The Greeks have had an incredible impact on civilization.
Democracy. Philosophy. The kebab.
But my favourite is a little rhetorical device: the tricolon.
There is nothing more impactful than a tricolon.
(Although an impacted tricolon does sound like a pretty nasty condition)
The French revolutionaries were onto it with “Liberté, égalité, fraternité.”
Mark Antony* had it nailed with “Friends, Romans, countrymen.”
And Lincoln had a few to his name, too—none more famous as “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
There’s just something so lyrical and rhythmical in the power of three that we can’t stop them from burying themselves into our brains and refusing to leave.
Whether you want them there or not.
Tricolons are the rhetorical equivalent of Baby Shark (with its two sets of three in the immortal line “doo doo doo doo doo doo.” Pure poetry).
And marketers are only too aware of their effectiveness.
From “Finger-Lickin’ Good” to “I’m Lovin’ It,” and even Nike’s antidote to all this fast food, “Just do it,” if you want your reader to remember your writing, look out for opportunities to put the the power of three to work.
Maybe in a headline like Amy Porterfield: Start Here. Start Small. Start Simply.
To promote the different learning styles you offer, like Seth Godin: Read, Watch, Learn.
Or even in bullet points like Ali Abdaal:
“But filtering through all this information, knowing the right questions to ask and then applying changes to your content is difficult and can be overwhelming.
🤔 How do you know you’re getting it right?
😓 How do you know you’re not wasting time?
😬 How do you know your content’s actually good?”
If you’re struggling to get people to engage with your content, your website, or your emails, simply stop. Take a deep breath. And count 1… 2…3.
*Mark Anthony via the hand of Will the Quill, admittedly. Or if you’re into your conspiracy theories, Christopher Marlowe… or Francis Bacon… or the Earl of Oxford… not that it matters. Someone wrote it, and it is delightful.