Professional Documents
Culture Documents
How To Use The Rule of Three in Your Speeches
How To Use The Rule of Three in Your Speeches
Your Speeches
by Andrew Dlugan
May 27th, 2009
That’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
What is the rule of three? What are some famous examples? How
do you use it in speeches? Read on!
Christianity
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Heaven, hell, and purgatory
Three Wise Men with their gold, frankincense, and
myrrh
Movies & Books
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Sex, Lies, and Videotape
Superman’s “Truth, Justice, and the American Way“
Nursery rhymes such as the Three Little Pigs or
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
In a more general sense, there is the allure of
trilogies as with Indiana Jones, The Godfather, The Matrix,
Star Wars, and many others.
Politics
U.S. Branches of Government: Executive, Judicial,
and Legislative
U.S. Declaration of Independence: “Life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness”
French motto: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
Abundance of tri-colored flags
Civic, Organizational, and Societal Mottos
Fire safety motto: Stop, Drop, and Roll
Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius or Faster,
Higher, Stronger
Real estate: Location, Location, Location
Julius Caesar
“Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered)
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
“Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend me your
ears.“
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
“We can not dedicate — we can not consecrate —
we can not hallow — this ground.“
“Government of the people, by the people, for the
people“
General MacArthur, West Point Address, 1962
“Duty, Honor, Country” [repeated several times in
the speech]
Barack Obama, Inaugural Speech
“we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and
begin again the work of remaking America“
“The mojo of three offers a greater sense of completeness than four or more.”
Use one for power. Use two for comparison, contrast. Use three for
completeness, wholeness, roundness. Use four or more to list,
inventory, compile, and expand.
Hendiatris
A hendiatris is a figure of speech where three successive words
are used to express a central idea.
Examples of hendiatris include:
Tricolon
A tricolon is a series of three parallel elements (words or
phrases). In a strict tricolon, the elements have the same length
but this condition is often put aside.
Nearly every speech critiqued on Six Minutes has wielded the magic
of the Rule of Three, as shown by numerous examples below.
[1] It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d
have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. [2] It
means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as
easy as possible for your family. [3] It means to say your goodbyes.
You’re the ones [1] who feed us, [2] who wipe our tears, [3] who
hold our hands or hug us when we need it.