Rule of Three (3) is Everywhere

What do a Play, Chess Game, Magic Trick & The Slogan in the Declaration of Independence all have in Common?

Play – 3 Acts, Setup, the Confrontation, & the Resolution

Chess Game – 3 Phases, Opening, Middlegame, Endgame

Magic Trick – 3 Parts, Pledge, Turn, Prestige

Declaration of Independence – 3 Word Slogan, Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness

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Do you see a pattern?

‘Omne trium perfectum’ - from Latin, means ‘Everything that comes in Threes (3) is Perfect’

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Rule of Three (3)

People look for patterns, and three things is the smallest amount to have for a pattern. The Rule of Three has a natural feel to it, since it is so engrained in so many things we commonly see. People can typically remember 3 or 4 things, so a shorter list does not confuse.

Complex Ideas, Stories, or Events broken down into 3s is more Memorable & Effective. I believe there is also something subconscious we like with simple math. Math and geometry underpin many things (design, architecture, city planning, etc), so we see it, but do not see it.?

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How widespread is the Rule of Three?

Examples:

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s advice, “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.?

Joke has 3 parts - Premise, Punch Line, Tag Line or Setup, Twist, Punch Line

Matter has 3 States – Solid, Liquid, Gas

Screenplays and Plays have 3 Acts

Movies – Trilogy

Lord of the Rings books (3) Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, Return of the King

Dickens – 3 Christmas Ghosts, Past, Present & Future

Baseball – 3 strikes for a batter, and 3 outs per inning for the team

Born, Live, Die / Morning, Day, Night

Sun, Earth and the Moon? / Earth, Wind and Fire

Three Amigos, Three Blind Mice, Three Little Pigs, Three Musketeers, Three Stodges…

Olympic Medals – Gold, Silver and Bronze

Horse racing Finish – Win, Place & Show

Bible has the Three Wise Men

Religion has the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, & the Holy Spirit

Court – Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Government – 3 Branches, Executive, Judicial, Legislative

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How to use the Rule of Three in Business

Management – discipline policy in threes – Verbal Warning, Written Warning, Consequence

Review – compliment sandwich, start with a praise of what employee does well, tell employee what needs to be improved, end with advice?

Sales often provides 3 Product offerings – Good , Better, Best

Minimally want the prospect to pick the middle one, better features, but not the high price of Best option

Cars – economy, sedan, luxury model

Retail Sizes – small, medium, large ?

Rule of Three in sales, when asking probing Qs of prospects. Keep asking Qs until uncover 3 needs the prospect has so you can show the value of yoru product to help them with those needs.

Marketing Slogans often come in 3s – This luxury car is the fastest, sleekest, and safest ride out there ?

Branding Position usually has 3 big players in a market – McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendys

Coke, Pepsi, and ? ?

Because of the Rule of Three – people often cannot pay attention to a fourth brand in the market. It is not uncommon that the 1st position has 2x market share of #2, and 3 had small %, and then all others share rest of the Market, usually around 10%.?

?Tagline – have 3 sayings within the logo

?Marketing – make 3 points, shows order, and is memorable

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Website or Slide – show content in 3 columns

First we will discuss 1., then 2., and finally close with 3.

Cluster your main ideas in 3 bullet points

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Story Structure - beginning, middle, end

Speech in 3 sections –

Three Core ideas of the Speech

Tell Them What you’re going to Tell Them

Tell Them

Tell Them What You just Told Them?

Use the Rule of Three for the 3 sections of your speech, then have 3 points per section

Repeat phrases 3x to connect each section of the speech

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Photographers break their photo into thirds (3 sections), and then have the subject stand off center. The rule of thirds is?a composition guideline that places your subject in the left or right third of an image, leaving the other two thirds more open.

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Next time we will talk about the significance of Seven (7), but that is a tale for another day.

If you need more to think about 3 is also a Prime Number, just like 7……?