Concept
The rule of three
Listeners hold about three new points comfortably without writing them down, and Carmine Gallo found many of the most-watched TED talks organised in threes. The practical rule: say three things, say there are three, and cut the fourth however much you like it.
The rule is old rhetoric with some support from memory research, which suggests people can hold only about three or four new items in mind at once. For a work presentation it means choosing, before the deck exists, the three things the room must leave with, and announcing the count so listeners know where they are. It also disciplines the speaker: a talk that cannot be reduced to three parts usually has not found its core. Gallo pairs it with the eighteen-minute ceiling and the one-sentence summary; the three together turn a pile of slides into something a listener can carry out of the room and repeat to someone else.
A real-life example
A sales director presenting quarterly results to the board cuts fourteen slides of figures to three points: which region grew, which product stalled, and the one hire she needs. She says 'three things' at the start. At the end two board members repeat them back, and the hire is approved.
How to use it
- 1Before building slides, write the three things the room must leave with.
- 2Announce the count at the start and use it as the structure.
- 3Cut the fourth point or fold it into one of the three.