The Rule of Three- Best tip in Public speaking (2024)

The Rule of Three- Best tip in Public speaking (1)

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Sabyasachi Sengupta The Rule of Three- Best tip in Public speaking (2)

Sabyasachi Sengupta

Behavioural Change Expert & Speaker. 15yrs in banking & change initiatives. Teaches organizations to embrace change with energy, humour & humanity, overcoming resistance for future-ready team

Published Jun 29, 2022

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I still remember my first speech I gave at Toastmasters, which was about introducing myself. The question running in my head was: what can I say and what cannot?

I ended up writing a 600 word speech that contained all the information about myself. The feedback I was given was, "Too many details, as a result, nothing sticks."

This scenario was brought to light at work when I saw that my coworkers and I were going into great depth when presenting a topic. The results were the same; too many details, thus nothing sticks.

But how do you decide what to leave out when every point is important and relevant?

I got the answer to the question in 2014. I call it the "Rule of Three".

What is this "Rule of Three"? It's a magic trick. Always choose 3 main things to focus on when presenting or speaking. Why 3? Because more than 3 is too much and less than 3 is too little.

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3 is the golden number that creates the right impact, recalls value, and gives you room to be creative. Let's see how we can do that.

1. Make it Memorable: The “Rule of Three” is the one element that all well-known speakers and leaders have in common when it comes to their talks.

When you can use word play in the message, it becomes memorable and helps the message stick. “The Rule of Three” helps you with this. Do you remember the famous saying, "Of the people, by the people, and for the people"?

2. Make it Impactful: There is a trick in the "Rule of Three" to make your point more impactful. Always try to use this format: Good-Better-Best. Make the last point the strongest argument. This is the point people or the audience will remember.

3. Make it Humorous: The last trick is to use the "Rule of Three" to create humour. By adding a surprise element, you can make your audience chuckle. Use the "Good-Better-Twist" format to do that.

The third point is a surprise twist that no one anticipated, and your audience will laugh at it. For example, "all good things on earth are either illegal, unhealthy or married to somebody else."

My own favourite "Rule of Three'', used in my humorous speech, was, "The Netherlands gave 3 things to every expat, Cheese, Bitterballen and a friend called Jan".

The "Rule of Three" makes your speech and you memorable, funny, and impactful. Try using this and let me know what changes it brings to your speaking or presentation.

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Irina Musuc

Transformational coach | Corporate trainer | Speaker | Heart-centred Leadership | Wellbeing advocate | Engineer of human souls 👩🏻🔬

1y

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Love this tip, Saby! When you generate content on social media like LinkedIn, the rule of three works perfectly! Here are my 3 points for LinkedIn content. 1. Stand out! 2. Reach out! 3. Help out!

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Philipp Humm

Unleash The Storyteller Within You | 2x Bestselling Author, Speaker & Coach | TEDx

1y

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Love this, Sabyasachi Sengupta 👏. Simple, but powerful reminder to use 3 arguments anywhere possible in your speech!

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Pushpendra Rathi

Advisor | Microsoft Sentinel | ArcSight | Cyber Defense at DXC Technology

1y

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"The Netherlands gave 3 things to every expat, Cheese, Bitterballen and a friend called Jan".Jan Terpstra Jan Husselson, CISSP Jan-Albert Kok 😂 😃 ❤️

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SUNAND SHARRMA

1y

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i like the examples , will use it , in future :)

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The Rule of Three- Best tip in Public speaking (2024)

FAQs

The Rule of Three- Best tip in Public speaking? ›

The Rule of Three

What is the rule of 3 in public speaking? ›

The Rule of Three for Emphasis

You can use three statements for each point in your speech to help each point pack a punch. More points can make it seem like you are belabouring the main idea, and fewer points might be less interesting.

What is the rule of 3 in presenting? ›

Introduce your topic clearly at the beginning, focus on the key takeaways during the body of your speech and then summarise neatly at the end. As Dale Carnegie pointed out “Tell the audience what you're going to say, say it, then tell them what you've said.” (That's a 'three-er' just there!)

