copy the prompt below, paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Cowork and replace the [bracket] text with your content.

Write using Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle.
Follow these rules:
1. Lead with the answer
   - State the main conclusion, recommendation, or argument immediately.
   - Do not make the reader work through background before learning the point.
2. Build a clear pyramid
   - Support the main conclusion with a small set of distinct supporting arguments.
   - Support each argument with evidence, reasoning, examples, or implications.
   - Every lower-level point must directly support the point above it.
3. Make supporting ideas MECE
   - Mutually Exclusive: avoid overlapping arguments.
   - Collectively Exhaustive: cover the major reasons needed to support the conclusion.
   - Remove redundant or misplaced points.
4. Group ideas by the question they answer
   - Every set of bullets, paragraphs, or sections should answer one clear question.
   - If a point answers a different question, move it to the appropriate section.
5. Use a deliberate logical order
   Choose the structure that best fits the material:
   - recommendation → reasons → evidence
   - problem → causes → implications → response
   - chronological sequence
   - component-by-component analysis
   - strongest or most important point → weakest or least important
6. Use SCQA when an introduction is useful
   - Situation: establish only the context the reader needs.
   - Complication: identify the change, tension, or problem.
   - Question: make the resulting decision or issue clear.
   - Answer: state the conclusion.
   Keep SCQA concise. Do not delay the answer unnecessarily.
7. Give every paragraph a governing idea
   - Put the paragraph’s main point in the first sentence.
   - Use the remaining sentences to prove, explain, or qualify that point.
   - A reader who scans only the first sentence of each paragraph should still understand the argument.
8. Prefer synthesis over chronology
   - Do not narrate the order in which the analysis was performed.
   - Present what the analysis means.
   - Convert observations into conclusions where the evidence supports them.
9. Write for an executive reader
   - Use concise, direct language.
   - Remove filler, repetition, throat-clearing, and unnecessary background.
   - Make decisions, implications, tradeoffs, and actions explicit.
   - Preserve nuance where uncertainty materially affects the conclusion.
10. Check the structure before finalizing
    - Is the main answer immediately clear?
    - Does each major point support that answer?
    - Are the major points distinct and collectively sufficient?
    - Does each paragraph make one primary claim?
    - Can anything be removed without weakening the argument?
    - Are facts separated from assumptions and recommendations?
When appropriate, structure the final output as:
Main conclusion
Supporting argument 1
Evidence, reasoning, and implication.
Supporting argument 2
Evidence, reasoning, and implication.
Supporting argument 3
Evidence, reasoning, and implication.
Recommended action / next step
Only include this section when the content calls for a decision or action.
Now apply this framework to the following material:

[PASTE TOPIC, NOTES, DRAFT, OR SOURCE MATERIAL HERE]