The Approach · The Pyramid of Understanding
The Pyramid of Understanding
The Pyramid of Understanding: how intelligence methodology changes the business of speaking
Most speakers approach business development by talking about themselves. The ones who consistently book approach it differently: by first understanding the people on the other side of every decision.
The Pyramid of Understanding is a framework drawn from competitive intelligence methodology and deep study of human behaviour.
It gives speakers a systematic way to understand organizers, buyers, bureaus, and partners deeply enough to engage them effectively: before the pitch, before the proposal, before the ask.
Where this came from
Built from intelligence environments where understanding people accurately was the job.
Over more than 18 years of competitive intelligence work, I built profiles on organizations, markets, and individuals for large global companies, global law firms, and growth-stage businesses.
Along the way, I had the opportunity to learn from people who had worked with three-letter agencies, in policing, and in intelligence environments where understanding people accurately and systematically was not a professional exercise, it was the job. In some cases, it was life and death.
What I noticed across all of those contexts was a consistent pattern: the people who made the best decisions about other people were not relying on instinct alone. They were building structured understanding, moving from individual facts toward something richer, more predictive, more useful. The people who made the worst decisions had almost always stopped too early. They had a fact, maybe two, and they thought they had a picture.
Some people making bad decisions were charmed. Some assumed connections where none existed. They were swindled by people who looked, spoke, and presented exactly as expected. And they got it wrong: some are very famous examples, some much less so, but the negative impacts are still there.
At some point I started asking a different question: what would it look like to make this methodology accessible to people who are not intelligence analysts? That question became the Pyramid of Understanding.
I first presented the model to Laurie Young (a CI Fellow and colleague whose background spans both private sector intelligence and government work) and to the scip.org community. The reception was strong for this new take on concepts that they have known for years.
The Framework
Five levels, from a single data point to a full picture of who someone is.
What’s critical to understand here is that all of this is built around who this person is — their experience, context, culture, language and more. When we seek to understand someone, we also have to recognise the biases that come from our own experiences, context, culture, language, and upbringing as to how we will view others. As you seek to understand someone else, you also have to be aware of yourself.
Fact
A single data point. A job title. A LinkedIn post. The event someone is organizing.
Facts
Multiple data points beginning to form a pattern.
Theme
Enough facts in one area to create genuine understanding.
Themes
Multiple themes in play: priorities, style, relationship to risk.
Narrative
A coherent story of who this person normally is: their values, their patterns, their worldview, what drives them.
Why most people stop too early
Surface signals are insufficient for high-stakes decisions.
When I introduce this framework, I show four photographs. All four people appear professional, well-presented, and credible. I ask the audience to evaluate them. Most people give me an answer based on the photos. A few push back and say they do not have enough information.
Those people are right. Three of the four individuals have either had Netflix documentaries made about their fraud, or appeared in major international news for financial crimes. The surface picture was compelling, but the narrative was something else entirely.
A well-dressed, articulate, professionally credentialed person is a fact. Several such facts might form a theme. But the narrative, including how someone behaves under pressure, under scrutiny, and on their worst day, requires you to look further than the surface.
To wit: just because somewhere wears a nice suit doesn’t mean they are a good actor.
Some people are exactly who they appear to be, but the framework exists because surface signals are insufficient for high-stakes decisions, and because even genuinely good people behave differently under pressure than they do in optimal conditions. Knowing that in advance is an advantage.
One more variable worth naming: time. A compressed timeline makes it harder (though not impossible) to build a full picture. When time is short, the focus shifts to primary research, direct conversation, elicitation, and other human intelligence techniques. The approach adapts. The principle does not.
How this applies to the speaking business
Here are some potential examples of where this might be useful for you:
Before you pitch an event organizer
Most speakers know the organizer’s name and the event date. A few know which speakers they have booked previously. Almost none have built a real picture of what this organizer actually cares about, what a successful event looks like from their perspective, what pressures they are navigating, and what kind of speaker relationship they want to have.