What are the 3 P's of public speaking? ›

The 3 P's of Public Speaking, namely 'Preparation', 'Practice', and 'Performance', are crucial for delivering impactful speeches. Preparation involves understanding the audience, researching the topic, and structuring the speech.

What is the rule of 3 in a conversation? ›

Set up your communication in threes – Whether its a speech, an email or a presentation divide it into threes. Give your audience a preview, delivery and a review. Or as Dale Carnegie says – “Tell them what you going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you just told them”.

What are the 3 S's of public speaking? ›

It's called the 3 S's - structure, story and self. Without these, there will be facts without flow and substance, visual effect without impact and an audience without interest. Structure Most things in life have a beginning, middle and end, except bad presentations.

What is the rule of 3 talk for writing? ›

The rule of three is simple: things are manageable and elegantly presented in threes. A writer can write about three characters. A child can learn to use commas between three nouns in a series. And a reader can notice words and phrases that are repeated three times.

What is the rule of three method? ›

What is the rule of 3? The rule of 3 is an operation that helps us quickly solve both direct and inverse proportion word problems. In order to use the rule of 3, we need three values: two that are proportional to one another and a third. From there, we will figure out the fourth value.

Why do speakers use the rule of three? ›

Speakers often present their main ideas or arguments in sets of three, providing a clear framework for the audience to follow. By utilizing this technique, TED speakers engage and captivate their listeners, making their talks memorable and impactful.

What are the 3 V's of public speaking? ›

One framework that can be particularly helpful for leaders is the three V's of communication: Voice, Visual, and Verbal. Voice refers to the tone, pace, and volume of our speech. For leaders, having a clear and confident voice is critical for inspiring and motivating others.

What is 3 P's in successful speech? ›

If you are interested in public speaking, then you have probably heard about the 3 Ps of Public speaking - Prepare, Practice, Perform. And if you are a leader working with a communications consultant, you know about the 3 Ps as well. Which, by the way, is excellent!

What is the power of three in public speaking? ›

Three is the most powerful number in communication. An audience is far more likely to remember information if it's presented in groups of threes.

What is the 3s rule? ›

Normally, the rule of threes contains the following: You can survive three minutes without breathable air (unconsciousness), or in icy water. You can survive three hours in a harsh environment (extreme heat or cold). You can survive three days without drinkable water or sleep. You can survive three weeks without food.

What is the best rule of three? ›

Make it Impactful: There is a trick in the "Rule of Three" to make your point more impactful. Always try to use this format: Good-Better-Best. Make the last point the strongest argument. This is the point people or the audience will remember.

What is rule 3 of dialogue? ›

Dialogue: In dialogue, the Rule of Three creates rhythm and emphasis. A character might repeat something three times for effect, or a script might present three examples to make a point. In comedy, this rule is fundamental, where a series of three jokes or gags escalates, with the third often serving as the punchline.

What is the rule of three speakers? ›

It states that any ideas, thoughts, events, characters or sentences that are presented in threes are more effective and memorable. Hence, it is called the Rule of Three. A Latin saying, 'Omne trium perfectum' literally means 'everything that comes in threes is perfect'.

What is the rule of three saying? ›

The rule of three is a writing principle that suggests that a trio of entities such as events or characters is more humorous, satisfying, or effective than other numbers.

What is the 3v rule of communication? ›

One framework that can be particularly helpful for leaders is the three V's of communication: Voice, Visual, and Verbal. Voice refers to the tone, pace, and volume of our speech. For leaders, having a clear and confident voice is critical for inspiring and motivating others.

What is the rule of three in dialogue? ›

Dialogue: In dialogue, the Rule of Three creates rhythm and emphasis. A character might repeat something three times for effect, or a script might present three examples to make a point. In comedy, this rule is fundamental, where a series of three jokes or gags escalates, with the third often serving as the punchline.

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