3 is the Magic Number

Yesterday, an article had popped up on my smartphone and immediately, one part of its title caught my attention. That part is “Three is the magic number”. 

As both a marketer and public speaker, I am familiar with the “Power of 3”. 

In fact, the English language assigns greater importance to the first 3 by giving them unique endings – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. For numbers that follow, they all have the same ending – 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, et cetera. 

Using the Power of 3 allows you to convey concepts more scrupulously, highlight your points, and increase the prominence of your message. The Power of 3 can make your audience remember you and your words! 

That’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 

Examples of the Power of 3 can be found in some of the most famous speeches ever written: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend me your ears” – Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar; “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” – Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address; and “Our priorities are Education, Education, Education” – Tony Blair.

The rule of three describes triples of all types – any list of three related elements. And two specific variants I wish to focus here are hendiatris and tricolon. 

Hendiatris: A figure of speech where three consecutive words are used to express one idea. E.g. Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité (French motto for "liberty, equality, fraternity"); Citius, Altius, Fortius (Latin for the Olympic motto “Swifter, Higher, Stronger”); Wine, women, and song” (Anonymous). 

Tricolon: A series of three parallel elements (words or phrases). It produces memorable, rhythmic phrases. E.g.: “We cannot desecrate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground”, from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Thomas Jefferson used a tricolon when he wrote the United States Declaration of Independence saying that, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are the unalienable rights of all humans that governments are meant to protect. And Julius Caesar’s “Veni, vidi, vici” (Latin for "I came, I saw, I conquered"). 

Three is a favorite number – check out these movie titles: The Three Musketeers; 3 Idiots; The 3 Stooges; Three Coins in the Fountain; Three Days of the Condor; and Three Amigos, to name the more popular ones.

Nowhere is three more apparent than in fairy tales – and I’m sure we are familiar with Goldilocks and the Three Bears; The 3 Little Pigs; and Three Billy Goats Gruff. 

And nursery rhymes too like Three Blind Mice; Rub A Dub Dub which refers to 3 men in a tub; and Baa, Baa, Black Sheep which mentions three bags full of wool. 

One reason why the pattern of three is common in fairy tales and folk tales is to make it more memorable to those who heard the tale. Fairy tales were told from person to person, and having groups of three is a handy memory device for the storyteller to recall of the elements of the story. 

It doesn’t matter how long ago you heard the story of Cinderella, you probably remember that she had two evil stepsisters, don’t you? That’s the power of three at work. 

In psychology, experts believe that 3 plays a big part of persuasion, which is probably why Snow White’s stepmother came back three times to try to kill her, and finally succeeded on the third try! Rumpelstiltskin gives the queen three tries to guess his name. And in Maid Maleen, the main character speaks to three things: a nettle-plant, a foot-bridge, and a church door. 

It's also no coincidence that good stories have a beginning, middle, and end. 

Films, literature, and video games are often crafted in the form of a trilogy. Movie examples include The Blade Trilogy – Blade (1998), Blade 2 (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004); The Matrix Trilogy – The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003); and The Lord of the Rings – LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), LOTR: The Two Towers (2002), LOTR: The Return of the King (2003). 

Needless to say, it is important in marketing too. Any content marketing, product marketing, or general marketing professional knows that in order to market well, you have to deliver a message that is well received. We send our messages through a medium, but the audience must receive it for efforts to have any return on investment. 

Think of the rule of three as a turbo engine for your message. It will get to an audience easier, faster, and with better results – regardless of media type or means of delivery. 

Did you know Steve Jobs (left) applied the rule of three in nearly every presentation and product launch? No wonder, we all listened. 

One of the best examples using the rule of three in a presentation can be seen in Jobs’ introduction of the first iPhone in 2007. During his presentation he claimed Apple would be introducing “three” revolutionary products – a new iPod, a phone, and an Internet communications device. Jobs repeated each slowly until the audience finally figured out he was talking about one device. This iPhone was the “third” of Apple’s revolutionary product categories (the first two were the Macintosh and the iPod). 

So, when in doubt, just remember, “Omne trium perfectum” (everything that comes in threes is perfect). 

Truly, three is the magic number!