If your audience forgets your Presentation the moment they walk out of the room… then you have wasted their time. You have wasted your own time. And you have wasted the opportunity to pass on whatever insight you intended to get out during that time. So the key to effective presentations, ultimately, is getting your listeners to remember what you have said!

This starts with getting and maintaining their attention, which is something of another topic entirely. But the next key factor in getting them to remember is to present your information in a way that adheres to what we already know about how memory works in the human brain! Specifically, how do we get information that is being processed (like the words and visuals in your presentation) to filter through the listeners’ working memory and into their short and long-term memory? The best answer for this is to stick to the “Rule of 3”.

The Rule of 3 is simple: we remember things easier if they are presented in groups of three. Think of your phone number—10 random numbers are tough! But 3 sets of numbers is easy. Perhaps because three is the smallest number required to make a pattern—and a pattern works because it’s powerful and memorable and easier to embrace (Rule of Three, 2011). We’ve seen this throughout our history: Newton’s three rules of motion in physics, the three-note building blocks in musical harmony, the holy trinity in the Christian religion, the trilogy in modern cinema, and so on. It seems that everyone has tapped into the power of three.

So how can we apply this to making our speeches more memorable? Well, first we must acknowledge and embrace the fact that our listeners are likely to only remember three things from our presentation. Therefore, it’s critical that we are intentional about what these three things are! It starts all the way back when you’re creating the content for your speech. While you are writing your blueprint, you must divide your message into three chunks—and then create your Key Points from this. The key is that you never ask them to remember more than these three clearly-stated key points. Then, during your speech, you must continually remind them what these key points are throughout your presentation (Hill, 2014). That combination of simplicity and repetition with the power of three allows your audience members to process the information thoroughly and transfer it over from working memory to short and long-term memory.

Now—is what you have to say worth remembering? Have your organized it into three chunks so that your audience will remember it? Will you remember to repeat those key points throughout your presentation so they will process it correctly? Oh, look at that, we just left you with three key takeaways.

The power of using threes is the foundation of the Focus Method developed by John Plank. By using the Focus Method you can think on your feet and quickly present your complex ideas and thoughts persuasively and eloquently in a way that is manner that is designed to be heard and remembered.

To learn more about the Focus Method and our other highly impactful methods at one of our Two-Day Advanced Communication and Presentation Skills Workshops or our Commanding Presence Online courses available at www.commandingpresence.com

Sources Cited

Hill, Chris. The “Rule of 3” for Working Memory. May 22, 2014. Hillside Communications. http://www.hillsidecommunications.com/website/?p=501.

Rule of Three. What is the mysterious ‘Rule of Three’? July 2,2011. The Copywriting Studio. http://rule-of-three.co.uk/2011/07/02/what-is-the-rule-of-three-copywriting/.

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