Remember the Rule of Threes

Hi,

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.?

Veni, vidi, vici.?

Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

What do you think these three lines have in common that make them so iconic and memorable?

The answer: It’s the rule of three in writing!

Here’s why the rule of three works so well.

See, our brains are wired to recognize and cling to patterns.

We always classify things and information into sets.?

And since three is the smallest number that allows us to recognize a set pattern…

It has become a staple in crafting memorable phrases.?

This is why we repeat a word three times for emphasis.?

Like when you say the most important principle in real estate is ‘location, location, location’.?

And this is also why it’s almost impossible for us to say “Life, liberty…”

Without automatically completing the phrase by adding, “...and the pursuit of happiness.”

We recognise these words as a set and our brains will work hard to keep them together.?

Now, why am I telling you this?

In your presentations, it’s also great to work in threes.?

For every speech, you can have three big key points.?

Under those key points, you can have three sub-points.?

And under each subpoint, you can give three examples or illustrations.?

People remember threes very easily.?

That’s what makes it a great tool if you want to create recall about the concepts you’d be sharing in your presentation.?

If you can outline your entire presentation into sets of threes…

Your audience can easily follow what you’re trying to say.?

So, if you’ve got a pitch or a speech that’s already complete in substance and information…

But it isn't written with the rule of threes in mind just yet…

Don’t worry.?

Just reach out so we can work on it together.?

Cheers,

Carmen?