August 26, 2025

How to write so busy people will read

Hi there, it’s Adam from Untools,

Most people bury the lead in their business communication. They save the important bit for the end, forcing readers to wade through paragraphs to find what actually matters.

Bottom line up front (BLUF) flips this on its head by starting a message with the key information first.

And Minto Pyramid (named after its creator Barbara Minto) takes this further and defines a ‘conclusion > key arguments > supporting details’ framework that you can use to structure your communications.

BLUF: Bottom line up front

You’ve probably noticed how I’m using the BLUF method to write this newsletter. People are busy and especially in business settings, they don't have time to read long walls of text or listen to long presentations where the key info is shared at the very end.

That’s why BLUF works: it gives readers the most important information first, leaving it up to them if they need to read further. Communicating this way feels counter-intuitive to many but it’s a refreshing way of creating clarity and saving people time.

🙅 Instead of writing:
'I've been analysing our quarterly metrics and after reviewing multiple data points...' and losing most of your audience’s attention…

✅ Use BLUF:
'We should increase our marketing budget by 20%.
Here's why: customer acquisition costs dropped 15% last quarter, and our conversion rates are at an all-time high.'

BLUF also forces you to sharpen your communication skills: What do you really want to say? What’s the one thing you need to get across?

Keep in mind, though, that BLUF works great in business communication but might feel out of place in sensitive conversations or in storytelling.

Bring clarity into your writing with the Minto Pyramid

Barbara Minto’s framework builds on the BLUF principle and defines a top-down structure that you can use to get your message across quickly and clearly.

Here’s how it works:

1. Start with the conclusion

Capture your audience's attention early on by first telling them the main takeaway, message, recommendation or simply your conclusion. This may be the opposite to how we've been taught to communicate but it's more efficient, especially in writing and with busy audiences.

2. Provide key points

With the main takeaway already communicated, it's time to support it with key arguments or main points. These should still be fairly short. Write them as summaries of your main points. This part should explain the "why" behind your conclusion or recommendation.

3. Support points with detailed information

You might still need to make your key points credible. Do that by giving more detailed information that support them: facts, evidence, numbers, results. This is the part where you can really go into detail if you want to.

The busier people are, the more likely they are to skip this part but sometimes it's necessary in order for the conclusion to be accepted or acted on.

Sometimes, you might want to skip the detailed information if your key arguments are enough to justify your conclusion and you know that your audience will understand them well enough.

Example of Minto Pyramid in practice

Let's see an example of a researcher who just completed a study and wants to share the results with their colleagues, along with their recommendation.

Here's how they might write a message to their team using the Minto Pyramid tool:

As you can see, there's a very clear recommendation given up front. It's explained with the key findings and those are supported by detailed data, evidence and results. This way, the audience immediately gets the most important information first. They only need to consume the details if they choose to, not in order to get to the main point.

Using the Minto pyramid also makes your message naturally more structured and easier to scan. Others can skim the message for the essential info in just a few seconds.

Busy audiences require extra clarity

In our busy world with short attention spans, clear communication is essential. BLUF and the Minto Pyramid respect your audience’s time by giving your writing more clarity and efficiency.

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Coming next: Creative problem solving

In the next newsletter, we’ll explore what it takes to be creative and a great thinking tool for unlocking creative solutions to complex problems.

Have a great week,
Adam

P.S. For more practical thinking tools and templates, check out Untools Vault. Gives you access to all Untools templates and exclusive monthly deep dives in your inbox.