The magic number
In 1989 De La Soul claimed that three was the magic number. The track featured on their debut album, Three Feet High and Rising – a set of songs which challenged the hip hop status quo and reached out to a more diverse audience. I checked the lyrics to find out what the Long Island trio found so significant about the number three. I was none the wiser, but thirty years on, I can’t help thinking that they were on to something.
I’ve since discovered that much has been written about the ‘rule of three’. Most of us use it all the time, albeit unknowingly, and from a young age. For instance, I can recall very clearly my parents’ first phone number along with the registration plates of the first cars that my dad drove in the 1960s. Why do I remember these things? Probably because I committed them to memory in three number or three letter sequences.
The Roman philosopher, Cicero, observed over 2,000 years ago that a good speech should contain three things – technique, substance and passion. Many modern-day orators draw on this principle. Barack Obama and Malala Yousafzai are two that spring to mind. Regardless of one’s politics, it’s difficult to deny the power of such speakers and few can match their passion and ability to instil a sense of belief. Great speeches are peppered with phrases and sections that deploy the rule of three. This excerpt from Malala’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 2014 is a good example:
“This is where I will begin, but it is not where I will stop. I will continue this fight until I see every child in school.”
The rule of three can also be seen at work in the business world. Steve Jobs was a fantastic speaker. One of his most memorable presentations was delivered in 2007 when Jobs announced that he was launching ‘Three revolutionary new products - a music player, a mobile phone and an internet communication platform’. Little did the audience realise that all three functions were combined in a single device, revealed as the first iPhone – a widely copied technology breakthrough that still commands a major market share.
Our brains are hardwired with the rule of three. As children we are introduced to the three blind mice, three little pigs and the three bears who gave Goldilocks a rude awakening. Later we are taught to ‘stop, look & listen’ before crossing the road and ‘mirror, signal, manoeuvre’, when we learn to drive.
The rule of three is widely encountered in art and literature. There’s a general understanding that two elements aren’t sufficient to form a memorable pattern, whereas four takes us towards the realm of confusion. The human brain really does find it much easier to process things in threes.
The early American advertising pioneer, Elias St. Elmo Lewis, cited three elements necessary for the creation of great written copy:
Attract the audience and encourage them to take a closer look
Interest the audience enough to make them want to continue
Convince the audience to ensure that they believe what you say
Unsurprisingly, the rule of three has been used to create some of the most powerful advertising slogans of the twentieth century. Three words are often used to encapsulate an entire brand, for example, Nike’s ‘Just do it’
I’ll leave the final word to my old comprehensive school Latin teacher. He was an old school brutalist with a fondness for the cane and I ended up in his bad books on many occasions. Were he alive today and reading this blog he would probably say:
Omne trium perfectum
Everything which comes in three is perfect!
Many articles and books have been written about the power of three. Here are three that readers will find interesting.
Apple Is Obsessed With the Magical Number 3
The Power of Three for Effective Communication
Marketers Must Understand the Power of Three
Cogent Content uses the rule of three to help clients attract, interest and convince audiences. We can help you too. Please get in touch.