Trigger Question #117:
Let me begin by giving you three examples of the Rule of Three:
- See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil. (Three wise monkeys)
- Snap. Crackle. Pop. (Kellogg’s Rice Krispies)
- I came. I saw. I conquered. (Julius Caesar)
Read them aloud. Feel how smoothly they slide from your lips into your memory.
Why are three ideas easy to remember? Because of balance. If a table has only two legs, well, it will fall over. If it has four legs, it is likely to wobble. (You’ve experienced that in coffee shops, haven’t you?) But a table with three legs cannot wobble.
The same applies when you give a talk or make a presentation. If you use fewer than three main ideas, your message might fall flat. If you offer more than three, it will wobble.
What if you are issuing instructions? Well, “Do it” has little oomph, which is why it would never make it as a shoe tagline. (Hence the added word “just.”) And “I would really like you to do it, because then it will be done and we won’t have to worry about it again” will tire anyone before the task has even begun. You just can’t beat “Do it now!”
The trick with any simple rule is to ensure that the rule never rules you.
Let’s use the “Do it now!” example to explain what I mean. Does it obey the Rule of Three? Yes. But, depending on your style of delivery and the size of your ego, it might still wobble or even fall flat. Because your focus is likely on a different rule of three, namely Me-Myself-I.
In her hit single Me, Myself, I, Joan Armatrading explains how much she prefers her own company. But then, she is a rock star, whereas you are a manager. You are paid to prefer the company of teams, not of yourself alone. And you are expected to think in terms of we-ourselves-us.
Remember, to an audience, a colleague, a subordinate, and a team member, Me-Myself-I is three too many.
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
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Quote of the Moment:
“Do you know that praise is singular and blame is plural? For example, I did it right, but we got it wrong.” The Chief Nonsense Officer.
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