The Rule of Three
Brian Clark of Copyblogger put together a really interesting post yesterday and I’m going to share some of it with you. He discussed the “Rule of Three” and suggested that it could be a very useful tip in your writing:
It all comes down to the way we humans process information. We have become proficient at pattern recognition by necessity, and three is the smallest number of elements required to create a pattern. This combination of pattern and brevity results in memorable content, and that’s why the Rule of Three will make you a more engaging writer.
Brian used many examples in storytelling, ideas, and humor to prove his point: three blind mice, Goldilocks and the three bears, the Three Musketeers, the three-act structure, and so on. You should really check out his whole post to really see how true it is.
His basic thesis: “If you want to get something to stick in someone’s head, put it in a sequence of three.”
So, whether you’re writing a story, a list of bullet points, a company slogan, or something else…you can’t go wrong by using the Rule of Three.
“When it comes to pleasing the human brain, it seems like three is simply a magic number. And that’s the truthiness, the whole truthiness, and nothing but the truthiness.”
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