Barack #Obama used it at his first, #Lincoln did too at his most memorable one (Gettysburg Address) and Steve Jobs seemed to be obsessed by it! (Watch the #iPhones launch).
Referencing their speeches here! And the #RuleofThree
The Rule of Three, as Wikipedia explains it is “..a writing principle that suggests that a trio of events or characters is more humorous, satisfying, or effective than other numbers. The audience of this form of text is also thereby more likely to remember the information conveyed because having three entities combines both brevity and rhythm with having the smallest amount of information to create a pattern.”
Well said Wiki, yet I still feel I must explain how this simple rule I teach, love and use, can help you too with the way you present, answer questions and sell and idea, service or product.
Tell Your Story – One of the books I always recommend at my presentation skills workshop is Jerry Weissman “Presenting to Win – The Art of Telling Your Story“. And what have you learnt about stories? Structure! Yes… we relish the imagery, get lost in the journey and want the juicy details, yet #structure is key. The simplest one being that there should always be The Opening, The Body, The Close.
So too with your presentations. Dave Linehan PMP CEng reminds us in his blog (link in comments) Dale Carnegie once said, “Tell the what you going to tell the, tell them, tell them what you just told them”.
At The Change Business, our Presenting Intelligence™ Template incorporates this structure for basic business presentations.
Easy to Follow -We also recommend 3-part structures when presenting at meetings. A common one would be sharing The Issue, The Emerging Challenge, The Recommended Solution. There is a logical flow that is easy for your listener to grasp, follow and understand.
Any chronological pattern that flows in sequence can be a useful 3-part structure to use too. For example, Before, During and After (explaining the progress of a project or an action plan).
Keeping to “three part structures” are really useful too when answering questions. No one likes to ask a question only to realise you wished you had not asked the question in the first place!
Make an Impact – Attention spans are very limited these days. Share too much when answering a question, you will lose them. So the next time someone asks for e.g. “Why should we choose you?”, answer with three strengths or perhaps three benefits they gain for doing so….even better three consequence should they choose not to hire you, use your service or buy your product. Emphaising with three points just makes it more convincing.
There are many applications to this rule not only in communication but also in our every day lives. Which ones have you noticed?