“The Rule of 3 says that things grouped in threes are pleasant to the listener’s ear, are easily remembered, and are easily repeated.”

This recent post by Anne Miller is so powerful that I am reprinting it here for my readers. Anne is always right on it with great advice about using the power of words to your advantage, no matter what business you’re in or who you are speaking to. Thanks Anne!

©2009, Anne Miller, author, “Metaphorically Selling,” amiller@annemiller.com

When Mary Berner, President and CEO of Reader’s Digest Association recently announced a change in the editorial direction of this iconic American publication, she said that the magazine was moving from general interest articles to traditional values stories. Celebrity covers and how-to subjects were out. Military life and spiritual articles were in.

She wrapped up her comments by saying, “It’s traditional, conservative values: I love my family, I love my community, I love my church.” (NYTimes 6/18/09)

Got it, Mary.

The Rule of 3

Consciously or not, Berner used the Rule of 3, a very powerful rhetorical technique to net out her message. The Rule of 3 says that things grouped in threes are pleasant to the listener’s ear, are easily remembered, and are easily repeated.

Any advertiser reading her remarks would instantly understand the new positioning. Any media planner who had to “explain” the new editorial direction to a superior would have an easy time of remembering it with those three phrases. And all her advertising sales people have a nice simple “story” to sell to clients.

Think about it. We talk in threes: Tom, Dick and Harry. Red, white and blue. Bacon, lettuce and tomato. Fairy-tales include Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears. Literature has The Three Musketeers. TV had the Three Stooges. We like our presentations to have three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. When a conclusion is missing from a presentation, we as listeners miss a sense of closure.

Famous phrases survive the centuries: Julius Caesar, “I came. I saw. I conquered.” Look at all of President Obama’s speeches. They are liberally sprinkled with three part phrasings. This is from his inaugural. “We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of re-making America.” Even Michael Jackson used the Rule of 3 in his hit song “ABC.”

Make the Rule of 3 Work for You

1. Use it to position yourself. “People use us for three reasons: a…., b…. and c….

2. When you have a great deal of information and/or many slides, chunk them into three groups or buckets, e.g., -Planning, Deliverables, Follow-up. -Past, Present, Future. -Problem, Solution, Results -Wholesale, Retail, Hybrid -Traditional, New, Integrated -Pre-IPO, IPO, Post-IPO

This will make it much easier for people to follow you.

3. Conclude presentations with the three key take-aways or benefits of your information or offer.

Can you have four benefits? Two take-aways? Five groups of information? Of course. Winston Churchill inspired a nation in his first speech as Prime Minister, when he said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” However, when you do extend your list, be mindful that it often makes it less “sticky,” less easy to remember, so have a reason for doing it.

Next Step

Think of how many features and benefits you talk about when describing your products and services. Think of how many topics you cover in a PPT presentation. Where can the Rule of 3 add impact, ease of recollection, and power to your messages?