The most valuable question you can ask is not “what does a good event look like?” It is “what does success look like for you personally?” That question goes to motivation. It gets to what gets someone out of bed in the morning. The speakers who have that picture pitch differently, and they close differently.
Before you walk into a room
The audience at a keynote is not a homogenous crowd. They have different levels of knowledge on your topic, different concerns, different reasons for being in the room, and different things at stake. By doing direct research, observing, and asking great questions of your stakeholders and event champions in advance, you can gather real insights before you arrive.
For larger events this is harder, but not impossible. Even five to ten responses from confirmed attendees can be immensely useful. And for any event, your general knowledge of people, combined with whatever you can confirm about likely attendees, gives you a starting point that most speakers never bother to build.
Before a negotiation with a corporate buyer
Who is on the other side of that conversation? Are they driven primarily by budget constraints, or do they care deeply about getting the right speaker regardless of cost? Who in the room cares about what, and how does that shape how you present your value? Understanding the people across the table before you sit down changes how you negotiate, what you emphasize, and what you ask for.
It also helps you answer a question most speakers never ask: do you actually want to work with these people? They may not be a good client for you. A single engagement is one thing. A relationship that compounds into referrals, repeat bookings, and expanded opportunity is another. Understanding who you are dealing with early gives you the information to make that call intentionally.
Before you depend on a bureau or commit to a partnership
Bureaus are partners, not employers. Understanding how a bureau operates, what their priorities are, and how they treat their speakers in difficult moments (not just good ones) is due diligence that most speakers skip. The same applies to any growth partnership, co-marketing arrangement, or referral relationship. Trust built on facts alone is fragile. A narrative picture of a potential partner is professional intelligence applied to a high-stakes decision.
Why this is different
Most speaker coaching focuses on the speaker. This focuses on everyone else.
Most speaker development focuses on the speaker: the talk, the positioning, the one-sheet, the reel, the fee conversation. All of that matters, but it assumes that good content plus good marketing equals consistent bookings.
It does not, not reliably, at least.
What actually drives consistent bookings is a systematic understanding of the people and organizations that book speakers, combined with the relationship intelligence to engage them in ways that land. That is what competitive intelligence methodology was built for: understanding decision-makers deeply enough to influence outcomes, not by manipulating them, but by meeting them where they actually are.
I am one of approximately 115 people recognized as a Council of Competitive Intelligence Fellow from around the world since the designation was established. My colleagues and I are global experts. Some of them originated the field. That credential shapes how I think about research, about people, and about what it actually means to understand someone before you engage them.
I have also organized more than 75 events, including the first TEDx Moncton in 2013. I have sat on the organizer side of the table many times. I know what event organizers are actually looking for when they choose a speaker, because I have been one.
The Pyramid of Understanding is the framework that connects those two worlds. It gives speakers a methodology (not a mindset, not a motivation, but an actual systematic approach) for building the kind of relationship intelligence that makes the difference between a pipeline that depends on luck and one that compounds over time.
This is what the Connected and Trusted pillars of VCT actually look like in practice: not claimed, built. For how the Visible pillar works in AI search specifically, see Known, Recommended, Chosen.
18+ Years applying strategic intelligence to business development
75+ Events organized, including the first TEDx Moncton
~115 CI Fellows ever recognized globally
- Do you know what success looks like for the person you’re pitching, or only what you want from them?
- Have you done any research on your audience before you walk into the room?
- Do you actually know how your bureau or partners treat people when things go sideways, not just when things are going well?
- What do others know about this person? What don’t you know?
Ready to build a pipeline that doesn’t depend on luck?
Every engagement starts with a listening call — 35 minutes to understand where you are, where you want to be, and what’s standing between those two things.
For a fuller walkthrough of applying this before, during, and after a relationship builds, read: Applying the Pyramid: before, during, and over time.
